Original Article

Exploiting salivary miR-31 as a clinical biomarker of oral squamous cell carcinoma

  1. Chung-Ji Liu DDS, MS1,2,3,†,*,
  2. Shu-Chun Lin PhD1,2,5,‡,*,
  3. Cheng-Chieh Yang DDS, PhD1,2,5,
  4. Hui-Wen Cheng MS2,4,
  5. Kuo-Wei Chang DDS, PhD1,2,5,*

Article first published online: 15 APR 2011

DOI: 10.1002/hed.21713

Issue

Head & Neck

Head & Neck

Volume 34, Issue 2, pages 219–224, February 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Liu, C.-J., Lin, S.-C., Yang, C.-C., Cheng, H.-W. and Chang, K.-W. (2012), Exploiting salivary miR-31 as a clinical biomarker of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Head Neck, 34: 219–224. doi: 10.1002/hed.21713

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang–Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

  2. 2

    MacKay Medicine, Nursing and Management College, Taipei, Taiwan

  3. 3

    Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

  4. 4

    Department of Medical Research, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

  5. 5

    Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

  1. †

    Dr. Liu and Dr. Lin contributed equally to this work.

*Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang–Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

  1. †

    Dr. Liu and Dr. Lin contributed equally to this work.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 7 JAN 2012
  2. Article first published online: 15 APR 2011
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 11 NOV 2010

Funded by

  • National Science Council, Taiwan. Grant Number: 96-2314-B-195-018-MY3 and 96-2628-B-010-033-MY3

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Keywords:

  • biomarker;
  • carcinoma;
  • miR-31;
  • oral;
  • saliva

Abstract

Background

Oral carcinoma is an important malignancy throughout the world. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenously expressed, non-coding RNAs that regulate post-transcriptional levels of targeted mRNAs. MiRNA-31(miR-31) is significantly upregulated in oral carcinoma tissues and plays oncogenic roles in oral carcinogenesis.

Methods

We analyzed the levels of miR-31 in saliva of patients with oral carcinoma (n = 45), oral verrucous leukoplakia (n = 10), and control healthy individuals (n = 24) by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Results

Salivary miR-31 was significantly increased in patients with oral carcinoma at all clinical stages, including very small tumors. However, our preliminary analysis showed no increase of salivary miR-31in patients with oral verrucous leukoplakia relative to controls. The miR-31 was more abundant in saliva than in plasma, suggesting salivary miR-31 was a more sensitive marker for oral malignancy. After excision of oral carcinoma, salivary miR-31 was remarkably reduced, indicating that most of the upregulated salivary miR-31 came from tumor tissues.

Conclusion

Our results point to a potential application of salivary miR-31 as a biomarker for early detection and postoperative follow-up of oral carcinoma. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2012

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