Recent trends of saliva omics biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer

Abstract Background Recent advances in surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have no significant effect on oral cancer survival rates due to late diagnosis, poor tumor response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as a lack of effective biomarkers for early diagnosis. Highlights Therefore, an investigative study aimed at identifying genomics, proteomics, metagenomics, and, metabolomics derived biomarkers for early diagnosis may improve the survival rate of oral cancer patients. Identification and application of saliva-based ‘‘omics’’ biomarkers may overcome painful invasive procedures currently being used for the diagnosis of oral cancer. One single biomarker may not be able to differentiate between oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and controls. Thus, multiple sensitive and specific biomarkers may be needed for screening high-risk patients and following them up for early signs of OSCC occurrence. Validation of these biomarkers in large patient cohorts is, however, required before they can be used in clinical practice. Conclusion In this review, we summarize the potential of omics derived salivary biomarkers as diagnostic and prognostic tools in oral cancer detection and the future clinical benefits associated with these markers.