Role of salivary biomarkers in the diagnosis of oral cancer: Mini review

Abstract

Saliva is an oral fluid, comprising 99% of water and 1% of organic and inorganic constituents. Inorganic elements consist of minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, fluoride, and phosphates. Organic elements comprise enzymes, hormones, immunoglobulins, proteins antioxidants, and coagulation factors are present in the saliva. These constituents are present in the saliva at a varying proportion and which tends to vary during oral cancer. Many of these constituents, their altered levels in oral cancer can serve as the potential biomarker and aid in its diagnosis. The aim of this review article is to highlight the importance of saliva in diagnosis, to overview different salivary biomarkers, its uses and acceptance for the early diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Saliva as a Biomarker in Oral Cancer

“…Salivary reactive nitrogen species are remarkably raised with the patient of oral cancer in comparison to the control group. Meanwhile, other salivary anti-oxidants are noticeably decreased (because of utilization), that lead to the oxidative destruction of DNA and proteins, thus helps in oral cancer detection (34,35) .…”