Saliva may be able to predict some cancers

• Saliva tests could be used to detect tumors such as breast cancer, researchers believe.
• A small study on 32 patients with head and neck cancers showed promising results using a test that checks for genetic signs of cancer in saliva.
• The University of California Los Angeles researchers now plan a much larger study they told the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
• UK cancer experts said there was a need for simple, non-invasive cancer tests.
• Dr David Wong and his team at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center decided instead to look at the genetic messenger for such proteins, called RNA.
• They recruited 32 patients with cancers of the mouth, tongue and throat and 32 healthy volunteers of the same age and sex.
• "With a larger study, we will move that accuracy closer to 100%," he said.
• His team is currently recruiting 200 patients with oral cancer to this end.
• "We now hope to demonstrate the utility of saliva for systemic diagnosis of other diseases such as breast cancer," he added.
• Rates of oral cancer are increasing in the UK, especially among women and young adults, and the risk is highest for people who smoke and drink alcohol.
• Dr Kat Arney of Cancer Research UK said: "Early detection of cancer can greatly increase a person's chances of survival.
• "The use of RNA to detect cancer is a potential advance in technology, particularly using a non-invasive saliva test.
• "The UCLA team have produced some promising early results, and it will be important to see if this test proves to be reliable in a larger number of patients."
• Dr Nick Coleman from the Medical Research Council's Cancer Cell Unit in Cambridge, said: "It is a good type of approach to take.