Saliva Tests Making Their Way to Routine Care

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Early detection of oral cancer via saliva testing could potentially help boost survival rates among the more than 31,000 Americans that the American Cancer Society estimates are currently diagnosed with some form of oral cancer each year. Approximately 7,000 men and women die from the disease annually.

An even larger patient pool now combats Sjogren's syndrome, a disorder in which white blood cells attack moisture-producing glands, causing dry eyes and dry mouth. The syndrome affects upwards of 4 million Americans.

The potential of the work now under way by Wong and his team is supported by experts at the American Association for Dental Research. They believe that saliva, like blood and urine, can be viewed as a repository of important information on illness and exposure to environmental substances.

Already, new tests are being developed that use saliva to detect measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis (A, B and C), breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and cystic fibrosis.

In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a saliva-based test for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Future diagnostic tests may also ultimately rely on saliva for indications of unhealthful exposure to lead, as well as to monitor abuse of drugs or alcohol.

Wong said that the objective is to place easy-to-use saliva-screening technologies in the hands of physicians, dentists and nurses as quickly as possible.

"This is truly an exciting and revolutionary goal," he said, adding that current efforts aim "to establish the scientific credibility and clinical utilities of saliva."

Dr. Robert Genco is a distinguished professor of oral biology and microbiology in the Schools of Dentistry and Medicine at the State University of New York in Buffalo. He agreed that saliva-based diagnostics show real promise.

"The field is very exciting, and the quest for such diagnostics is important," he said. "Because if you can take a simple sample like saliva and then do a test to diagnose disease -- particularly for diseases that don't show themselves very well -- you can perhaps have some information before the situation gets too serious."

"The key issue is what is the predictive value or reliability of such a test in an individual. And that's a very high barrier to overcome," he cautioned. "But I think the cutting-edge approach these researchers are using is sensible and holds a great deal of promise."

More information

For more on saliva diagnostics, visit the American Association for Dental Research.