Saliva Can Be Used To Detect Oral Cancer

Saliva can be used to diagnose whether someone has oral cancer and may also be a reliable indicator of other cancers and diseases, researchers said on Wednesday. The research, carried out at the University of California at Los Angeles, provided the first proof that RNA biomarkers in saliva can be used to inexpensively detect cancer, said Dr. David Wong, study author and chairman of oral biology and medicine at the university. The exploratory study, published in Clinical Cancer Research, showed that oral cancer was identified in nine out of 10 cancer patients. Saliva is already used to diagnose certain diseases, including HIV, which is detected from protein antibodies.

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