Saliva: A potential diagnostic tool for oral cancer and oral diseases - A detailed review

In this new era of genomic medicine, saliva chemistry plays a key role in the early detection, monitoring, and progression of oral and systemic diseases. The use of saliva to identify diseased individuals and track disease progression has attracted the attention of many researchers. It also offers a cost-effective approach to screen large populations. The main reason for using saliva as a diagnostic tool is that it contains serum components. The use of saliva as a diagnostic tool has recently become an uncontroversial part of clinical dentistry, primarily due to its non-invasive nature and the fact that it can be collected by people with minimal equipment and moderate training. This article provides a clear overview of the various diagnostic uses of saliva to determine the severity and progression of oral cancer and other oral diseases. •Saliva is a clinically informative, biological fluid (biofluid) that is useful for prognosis, laboratory or clinical diagnosis, monitoring and management of patients with both oral and systemic diseases.•Changes in quantity and composition of saliva can be monitored for caries initiation and progression.•The presence of matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8, an enzyme responsible for tissue destruction) in GCF has been positively associated with periodontitis progression.•Elevated levels of IgG have also been detected in OSCC-affected patients versus controls, which ascertains the pivotal role of angiogenesis in oral carcinogenesis. The salivary levels of Ki-67 and Cyclin D1 were also altered in these patients.•Levels of adiponectin were higher in OLP patients.