title: Prognostic role of salivary CD44sol levels in the follow-up of   laryngeal carcinomas.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to verify CD44sol levels in the saliva of patients during follow-up after surgery for laryngeal cancer, to compare them with those registered at the time of diagnosis (pre-intervention) in the same patients, and to assess the reliability of the test as a prognostic indicator.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study was performed on 21 patients having laryngeal cancer who underwent surgery at the Division of Otolaryngology, University of Catanzaro; twelve adults with head and neck benign disease were recruited to form a control group. For each patient, the clinical–anamnestic data were collected and entered into a database. The sampling of undiluted saliva was performed the day before surgery and during the follow-up, every 3 months. Salivary CD44sol levels were determined using the ELISA method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean salivary CD44sol levels in the patients group before surgery (pre-intervention) were significantly higher than those in the control group (70.75 ± 33.8 vs. 12.4 ± 8.7 ng/ml). At follow-up performed 3 months after surgery, 18 of 21 (85.71%) patients had a reduction in salivary CD44sol levels, with a mean value of 50.1 ng/ml; the difference between these and pre-intervention CD44sol levels was statistically significant (P < 0.04). Mean CD44sol levels of 31.1 ng/ml at 6 months post-intervention have been determined in 19 of 21 enrolled patients; none of the 19 patients have actual signs of recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data seem to show that the determination of salivary CD44sol levels can represent a promising prognostic test in laryngeal carcinomas.
authors.forename: Eugenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Allegra
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trapasso
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: La Boria
authors.forename: Teodoro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aragona
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pisani
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belfiore
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garozzo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000032:analysis*; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000601:surgery; D007825:Laryngectomy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D037981:Neck Dissection / Q000379:methods; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012907:Smoking
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C497483:CD44 protein, human; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors