Salivary metabolomics as a candidate for diagnosis of oral cancer. A systematic review

Abstract

Oral cancer often known as mouth cancer, is a malignant tumor of the oral cavity and is the world's sixth most prevalent cancer. Oral squamous cell carcinoma accounts for about 90% of oral cavity cancers. The systemic study of metabolites is known as metabolomics where small molecules are generated by the process of metabolism. The aim was to evaluate how salivary metabolomics can help in the diagnosis of oral cancer and secondly review if salivary metabolomics can lead to identification of oral cancer as well as study the viability of salivary metabolomics in the context of oral cancer. Materials and Methods: An electronic search was carried out in the databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science on salivary metabolomics for oral cancer detection until December 2022. Results: Of 126 potentially eligible articles,7 complied with the inclusion criteria. All 7 studies evaluated the metabolites differences found in oral cancer and healthy patients. The diagnostic material in each study was unstimulated whole saliva, which was analyzed using several spectroscopic techniques. Oral squamous cell carcinoma patients varied significantly from the healthy participants in terms of metabolites. There was evidence of altered metabolic pathways, such as choline metabolism, amino acid pathways, and glycolysis, among the observed salivary metabolites.