PP010: Analysis of SPLUNC1 expression in saliva of patients under chemotherapy and radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

Abstract

Purpose SPLUNC1 is a protein that participates in the host innate immunity, mainly expressed in the respiratory tract epithelium, secretions, salivary glands and saliva. Its expression was also described in infections, inflammatory disorders, and malignancies. Patients who underwent chemotherapy (CT) or radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck tumors may suffer important oral side effects, such as mucositis, candidosis, taste alterations and hypossalivation, which can interfere with SPLUNC1 expression. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the saliva of patients who underwent CT and/or RT and describe the association of SPLUNC1 expression and collateral effects of the therapy. Material and methods A prospective randomized study was performed with two groups, chemotherapy patients ( n = 10) and head and neck radiotherapy patients ( n = 10). Unstimulated saliva for 5 min was collected before, during, and after the treatment. Clinical data and collateral effects were obtained from the patients’ charts. SPLUNC1 expression was analyzed by western blotting, and densitometry was performed. The results were statistically analyzed (ANOVA, Tukey’s, p Results Twenty patients were included in this study, (mean age of 51 years). It was observed that 60% of the patients who received RT presented hypossalivation after treatment ( p = 0.001). Higher level of SPLUNC1 occurred in RT patients who had mucositis and candidosis ( p = 0.037), in all the three collected samples. On the other hand, SPLUNC1 proteins decreased in patients submitted to chemotherapy without correlation with any side effect. Conclusions The present study describes recent findings about expression of SPLUNC1 in cancer patients who underwent chemotherapy and head and neck radiotherapy before and after the treatment. Despite the small sample, this study suggests that changes in the SPLUNC1 expression could be associated with oral side effects during radiotherapy and chemotherapy.