Background: Salivary biomarkers are attractive non-invasive tools for screening oral cancer especially in high risk individuals such as smokers. The present study observed the salivary level of microRNA-21 to verify their value as diagnostic marker for smokers.
Methods: The study sample comprised 40 males: 20 non-smokers and 20 smokers. Whole unstimulated saliva samples were collected. The resulting data was analyzed for any statistical significance.
Results: Smokers had statistically significant higher salivary microRNA-21 level than non-smokers.
Conclusions: Our study demonstrated elevated levels of salivary microRNA-21 in cigarette smokers. Salivary miR-21 could be a promising new diagnostic marker for cigarette smokers.
We recommend conducting further studies to investigate its diagnostic value as a marker for oral cancer susceptibility in cigarette smokers.