RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Salivary CCL20 Level as a Biomarker for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma JF Cancer Genomics - Proteomics JO Cancer Genomics Proteomics FD International Institute of Anticancer Research SP 103 OP 112 DO 10.21873/cgp.20245 VO 18 IS 2 A1 UEDA, SEI A1 GOTO, MITSUO A1 HASHIMOTO, KENGO A1 HASEGAWA, SHOGO A1 IMAZAWA, MASAHIKO A1 TAKAHASHI, MARICO A1 OH-IWA, ICHIRO A1 SHIMOZATO, KAZUO A1 NAGAO, TORU A1 NOMOTO, SHUJI YR 2021 UL http://cgp.iiarjournals.org/content/18/2/103.abstract AB Background/Aim: This study investigated the utility of C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) expression in saliva as a biomarker for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and also examined the associated microbiome. Materials and Methods: The study group included patients with OSCC or oral potentially malignant disorder (OPMD), and healthy volunteers (HVs). microarray and qRT-PCR were used to compare salivary CCL20 expression levels among groups. Data on CCL20 levels in oral cancer tissues and normal tissues were retrieved from a public database and examined. Furthermore, next-generation sequencing was used to investigate the salivary microbiome. Results: A significant increase in the expression level of CCL20 was observed in both OSCC tissues and saliva from patients with oral cancer. Fusobacterium was identified as the predominant bacteria in OSCC and correlated with CCL20 expression level. OSCC screening based on salivary CCL20 expression enabled successful differentiation between patients with OSCC and HVs. Conclusion: CCL20 expression may be a useful biomarker for OSCC.