Patients with advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma have high levels of soluble E-cadherin in the saliva

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the potential clinical value of the concentration of soluble salivary E-cadherin (sE-cadherin) compared with the clinical value of the resence of membranous E-cadherin (mE-cadherin) in oral squamous cell carcinoma tumor tissues. Material and Methods: Data regarding patient demographics, clinical stage, saliva and tumor tissue samples were collected. The saliva was analyzed for sE-cadherin protein levels and was compared to the mE-cadherin immunohistochemical expression levels in tumor tissues, which were assessed via the HercepTest® method. Patients without cancer were included in the study as a control group for comparisons of the sE-ca…