EVALUATION OF SALIVA AS LIQUID BIOPSY FOR EARLY DETECTION OF ORAL CANCER IN PATIENTS WITH ORAL-SUBMUCOUS FIBROSIS (OSMF)

Oral cancer is the top cancer in Pakistan, accounting for 27%, and it has a high mortality rate due to late-stage diagnosis. It primarily affects the lips, tongue, cheeks, and floor of the mouth. Major risk factor for oral cancer development is pan supari chhaliya chewing. Patients often develop a pre-malignant condition, oral submucous fibrosis, resulting in limited mouth opening. Thus, patients are diagnosed at an advanced level and poor survival. Therefore, saliva appears a potential mode of evaluation for early detection. This project aims to evaluate salivary cells, genes and biochemistry of the saliva among health volunteers and compare it with that of the patients with oral submucous fibrosis and oral cancer.