J Oral Pathol Med. 2022 Apr 13. doi: 10.1111/jop.13299. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Differences in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragments have been described as a valuable tool to distinguish cancer patients from healthy individuals. We aim to investigate the concentration and integrity of cfDNA fragments in saliva from oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients and healthy individuals in order to explore their value as diagnostic biomarkers.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Saliva samples were collected from a total of 34 subjects (19 OSCC patients and 15 healthy controls). The total concentration of scfDNA was determined using a fluorometry method and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). To evaluate the scfDNA quantity and integrity, qPCR targeting Arthobacter luteus (ALU) sequences at three amplicons of different lengths (60, 115, and 247 bp, respectively) was carried out. ScfDNA integrity indexes (ALU115/ALU60 and ALU247/ALU60) were calculated as the ratio between the absolute concentration of the longer amplicons 115 bp and 247 bp and the total scfDNA amount (amplicon 60 bp).
RESULTS: The total scfDNA concentration (ALU60) was higher in OSCC than in healthy donors, but this trend was not statistically significant. The medians of scfDNA integrity indexes, ALU115/ALU60 and ALU247/ALU60, were significantly higher in OSCC, showing area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.8211 and 0.7018, respectively.
CONCLUSION: Our preliminary results suggest that scfDNA integrity indexes (ALU115/ALU60 and ALU247/ALU60) have potential as non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for OSCC.
PMID:35416334 | DOI:10.1111/jop.13299
