Delayed diagnosis of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer is associated with a poor prognosis. Despite progress in systemic therapy and radiotherapy, there has only been a slight improvement in the five-year survival rate. A non-invasive diagnostic method that consists of an assessment of specific proteins in saliva samples may significantly facilitate assessment of treatment results in patients diagnosed with oral and oropharyngeal cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of IL-17 and TNF-α in the saliva of patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer. The study was conducted prior to treatment in patients hospitalized in the Frederic Chopin Provincial Specialist Hospital No. 1 in Rzeszów, Poland. Saliva samples were collected from subjects on an empty stomach. Cytokine concentrations in the saliva were measured with ELISA and Luminex Multiplex Assays. The higher salivary concentrations of IL-17A, IL-17F, and TNF-α were significantly associated with disease advancement. Lower levels of IL-17A were associated with colonization of the oral cavity with aerobic bacteria. On the other hand, higher concentration of TNF-α was observed in patients with positive aerobic culture of oral swabs. Our results suggest that IL-17A, IL-17F, and TNF-α measured in the saliva may be a potential biomarker for cancer of the oral cavity and oropharynx.

中文翻译：

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唾液IL-17A，IL-17F和TNF-α与口腔和口咽癌患者的疾病进展相关。

口腔和口咽癌的延迟诊断与不良预后有关。尽管全身疗法和放射疗法取得了进展，但五年生存率仅略有提高。一种非侵入性诊断方法，由评估唾液样本中的特定蛋白质组成，可能会大大有助于评估诊断为口腔和口咽癌的患者的治疗结果。这项研究的目的是评估IL-17和TNF- α的水平在口腔和口咽癌患者的唾液中。该研究是在波兰热舒夫的弗雷德里克·肖邦省级专科医院1号住院的患者中进行治疗之前进行的。空腹从受试者收集唾液样品。唾液中的细胞因子浓度通过ELISA和Luminex Multiplex Assays测定。IL-17A，IL-17F和TNF- α的唾液浓度较高与疾病进展显着相关。较低水平的IL-17A与好氧细菌在口腔中的定殖有关。另一方面，在口腔拭子有氧培养阳性的患者中观察到较高的TNF- α浓度。我们的结果表明IL-17A，IL-17F和TNF- α 唾液中检测到的可能是口腔和口咽癌的潜在生物标志物。