A Rapid Non-Invasive Test for Oral Squamous Cell Cancer

Oral squamous cell cancers usually present as persistent sores or discolored areas on the lips, gums, tongue, or inner cheeks, often caused by HPV virus. Early diagnosis is essential, and if a lesion looks suspicious, a biopsy is performed by surgically removing the affected tissue. While most biopsies are benign, over time, monitoring potential cancerous changes often requires multiple biopsies. Due to the pain and intrusiveness, some patients do not pursue follow-up. This test could transform oral cancer detection and avoid 90% of invasive biopsies.

Fortunately, a painless rapid diagnostic technique using a non-invasive brush biopsy was evaluated in a recent study in Biomarker Research Journal. It tested and analyzed suspicious lesions, analyzing mRNA from four specific genes associated with oral cancer versus noncancerous lesions.

Using the Malignancy Index Diagnostic System (qMIDS) test, a diagnostic case-controlled study was performed on 545 patients from 1,000 samples. It used a brush biopsy on abnormal areas and another from a control area in an unaffected area of the mouth. It was able to distinguish oral squamous cell carcinoma with 95% overall accuracy from inflammatory or premalignant changes and had a 95.7% sensitivity and 95.1% specificity.

This test can offer an accurate, rapid non-invasive test to detect oral squamous cell carcinoma and allows follow-up for malignancy, if needed, with a painless methodology.