Salivary biomarkers as tools for oral squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis: A systematic review

ABSTRACT

Background

The oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) survival rate is influenced by the fact that diagnoses occur mostly in late stages of the disease. Thus, there is a clear contribution in the early findings, making the use of minimally invasive techniques for diagnosis, such as analysis of salivary markers, interesting tools.

Methods

A systematic review was performed with all studies that establish a comparison between the levels of saliva-based markers found in patients with OSCC compared with cancer-free individuals.

Results

Twenty-eight studies were included. Of them, only 12 showed some caution with oral conditions before sample collection. A wide range of potential markers was evaluated; however, the comparison between studies was impaired because each marker was hardly explored by more than 1 article.

Conclusion

The lack of methodological criteria within studies and the absence of consensus on marker choice are obstacles for future researches. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2016

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