Abstract
BACKGROUND: Enhancing the prognosis and treatment outcomes of oral cancer relies heavily on its early detection. This study aims to establish a connection between serum and salivary dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) levels and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), comparing them with oral potentially malignant lesions (OPMLs) and control subjects and validating salivary DPP-4 as a diagnostic marker for the early detection of oral cancer. METHODOLOGY: Forty-five systemically healthy individuals were categorized into three groups: Group I consisted of 15 patients diagnosed with OSCC, Group II comprised 15 patients with OPMLs (including leukoplakia and oral lichen planus), and Group III included 15 participants without any oral mucosal lesions. Serum and whole unstimulated salivary samples were collected from all participants to assess DPP-4 levels using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to determine the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of DPP-4. RESULTS: Both serum and salivary DPP-4 levels were highest in the healthy group, followed by OPMLs, and lowest in the OSCC group, with statistically significant differences observed. ROC analysis demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy of salivary DPP-4 in distinguishing OSCC from healthy individuals, OPMLs from healthy individuals, and OSCC from OPMLs, with accuracies of 100%, 100%, and 96.67%, respectively. Salivary DPP-4 levels also exhibited a statistically significant correlation with OSCC grades. CONCLUSIONS: DPP-4 appears to play a protective, anti-oncogenic role in maintaining oral tissue health. The remarkable diagnostic accuracy of both serum and salivary DPP-4 in discriminating between OSCC, OPMLs, and healthy controls suggests its potential utility as a well-established marker for early oral cancer diagnosis. Salivary DPP-4, being non-invasive, could serve as a convenient chair-side diagnostic tool for the early detection of OSCC. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was retrospectively registered on clinicaltrial.gov with NCT06087042, date of registration (first posted date): 17/10/2023.