title: Serum phosphodiesterase levels in oral cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common malignancies recognized nowadays. Its early detection is the better alternative to provide a good quality of life for the patients. During the last years, several studies have identified potential biomarkers of OSCC progression and prognosis. The phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are responsible for the hydrolysis of the second messengers with a fundamental role in the transduction of the intracellular signals. Variations in PDE activity have been correlated to different pathological mechanisms, such as cellular differentiation, apoptosis, and tumor invasivity. PDEs are also known to play a role in tumor growth by influencing angiogenesis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate and compare serum PDE levels in healthy controls and biopsy-proven oral cancer patients before definitive therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Institutional Ethics Committee gave us the permission to conduct this study. After obtaining consent from biopsy-proven oral cancer patients (n = 39) (before onset of any definitive treatment) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 20), 2 ml of blood was collected in plain vacutainers. After clot formation, samples were centrifuged and serum was collected for estimation of PDE.
  
  
  METHODS
  Kruskal-Wallis test; Mann-Whitney Test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pretreatment PDE levels were significantly elevated in oral cancer patients (P<0.0001) as compared with the controls and also there was a significant increase in PDE levels (P<0.001) with advancing stage in oral cancer patients. This may implicate a role for serum PDE in pathophysiology of oral cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal, India.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prabhu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Naik
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Vadiraja
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kamath
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / Q000097:blood*; D011379:Prognosis; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases