Abstract
Abstract Because of an increasing incidence of malignant tumours of the head and neck there is an unmet medical need for early diagnosis of the primary disease or precancerous lesions, and timely detection of recurrence by simple non-invasive tests. The analysis of biomarkers in body fluids may be appropriate for this goal. In this review, we compare the data on utilization of neopterin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) measurements in saliva and plasma/serum of patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, indicating the suitability of using saliva as a diagnostic matrix in head and neck cancers on behalf of close anatomical proximity and a potential to study the tumour microenvironment. Salivary neopterin and IL-6 are potential biomarkers of head and neck cancer suitable not only for early diagnosis, but also for monitoring of treatment results and detection of the disease recurrence.
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