SALIVARY BIOMARKERS IN DIAGNOSIS AND MONITORING OF ORAL AND SYSTEMIC PATHOLOGIES

Objective: The aim of this study was to verify, through a literature review, the use of saliva as a diagnostic method for oral and systemic diseases. Study Design: Articles published in English were selected from PubMed database with the descriptors saliva, biomarkers, and diagnosis. Articles in the English language from the last 5 years have been included with 245 articles obtained. The study contained 17 of these. Results: Salivary diagnosis has been useful for a variety of diseases, including (1) bacterial diseases such as dental caries, by the detection of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus spp; (2) autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren syndrome, indicated not only by the reduction of salivary flow, but also by the increase in the concentration of sodium, chlorine, immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgG, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2); (3) viral diseases as in the auxiliary diagnosis of HIV 1 and 2 by IgG expression; and (4) in the early diagnosis of malignant diseases such as squamous cell carcinoma and breast cancer by the detection of antibodies against p53 protein and the presence of tumor markers such as c-erbB-2. Conclusion: Salivary diagnosis is a simple, noninvasive, and very promising method for the diagnosis and monitoring of innumerable pathologies.