Background: Over the past decade, saliva-based liquid biopsies have emerged as promising tools for the early diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer, particularly in high-risk populations. However, challenges persist because of low concentrations and variable modifications of biomarkers linked to tumor development when compared to normal salivary components. Methods: This study explores the application of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)-based thermal liquid biopsy (TLB) for analyzing saliva and blood plasma samples from head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Results: Our research identified an effective saliva processing method via high-speed centrifugation and ultrafiltration, resulting in reliable TLB data. Notably, we recorded unique TLB profiles for saliva from 48 HNC patients and 21 controls, revealing distinct differences in thermal transition features that corresponded to salivary protein denaturation. These results indicated the potential of saliva TLB profiles in differentiating healthy individuals from HNC patients and identifying tumor characteristics. In contrast, TLB profiles for blood plasma samples exhibited smaller differences between HNC patients and had less utility for differentiation within HNC. Conclusions: Our findings support the feasibility of saliva-based TLB for HNC diagnostics, with further refinement in sample collection and the incorporation of additional patient variables anticipated to enhance accuracy, ultimately advancing non-invasive diagnostic strategies for HNC detection and monitoring.
背景：过去十年间，基于唾液的液体活检已成为癌症早期诊断、预后评估及监测的重要工具，尤其在高危人群中展现出巨大潜力。然而，由于肿瘤相关生物标志物浓度较低且存在修饰变异，其检测仍面临挑战。方法：本研究探索了基于差示扫描量热法的热液体活检技术，用于分析头颈癌患者的唾液与血浆样本。结果：我们通过高速离心与超滤技术建立了有效的唾液处理方法，获得了可靠的热液体活检数据。研究发现，48例头颈癌患者与21例对照者的唾液样本呈现出独特的热转变特征谱，其差异与唾液蛋白变性过程密切相关。这些特征谱在区分健康个体与头颈癌患者、识别肿瘤特性方面显示出应用潜力。相比之下，血浆样本的热液体活检特征谱在头颈癌患者间的差异较小，区分效能有限。结论：本研究证实了基于唾液的热液体活检技术用于头颈癌诊断的可行性。通过优化样本采集流程并整合更多临床变量，有望进一步提升检测准确性，从而推动头颈癌无创诊断与监测策略的发展。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家