Identification of saliva biomarkers as tools for detection of early-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Cancer of the flat squamous cells of the oral cavity is called Oral Squamous Cancer Cell (OSCC). OSCC is responsible for 95% of all oral cancers. In high-risk countries like Pakistan, OSCC has one of the highest mortality rates amongst the general demographic. With most OSCC cases being identified in later stages, the 5-year survival rates have remained as low as 50%. However, with early diagnosis, OSCC patients have been shown to have a better chance of surviving. To that effect, identifying potential biomarkers to act as diagnostic indicators for OSCC can help in early diagnosis of the disease. An emerging field for alternative detection of cancer are non-invasive methods that use saliva as a fluid for liquid biopsies. Saliva comprises proteomes, microbiomes, metabolomes, transcriptomes, and genomes that can be used as potential tools for the early detection of cancer. “Salivaomics” has established itself as a promising area for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. In this review paper, we perform a meta-analysis and a systematic literature review to catalogue biomarkers found in saliva that could potentially be used in the early diagnosis of OSCC.