Whole saliva albumin as an indicator of stomatitis in cancer therapy patients.

Albumin concentrations were measured in whole and parotid saliva samples collected from patients who were undergoing various cancer treatment protocols and had a high incidence of stomatitis. Oral examinations were made at the time of saliva collection and the degree of stomatitis evaluated. Elevations of whole saliva albumin concentrations were observed in 11 stomatitis incidents. No increases were observed in parotid saliva. The salivary albumin increases always preceded and often occurred in the absence of stomatitis, suggesting that the whole saliva albumin level may be a useful measure and predictor of this condition. If so, monitoring of this parameter could be useful in establishing treatment schedules for chemotherapy protocols that have stomatitis as the limiting factor in treatment.