The significance of salivary interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha in patients with oral leukoplakia

It is well known that cytokines play an important role in oral diseases. Furthermore, increased levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) have been reported in patients with cancer and premalignant lesions such as oral lichen planus and oral submucous fibrosis. The aim of this study was to assess salivary IL-6 and TNF-α levels in 30 patients with histopathologically confirmed leukoplakia (age range 24–78, mean 52.3 years) in comparison to 34 controls (age range 27–79, mean 52 years). Salivary IL-6 and TNF-α were determined by enzyme linked immunoadsorbent assay. Statistical analysis was performed by use of Mann–Whitney test for independent samples and values lower than 0.05 were considered as significant ( p < 0.05). Significantly higher levels of salivary IL-6 and TNF-α in patients with oral leukoplakia when compared to healthy controls were found. The levels of salivary IL-6 and TNF-α did not correlate with the size of leukoplakia (lesions) nor with its localization regarding high and low risk sites for malignant transformation. Levels of salivary IL-6 and TNF-α were not influenced by smoking habits. We can conclude that increased salivary IL-6 and TNF-α might play a certain role in oral leukoplakia.