Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Oral and maxillofacial medicine, Faculty of dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
2
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
3
private practitioner, Tabriz, Iran
4
Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
5
Department of Anesthesiology and intensive care medicine, Faculty of medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
6
Dentist, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
7
Department of Oral and maxillofacial medicine, Faculty of dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
8
Department of Community Oral Health, Faculty of dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Background : Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer in males and the fifteenth in females. Folate is essential for maintaining normal function of nucleotide synthesis and DNA methylation. Disruption of folate metabolism can lead to abnormal cell activity and proliferation. The aim of this study was to compare the serum and salivary levels of folate in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and healthy subjects.
Methods: In this cross-sectioned study, 30 patients with oral SCC referred to ENT department and 30 healthy individuals were studied. Two cc saliva and 5cc venous blood were taken from participants and were evaluated with Human Folate ELISIA Kit. Independent T test and Pearson correlation coefficient was used and statistical analysis was done using SPSS 17. The result was considered to be significant if the P-value was less than 0.05.
Results: Serum folate levels in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (8.18 ± 4.37 ng/mL) were significantly lower than healthy subjects (10.61±5.79 ng/mL) (P=0.005). It was also found that folate levels in saliva were significantly lower in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (1.13 ± 1.32 ng/mL) than healthy subjects (2.84 ± 4.40 ng mL) (p= 0.029).
Conclusion: Since the levels of serum and salivary folate in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma were significantly lower than that of healthy individuals, low folate levels are likely to be associated with oral SCC.
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