Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have identified the presence of at least 50 microRNAs in human saliva that could aid in detecting oral cancer, according to a new study (Clinical Cancer Research, August 25, 2009).
MicroRNAs are molecules produced in cells that have the ability to simultaneously control activity and assess the behavior of multiple genes. The emergence of a microRNA profile in saliva represents a major step forward in the early detection of oral cancer.
David Wong, D.M.D., and colleagues measured microRNA levels in the saliva of 50 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and 50 healthy control patients. They detected approximately 50 microRNAs.
Two specific microRNAs, miR-125a and miR-200a, were present at significantly lower levels in patients with oral cancer than in the healthier controls.
"It is a holy grail of cancer detection to be able to measure the presence of a cancer without a biopsy, so it is very appealing to think that we could detect a cancer-specific marker in a patient's saliva," said Jennifer Grandis, M.D., a professor of otolaryngology and pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Cancer Institute and a senior editor of Clinical Cancer Research, in a press release.
The study findings would have to be confirmed by a larger and longer analysis, Dr. Wong said.
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