Background: Levels of sialic acid & have been shown to increase in serum/saliva of patients with various malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of sialic acid in patients with oral premalignancy and evaluate their value in adjuvant diagnosis in these patients.
Patients & Method: 30 patients with oral premalignancy and 30 healthy individuals were included in this study. Saliva sample was collected from all the subjects. Supernatant liquid was obtained and salivary sialic acid (SSA) levels examined.
Results: The salivary sialic acid concentration was significantly higher in oral precancer patients than in healthy controls (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the determination of salivary sialic acid level is an easy, reproducible method which can be used for early detection of oral precancer.
