Title
Salivary microRNA expression profiling for early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors
Mansi Panchal1,*, Arunima Aishwarya2, Yagnik Prafulchandra Tank3, Bansari Yagnik Tank4, Hiren Hansraj Patadiya5, B.T Kavya6 & Mrunal Dave7
Affiliation
1Department of Health and Human Services, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut; 2Department of Pathology, Kalinga Institute of Medical Science, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India; 3Department of Pathology, Dr. N. D. Desai faculty of Medical Science And Research, Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, Gujarat, India; 4Department of Microbiology, Dr. N. D. Desai Faculty of Medical Science And Research, Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad, Gujarat, India; 5Department is General Dentistry, My Dental Southbridge, 305 Main st, Southbridge, Massachusetts, USA; 6Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Government Dental College and Research Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka, India; 7Department is General Dentistry, Bethlehem Smile Design, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA; *Corresponding author
Mansi Panchal - E-mail: panchalm1@southernct.edu
Arunima Aishwarya - E-mail: arunima.aishwarya1@kims.ac.in
Yagnik Prafulchandra Tank - E-mail: yagniktank.medical@ddu.ac.in
Bansari Yagnik Tank - E-mail: bansaritank.medical@ddu.ac.in
Hiren Hansraj Patadiya - E-mail: drhirendmd@gmail.com
B.T Kavya - E-mail: drkavya.gdc@gmail.com
Mrunal Dave - E-mail: mrunal303@gmail.com
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received August 1, 2026; Revised August 31, 2026; Accepted August 31, 2026, Published August 31, 2026
Abstract
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is often diagnosed at advanced stages, underscoring the need for reliable non-invasive biomarkers for early detection. Therefore, it is of interest to analyze the salivary expression of six microRNAs (miR-21, miR-31, miR 125a, miR-184, miR-200a and miR-375) in 40 OSCC patients, 40 with oral potentially malignant disorders and 40 healthy controls. MiR-21 and miR-31 were significantly upregulated, while miR-125a and miR-200a were down regulated in OSCC cases. The combined miR-21 and miR-200a profile achieved high diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.942). Thus, salivary microRNA signatures, especially miR-21 + miR-200a, hold strong promise for non-invasive early detection of OSCC.
Keywords
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), microRNA, saliva, biomarkers, early detection, non-invasive diagnosis
Citation
Panchal et al. Bioinformation 22(8): 4928-4932 (2026)
Edited by
Rashmi Laddha
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
