EVALUATION OF SALIVA AS LIQUID BIOPSY FOR EARLY DETECTION OF ORAL CANCER IN PATIENTS WITH ORAL-SUBMUCOUS FIBROSIS (OSMF)

Saliva as Early Detection Tool for Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is the top cancer in Pakistan, accounting for 27%, and it has a high mortality rate due to late-stage diagnosis. It primarily affects the lips, tongue, cheeks, and floor of the mouth. Major risk factor for oral cancer development is pan supari chhaliya chewing.

Patients often develop a pre-malignant condition, oral submucous fibrosis, resulting in limited mouth opening. Thus, patients are diagnosed at an advanced level and poor survival. Therefore, saliva appears a potential mode of evaluation for early detection. This project aims to evaluate salivary cells, genes and biochemistry of the saliva among health volunteers and compare it with that of the patients with oral submucous fibrosis and oral cancer.

The project aims to evaluate salivary cytology, genes and biochemistry of the healthy normal population and compare it with that of the oral submucous fibrosis and oral cancer. For salivary experiments 3 cc of fresh saliva will be collected and analysed.

Inclusion Criteria:

• healthy volunteers
• patients with oral submucous fibrosis
• patients with biopsy proven oral cancer

Exclusion Criteria:

• patients with oral infection