Metabolic Profiling of Serum & Saliva in OSCC: A Combined Biofluid Approach for Enhanced Biomarker Discovery using 1H NMR.

Motivation: Early detection of oral cancer remains challenging. There's a critical need for accessible, non-invasive biomarkers that can improve early diagnosis, helping to enhance survival rates and treatment outcomes for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) patients. Goal(s): To identify potential diagnostic biomarkers for OSCC by profiling metabolic changes in serum and saliva. Approach: Using 1H NMR metabolomics, saliva and serum were analyzed to identify pathway and metabolic alteration in OSCC patients compared to controls. Results: Elevated methanol and disrupted phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan pathways were observed in both biofluids, indicating potential OSCC biomarkers. The combined biofluid approach shows promise for non-invasive early OSCC detection. Impact: This study highlights the potential of using combined serum and saliva metabolomic profiling as a non-invasive approach to identify reliable biomarkers for early OSCC detection, offering a promising tool for improved diagnostic accuracy and timely intervention.