Abstract
BACKGROUND: The most prevalent malignant tumor affecting the oral cavity is called oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Improving patient outcomes and survival rates requires early identification. Salivary biomarkers have drawn a lot of interest as noninvasive diagnostic methods for early OSCC detection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred people participated in a cross-sectional research, 50 of whom had been diagnosed with OSCC and 50 of whom were healthy controls. Samples of unstimulated saliva were taken from each participant. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent test (ELISA) was used to measure the salivary levels of three biomarkers: tissue polypeptide-specific antigen (TPSA), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the biomarker levels and compare them across groups using statistical analysis. RESULTS: OSCC patients had substantially higher salivary levels of TPSA (12.5 ± 2.4 ng/mL), MMP-9 (400 ± 30 ng/mL), and IL-6 (35.2 ± 7.1 pg/mL) than healthy controls (TPSA: 4.2 ± 1.1 ng/mL; P < 0.001), MMP-9: 150 ± 20 ng/mL, and IL-6: 10.1 ± 2.3 pg/mL. High diagnostic accuracy was found by ROC analysis for TPSA (AUC = 0.85), MMP-9 (AUC = 0.87), and IL-6 (AUC = 0.89). When these indicators were combined, the early identification of OSCC had a 90% sensitivity and an 88% specificity. CONCLUSION: Salivary biomarkers with intriguing potential for OSCC early detection include TPSA, MMP-9, and IL-6. They are useful instruments for screening high-risk people because of their noninvasiveness and excellent diagnostic precision. It is advised that further longitudinal research be done to confirm these results and investigate how they may be used in therapeutic settings.