Salivary Metabolomics for Prognosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

This study aimed to identify salivary metabolomic biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) based on comprehensive metabolomic analyses. Quantified metabolomics data of unstimulated saliva samples collected from patients with OSCC (n = 72) were randomly divided into the training (n = 35) and validation groups (n = 37). The training data were used to develop a Cox proportional hazards regression model for identifying significant metabolites as prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival. Moreover, the validation group was used to develop another Cox proportional hazards regression model using the previously identified metabolites. There were no significant between-group differences in the participants’ characteristics, including age, sex, and the median follow-up periods (55 months [range: 3–100] vs. 43 months [range: 0–97]). The concentrations of 5-hydroxylysine (p = 0.009) and 3-methylhistidine (p = 0.012) were identified as significant prognostic factors for OS in the training group. Among them, the concentration of 3-methylhistidine was a significant prognostic factor for OS in the validation group (p = 0.048). Our findings revealed that salivary 3-methylhistidine is a prognostic factor for OS in patients with OSCC.

Salivary Biomarkers in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Proteomic Overview

“…Hu et al analyzed the role of salivary biomarkers in the detection of oral cancer [ 47 ]. As well, other authors have shown that saliva contains a collection of analytes, such as proteins, DNA, and mRNA, as well as several metabolites that can be potential biomarkers for clinical and translational applications [ 48 ]. Therefore, salivary analysis is an effective option for prevention, monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis and this biological liquid could even become the first choice for the screening and identification of biomarkers given the constant contact with cancer cells inside the oral cavity [ 49 ].…”

“…To overcome the problem of increasing the wide involvement of cytokines in inflammatory conditions, it could be important to have a combination of proteomic data, including oral cytokines and salivary miRNAs, for an accurate and early diagnosis. In addition to these biomarkers, small molecules, such as non-coding RNA [ 70 ] and metabolite analysis [ 48 ], could represent a second group to build the construction of a salivary biomarker panel for OSCC.…”

A UPLC Q-Exactive Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomic Study of Serum and Tumor Tissue in Patients with Papillary Thyroid Cancer

“…Most of the seven uniquely increased metabolites have been verified to possibly promote the progression of other tumors; for example, L-proline addition and L-tryptophan metabolism promote tumor invasion and metastasis and accelerate cancer progression [ 35 , 36 ]. The concentrations of 5-hydroxylysine and 3-methylhistidine have been identified as significant prognostic factors for overall survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma [ 37 ]. We speculated that these metabolites might promote the lymph node metastasis of PTC.…”

Salivary metabolomics with machine learning for colorectal cancer detection

“… 32 , 33 Biomarkers for oral cancer and cancers in the organs far from the oral cavity, such as breast cancer and pancreatic cancers, have been reported. 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 To enhance the discriminability of multiple biomarkers, ML is a cornerstone. 38 , 39 Using urinary polyamine profiles, we previously used an alternative decision tree (ADTree)–based prediction method to detect CRC.…”

“…Metabolomic biomarkers in saliva samples have been shown to represent a potential medium for cancer detection 32,33 . Biomarkers for oral cancer and cancers in the organs far from the oral cavity, such as breast cancer and pancreatic cancers, have been reported 34–37 . To enhance the discriminability of multiple biomarkers, ML is a cornerstone 38,39 .…”