Dentists' test for breast cancer
Saliva testing could reveal whether people have breast cancer, scientists claim
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Friday, 11, Jan 2008 09:30
A simple test during a visit to the dentist could discover whether people are in the early stages of breast cancer, scientists claim.
A study from researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Centre suggests that patients could be tested for breast cancer by examining certain protein markers in their saliva.
The onset of breast cancer produces a change in the normal type and amount of proteins in glandular secretions from the salivary glands.
In the study, the researchers analysed saliva samples from 30 patients. They found 49 proteins that differentiated healthy patients from those with benign breast tumours and those with malignant breast tumours.
"Saliva is a complex mixture of proteins. We go through a process that compares different samples by chemically labelling them in such a way that we can not only identify the protein, but determine how much of it is in each sample," Dr William Dubinsky explained.
"This allows us to compare the levels of 150 to 200 different proteins in cancerous versus non-cancerous specimens to identify possible markers for disease."
Current methods for breast cancer detection include screening, biopsies and ultrasounds and the scientists hope saliva testing will one day supplement these.
"Why not the dentist?" said Dr Charles Streckfus. "Most folks, especially women and children, visit the dental office way more often than they ever see the physician. Saliva is a non-invasive, quicker way for detection."
Commenting on the study, Henry Scowcroft, Cancer Research UK's senior news and resources officer, said: "Diagnosing cancer early saves lives. So researchers around the world are trying to find out if early signs of the disease can be found in bodily fluids like blood and saliva.
"This paper is one of many early 'proof-of-principle' results that are published every year. But the research only looked at samples from a very small number of people."
He added: "The technique might not prove reliable when more people are studied and there's no data on how effective it might be in practice. So there's a lot more work to be done to find out if this method could ever be used routinely."