International Archives of Medicine

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Open Access Original research

Salivary VEGF: a non-invasive angiogenic and lymphangiogenic proxy in head and neck cancer prognostication

Tahwinder Upile3,1,2*, Waseem Jerjes3,2, Panagiotis Kafas4, Shash Hirani1, Sandeep U Singh1,2, Marcel Guyer1, Melissa Bentley1, Holger Sudhoff5 and Colin Hopper3,2

Author Affiliations

1 The Professorial Unit, Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London, UK

2 Head & Neck Cancer Centre, University College London Hospital, London, UK

3 Department of Surgery, University College London Medical School, London, UK

4 Department of Oral Surgery and Radiology, School of Dentistry, Aristotle University, Thessalonica, Greece

5 Department of Otolaryngology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany

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International Archives of Medicine 2009, 2:12 doi:10.1186/1755-7682-2-12

Published: 24 April 2009

Abstract

Background

Saliva is an enriched milieu containing biologically active proteins, including growth factors and cytokines. The endothelial growth factor family of proteins is important for the development of blood and lymphatic vessels in a healthy individual but also can aide tumour growth.

The aim of this study is to develop an independent normative database of values of salivary VEGF in a healthy population and to test the hypothesis that values would be raised in the saliva of patients with oral cancer.

Methods

Twenty-one participants (12 males and 9 females) of whom 14 were healthy and 7 had oral squamous cell carcinoma took part in this study.

An immunoassay was employed to quantify a range of specific vascular endothelial and lymphatic endothelial growth factors in various body fluid compartments (blood, saliva). This was correlated to tumour factors and patient outcomes.

Results

The mean salivary levels and serum VEGF A165 levels were significantly correlated in the sample as a whole. Additionally, both saliva and serum VEGF A165 levels were significantly correlated with age. There were significant differences in the salivary and serum levels of the control group and the cancer group.

Conclusion

We present independent normative data on the levels of endothelial growth factor in the saliva of a healthy control population. We also suggest the use of simple non-invasive tests in helping to predict head and neck tumour biology and outcomes.