Pancreatic Cancer Biomarkers Found in Saliva

The Journal of the American Dental Association this month reports a study at UCLA that identified salivary biomarkers for pancreatic cancer.  Dr. David Wong, previously featured in this blog, in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, conducted a study on mice which showed that pancreatic tumor derived molecules are transported from the source of the tumor into saliva as biomarkers.  The importance of the study is that systemic disease can be detected in saliva, which represents a significantly less invasive diagnostic test than previous methods.

Source:  JADA, Jan 1, 2014, vol. 145, p. 20


Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309

Your Saliva Is A Fingerprint

New research shows that makeup of the bacteria found below the gumline in people's mouths is as powerful as a fingerprint in identifying ethnicity.  A Ohio State University study of 400 different species of bacteria, in the mouths of patients of different ethnic affiliations (non-Hispanic blacks, whites, Chinese and Latinos) found that only 2% of the species were found in all populations.  Thus, the different combination of species, in different concentrations, represented a "signature" of bacteria for each ethnic group.

Oral Bacteria

While it is well understood that that food and oral hygiene habits determine what bacteria survive in patient's mouths, and is affected by brushing and flossing, it turns out that genetics plays a similar role.  The most important part of the findings is that ethnicity-specific oral bacteria combinations in a person's saliva may predispose them to future disease.

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309

Modern Salivary Testing

Wouldn't you rather give a sample of saliva instead of having blood drawn?  The evolution of salivary diagnostics has reached a new level toward the goal of using saliva as a powerful fluid for early detection and the first line of diagnosis for life threatening diseases such a cancer, metabolic disorders, infections and inflammatory diseases.  Samples of saliva are easy to obtain and can contain disease specific biomarkers in medical diseases.  Recently, the salivaomics knowledge base (SKB), a web based data management system has been created (www.skb.ucla.edu).  Overall, the SKB will allow a systems approach to the utilization of salivary diagnostic technology for personalized medical applications.  

Further information is available at dentalcetoday.com, June 2012. 

Robert G. Tupac, DDS, FACP, Inc., Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (661) 325-1275 | www.drtupac.com 5060 California Ave., #170, Bakersfield, CA 93309