Abstract
Oxidative stress is a major factor in oral carcinogenesis, but a comparative comparison of salivary biomarkers in different stages of disease development has not been fully described. This case-control study compared the levels of salivary oxidative stress in 180 participants (n= 60 healthy controls, n=60 oral precancer and n=60 oral cancer). The malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in saliva were measured by spectrophotometric and enzyme assays. The outcome showed greatly high levels of MDA and exhausted antioxidant enzyme activities in patients with cancer in comparison to the precancer and control conditions (p<0.001) and there was progressive worsening in relation to the progress of disease. Thus, we show the possible application of salivary oxidative stress measurements to be used as a non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic method of oral cancer to aid in the early diagnosis and risk stratification of susceptible groups.