Evaluation of the role of YKL-40 and interleukin-8 (IL-8) as biomarkers for malignant transformation in oral lichen planus

Abstract

Objective: This investigation was conducted to measure the levels of serum and salivary YKL- 40 and IL-8 in patients suffering from OLP and OSCC to assess their potential role as biomarkers of oral cancer. Methods: Forty five subjects with age ranging from 30 to 70 years were distributed into 3 groups; 15 patients having atrophic and/or erosive OLP, 15 patients suffering from OSCC and 15 systemically healthy control individuals.YKL-40 and IL-8 were identified in serum and saliva samples utilizing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results: Serum YKL-40 and salivary levels of YKL-40 and IL-8 in patients with OSCC and OLP were significantly higher than the healthy control group. In order to differentiate patients having OLP from those suffering from OSCC, our study utilized the analysis of the receiver operating curve (ROC) which showed an AUC of 0.878, 0.789, 0.789 and 0.7 for serum YKL-40, salivary YKL-40, serum IL-8, and salivary IL-8, respectively. Serum YKL-40 had the highest diagnostic accuracy revealing 93 % sensitivity and 73 % specificity. That has been followed by salivary YKL-40 and serum IL-8, both revealing a good diagnostic accuracy with 93%, 80 % sensitivity, and 60%, 73.3 % specificity respectively. Salivary IL- 8 as well yielded a good diagnostic accuracy and revealed degrees of sensitivity (80%) and specificity (63%). Cut off values of the biomarkers under investigation has been selected according to the distribution of sensitivities and specificities Conclusion: YKL-40 and IL-8 might be counted as biomarkers for identifying cancerous changes of OLP and the initial stage of OSCC.