Breast cancer & ovarian cancer are two worst forms of cancers that occurs in women. These two forms of cancer are responsible for approximately one third of all cancers that occur in women.
The scientist at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have developed a method that can detect breast cancer & ovarian cancer from saliva. This can be done by classifying certain proteins that are present in the saliva which act as potential biomarkers, indicating breast & ovarian cancer.
The scientists collected samples from healthy individuals & individuals suffering from stage IV breast and ovarian cancer patients who had undergone at least 3 cycles of chemotherapy.
The proteins in the saliva were studied with the help of mass spectrometry.
According to Kiran Ambatipudi, Professor at Biotechnology Department, IIT Roorkee who led the research team said, “Our attempt was to utilize saliva as a non-invasive sample source to identify specific protein biomarkers, which indicate breast and ovarian cancer metastasis. In patients who have undergone three cycles of chemotherapy, the salivary proteins can also act as an indicator of the patient’s response to chemotherapy.”
The research was published in the journal, ‘FASEB Bioadvances’, in which the use of Whole Saliva as a body fluid for early detection of Breast and Ovarian cancers is mentioned in details.