Abstract
Saliva is a fascinating biological fluid which has all the features of a perfect diagnostic tool. In fact, its collection is rapid, simple, and noninvasive. Thanks to several transport mechanisms and its intimate contact with crevicular fluid, saliva contains hundreds of proteins deriving from plasma. Advances in analytical techniques have opened a new era—called “salivaomics”—that investigates the salivary proteome, transcriptome, microRNAs, metabolome, and microbiome. In recent years, researchers have tried to find salivary biomarkers for oral and systemic diseases with various protocols and technologies. The review aspires to provide an overall perspective of salivary biomarkers concerning oral diseases such as lichen planus, oral cancer, blistering diseases, and psoriasis. Saliva has proved to be a promising substrate for the early detection of oral diseases and the evaluation of therapeutic response. However, the wide variation in sampling, processing, and measuring of salivary elements still represents a limit for the application in clinical practice.
Highlights
Saliva is a biological fluid secreted by major and minor salivary glands
It is often necessary to perform a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of bullous diseases [47], Sjögren’s syndrome [48], and for all lesions suspected for malignancy [49]
We have summarized the latest findings on the use of saliva as a diagnostic tool in oral inflammatory diseases
Summary
Saliva is a biological fluid secreted by major and minor salivary glands. Minor salivary glands are widely disseminated throughout the entire oral cavity. Enormous progress has been made in early diagnosis and screening for many diseases, especially for neoplastic conditions. Some of these methods are invasive or expensive, and for certain conditions, accurate tests are still not available. This is the case for oral cancer, the sixth most common cancer worldwide, frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage with a 5 year survival rate of 50% [8]. The detection of salivary biomarkers and their use in clinical practice in the near future is one of the most ambitious aims of contemporary researchers
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