Diagnostic accuracy of combinatorial mRNA biomarkers for non-invasive detection and therapy monitoring of oral and oropharyngeal SCC

This study presents a promising non-invasive biomarker panel for oral and oropharyngeal SCC detection. Further validation in larger cohorts is needed to confirm diagnostic value and clarify sex specificity. The approach is adaptable to other tumour types and sample materials, supporting molecular diagnostics. The workflow shows all project steps from sampling to marker localisation in FFPE tissue. In the discovery phase, RNA sequencing was used to find potential mRNA markers in swab samples. Via strict filtering, markers for RT-qPCR were selected and verified in a bigger cohort in the validation phase. Selected markers were then used to do combinatorial analysis to improve the specificity and sensitivity compared to that of the single markers. Finally, markers were verified and localised in primary oral and oropharyngeal SCC FFPE tissue. Created with BioRender.com.