Abstract
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is a prevalent malignancy with high morbidity. Hence, this cross-sectional study evaluated salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in 30 OSCC patients versus 30 healthy controls. IL-6 levels were significantly higher in OSCC patients and increased progressively with advancing clinical stages. A strong positive correlation was found between IL-6 levels and disease stage (r = 0.82, p < 0.001). Salivary IL-6 shows promise as a non-invasive biomarker for OSCC detection and progression monitoring.