Melatonin’s role in circadian rhythm is well documented, as are its’ anti-oxidant, oncostatic and anti-inflammatory properties. Poor sleep quality has been associated as a potential risk factor for several malignancies, including head and neck cancers. The purpose of this study is to determine salivary melatonin (MLT) levels in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients, compare the salivary MLT levels with those in healthy individuals and compare the salivary and serum levels in OSCC patients. Furthermore, the aim is to investigate the potential relationship between sleep quality and salivary MLT levels in OSCC patients. Unstimulated (UWS) and stimulated (SWS) whole saliva was sampled from patients with T1N0M0 and T2N0M0 OSCC (N = 34) and 33 sex and age matched healthy subjects. Serum samples were taken from 11 OSCC patients. Sleep quality was measured using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. Melatonin levels in UWS and SWS were significantly higher in the OSCC group. Sleep quality was significantly lower in patients with OSCC (P = 0.0001). ROC analysis was found to be significant (P < 0.001) in evaluating MLT concentration limit in diagnosing OSCC. The expected relationship between sleep quality and salivary MLT levels in OSCC patients was not observed. Our results suggest salivary MLT as a potential biomarker that might facilitate non-invasive detection of early stage OSCC.

褪黑激素在昼夜节律中的作用以及其抗氧化、抑制肿瘤和抗炎特性都有据可查。睡眠质量差是多种恶性肿瘤（包括头颈癌）的潜在危险因素。本研究的目的是测定口腔鳞状细胞癌 (OSCC) 患者的唾液褪黑激素 (MLT) 水平，将唾液 MLT 水平与健康个体进行比较，并比较 OSCC 患者的唾液和血清水平。此外，目的是调查 OSCC 患者睡眠质量与唾液 MLT 水平之间的潜在关系。从 T1N0M0 和 T2N0M0 OSCC 患者 (N = 34) 以及 33 名性别和年龄匹配的健康受试者中采集未刺激 (UWS) 和刺激 (SWS) 全唾液样本。血清样本取自 11 名 OSCC 患者。使用匹兹堡睡眠质量指数（PSQI）问卷来测量睡眠质量。 OSCC 组中 UWS 和 SWS 的褪黑激素水平显着较高。 OSCC 患者的睡眠质量显着较低（ P = 0.0001）。 ROC 分析被发现在评估诊断 OSCC 的 MLT 浓度限制方面具有显着意义 ( P < 0.001)。未观察到 OSCC 患者睡眠质量与唾液 MLT 水平之间的预期关系。我们的结果表明唾液 MLT 作为一种潜在的生物标志物，可能有助于早期 OSCC 的非侵入性检测。