Salivary Levels of ErbB2 and CEA in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the ten most common causes of cancer death worldwide. Assessment of molecular changes can help detect and control lesions. The aim of this study was evaluation of salivary levels of ErbB2 and CEA in OSCC patients. In this case-control study, 27 OSCC patients and 26 healthy controls participated. After obtaining consent and filling out a questionnaire, unstimulated saliva samples were collected from people in the morning for measurement of the two markers using ELISA. Data were analyzed using Mann Whitney U test in SPSS 19 software with P<0.05 considered significant. Subjects were in the age range of 40 to 65 years. \Salivary level CEA was elevated in OSCC samples (42.6 ± 21.1 ng/ml) as compared to those of controls (22.6 ± 22.1ng/ml) (p< 0.01), but no significant variation was noted for ErbB2 (5.2 ± 1.8ng/ml and 4.93 ± 2.14ng/ml, p=0.28). The role of ErbB2 as a tumor marker in patients with OSCC must still be regarded as controversial and needs further studies to clarify any significance for early detection or screening. In contrast the salivary level of CEA may find application for early detection of patients.