A Review of Salivary Biomarkers in Breast Cancer

Objectives: This study aimed to review the literature related to salivary biomarkers used to diagnose breast cancer or predict responses to therapy and its prognosis. Methods: Studies were eligible for inclusion if they had compared salivary diagnostics for breast cancer with the gold standard or other biomarkers. Six databases (PubMed, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and Ovid) and Google Scholar search engine searched for pertinent literature using specific search terms: breast cancer, diagnosis, prognosis saliva, and salivary biomarker. Of the 513 studies screened, 110 were selected for inclusion in this review. Different salivary biomarkers were classified and discussed. Results: Our analysis indicated that the sensitivity and specificity of salivary biomarkers, such as cerb- B2 and sialic acid in BC detection are comparable with serum values. Salivary levels of autoantibodies against MUC1, CA 15-3, and adiponectin had a better correlation with breast cancer than serum levels. Assessment of biomarkers, such as HER-2, helps develop a treatment plan and evaluates response to treatment. Conclusion: Our study confirms that salivary biomarkers are becoming increasingly important in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment planning, as well as in predicting therapeutic response and prognosis. Salivary biomarkers such as c-erb-B2 in association with traditional criteria offer the promise of use as a noninvasive screening method for breast cancer. Additional studies are warranted to determine the most sensitive and specific salivary biomarkers for this purpose.