Breast Cancer Current Topics in Breast Cancer

Saliva Test May Help Identify Breast Cancer

(iVillage Total Health) - Imagine going in for your six-month dental cleaning or checkup and the dentist collecting a sample of the saliva that is suctioned out of your mouth. Testing on that saliva then reveals high levels of a protein commonly found in breast cancer patients.

Are saliva tests to diagnose breast cancer possible? Researchers have developed the technology to allow dentists to test saliva for signs of epidermal growth factor (EGF), a protein that stimulates tumor cells in breast cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United States this year and more than 40,000 women are expected to die from the disease.

"Since a patient visits the dentists more frequently than their physician, it makes sense that this diagnostic tool could be very effective in the hands of the general dentist," Dr. Paula Jones, vice president of the Academy of General Dentistry, said in a press release. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved saliva testing for breast cancer, but the academy's peer-reviewed journal, General Dentistry, features an article in the March/April issue exploring the pros and cons of the technique.

Authors Sebastian Z. Paige and Dr. Charles F. Streckfus noted that saliva is easily obtainable during patients' routine dental office visits and saliva testing is noninvasive, painless and does not involve needles. In addition, dentists would not need any special training or equipment to conduct the tests and patients who might not otherwise have access to preventive care may easily obtain saliva testing. Unlike blood used in serum testing, saliva is a clear, colorless liquid that is not subject to color changes or other factors that may affect test results.

Monitoring EGF protein levels in the saliva can help physicians determine tumor response to cancer treatment methods such as chemotherapy, the authors wrote. They added: "Salivary protein levels have real potential to assist in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care of breast cancer."

But saliva testing would not replace traditional breast cancer screening methods, such as mammograms, which are currently the most effective way to screen for early breast cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends that women age 40 and older have a mammogram every year, while the National Cancer Institute recommends mammograms every one to two years for this age group.

Added the AGD's Jones: "It would not eliminate the need for regular mammogram screening or blood analysis, it would just be a first line of defense for women. If the salivary screening did show a positive result, a mammogram or other imaging test would be necessary to determine in which breast the cancer was located."

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