Wen-Shou Tan1,#, Hsuan Kuo2,#, Chang-Ge Jiang1, Mei-Han Lu1, Yi-He Lu1, Yung-Li Wang1, Ching-Shuen Wang1, Thi Thuy Tien Vo3, I-Ta Lee1,*
Oncology Research, Vol.34, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/or.2025.070871
- 30 December 2025
Abstract This narrative review examines recent advances in salivary biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a major subtype of oral cancer with persistently low five-year survival rates due to delayed diagnosis. Saliva has emerged as a noninvasive diagnostic medium capable of reflecting both local tumor activity and systemic physiological changes. Various salivary biomarkers, including microRNAs, cytokines, proteins, metabolites, and exosomes, have been linked to oncogenic signaling pathways involved in tumor progression, immune modulation, and therapeutic resistance. Advances in quantitative polymerase chain reaction, mass spectrometry, and next-generation sequencing have enabled comprehensive biomarker profiling, while point-of-care detection More >