Ferritin Levels in Serum and Saliva of Oral Cancer and Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders

Abstract

Objective: Oral cancer remains a substantial health burden worldwide despite creditable developments in its prevention, detection, and treatment. The early detection of oral cancer offers high chances of survival and improves response to therapy making overall healthcare affordable. The aim and objective of this study were to compare and correlate serum and saliva ferritin levels in healthy subjects, oral potentially malignant disorders, and subjects with oral cancer and to assess the role of saliva as a valuable diagnostic tool. Methods: Totally 30 participants each in 3 groups comprising healthy subjects, oral potentially malignant disorders, and oral cancer constituted the sample size. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method was employed for serum and saliva ferritin levels. Results: The respective mean serum ferritin and saliva ferritin levels were increased significantly in subjects with oral cancer (296.62 ± 82.54 ng/mL and 80.44 ± 12.94 ng/mL, respectively) and decreased significantly in oral potentially malignant disorders (69.83 ± 17.39 ng/mL and 17.49 ± 5.40 ng/mL, respectively) with a highly significant P