Project description:Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide including the Asian subcontinent. Oral carcinoma exhibits inherent heterogeneity in terms of the sites involved, etiology and pathology. They occur at multiple sites such as tongue, buccal mucosa, maxilla. Effective approaches towards improving survival rates in OSCC patients are primarily focused on early detection of the disease. The early clinical indication of the disease follows the development of potentially malignant lesions (leukoplakia/erythro-leukoplakia) with varied rates of transformation. Currently histopathological evaluation of oral biopsy is generally practiced to evaluate potential malignancy. However, human saliva has been considered to be a valuable medium for discovering biomarker molecules for malignancy. Exfoliated cancer cells may release protein or RNA molecules into the saliva or free molecules may be secreted or leaked from cancer cells representing gene expression changes associated with tumor development. Salivary proteins thus provide a strong option for development of non-invasive, point-of-care assays for screening/early detection of oral cancers. Dysplastic leukoplakia (LP) of the oral cavity is a potentially malignant condition for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), early detection of which is an unmet clinical need. In an effort to develop non-invasive biomarker based method for early detection of the disease, we have used quantitative mass spectrometry to identify differently abundant salivary proteins in OSCC (buccal mucosa) patients and individuals with potential to develop cancer (oral dysplastic leukoplakia) in comparison to healthy controls (with risk habits such as tobacco chewing or smoking).
