Comparison of Serum and Salivary Levels of Folate in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) with Healthy Subjects

Abstract

Introduction: Oral squamous cell malignancies are multifactorial and no factor or individual factor as a result of it is clearly not defined or accepted, however both internal and external factors may be effective. With this in mind, researchers are looking for simpler ways of using saliva biomarkers for early diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum and salivary levels of folate in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, the target population of patients with oral squamous cell mucosa referred to Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases faculty of dentistry and the department of the ear, nose and throat of Imam Reza Hospital was 30 and also 30 healthy subjects were selected as controls and from both groups, samples were prepared in the form of 2ccsaliva samples and venous blood 5cc. Serum and salivary specimens with Human Folate Kit (ELF) ELISA kit were determined and folate in serum and saliva was determined. Also, the mean difference test for independent groups and Chi-Square test at 95% confidence level were used to analyze the data. Results: The results of this study showed that serum folate levels in oral squamous cell carcinoma (8.18 ± 4.37 ng/mL) significantly decreased compared to healthy subjects (10.61 ± 5.79 ng/mL) is less (p=0.005). It was also observed that folate levels in saliva were lower in squamous cell carcinoma patients (1.13 ± 1.32 ng/mL) than in healthy subjects (2.84 ± 4.40 ng/mL). (p=0.029). The results of this study showed that there was a significant and statistically significant correlation between serum and salivary levels of folate in healthy individuals (p=0.003; rp=0.113) and squamous cell carcinoma (p=0.006; rp=0.115) is set. Conclusion: Given that serum and salivary levels of folate in patients with oral SCCs are lower than healthy subjects in this study, low folate levels are likely to be associated with the pathogenesis of the disease. To investigate the effect of folate levels on early detection, prevention and Reducing the symptoms of SCC disease requires more studies. Also, due to the significant relationship between salivary and serum levels of folate, it is possible to use a salivary sample instead of a serum sample to check the level of folate that is non-invasive.