Saliva as a diagnostic tool for dental caries, periodontal disease and cancer: is there a need for more biomarkers?

Saliva as a diagnostic tool for dental caries, periodontal disease and cancer: is there a need for more biomarkers? Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2020 Mar 30;:1-13 Authors: Buzalaf MAR, Ortiz AC, Carvalho TS, Fideles SOM, Araújo TT, Moraes SM, Buzalaf NR, Reis FN Abstract Introduction: A biomarker is a biological indicator of normal or pathogenic processes. Identification of biomarkers is useful for the prevention, diagnosis and prognosis of diseases as well as for monitoring the progression of pathological disorders. Several types of molecules present in biological fluids can act as biomarkers such as DNA, coding and non-coding RNA, lipids, metabolites, proteins and even microbes. In this context, saliva emerges as a useful diagnostic tool for the detection of biomarkers involved with oral and systemic diseases, since it reflects the pathophysiological conditions of the organism and allows early, rapid, practical and noninvasive detection of biomarkers.Areas covered: This review discusses the properties of saliva as a diagnostic tool and addresses the main identified biomarkers related to dental caries, periodontal disease, head and neck cancer and other types of cancer of considerable incidence among the world population.Expert commentary: Despite extensive efforts which have been directed toward the identification of one or a combination of biomarkers with good predictive values for the early detection of dental caries, periodontal disea...
Source: Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics - Category: Laboratory Medicine Tags: Expert Rev Mol Diagn Source Type: research