Background and Aim: Oral squamous cell carcinoma is by far one of the most common oral cancers. The success of early detection of cancer using recent modalities such as collected human saliva can guarantee a high success rate of treatment. This study aimed to investigate the expression of microRNAs and interleukins in exosomes as potential salivary biomarkers and to evaluate their accuracy in early detection of oral cancer.
Material and methods: Samples of saliva were collected from 37 patients divided into 6 healthy control, 17 smokers and 14 patients with different grades of oral squamous carcinoma. Exosomes were isolated from 3 ml saliva using ultracentrifugation protocol and were prepared for electron microscopy characterization. Expression of microRNA-200a and microRNA-134 was analyzed by qRT-PCR. IL-1β and IL-8 concentrations were also assessed in isolated salivary exosomes. All data array of salivary isolated tested biomarkers was represented as mean values and standard deviation.
Results: Concentrations of both salivary IL-1β & IL-8 demonstrated a highly significant increase in cancer patients compared to smoker and control groups (p≤0.00001). Additionally, microRNA-200a and microRNA-134 were upregulated and revealed a highly significant increase in cancer patients in comparison to other groups (p≤0.00001). No significant changes were observed between different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Conclusion: Isolated salivary exosomes provide a stable and non-invasive route for evaluation of different salivary biomarkers which can be a useful tool in early detection of oral cancer.