title: Serum big endothelin-1 as a biomarker in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients: an analytical study.
abstract: Detection of abnormally elevated levels of molecules in patients with oral cancer may be useful in early diagnosis. These markers can be included in current Histopathology grading and in TNM staging systems of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) to make it more efficient. Several pro-angiogenic molecules have been assessed for the same reason. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a vasoactive peptide associated with the development and spread of many solid tumors, including Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC), but its utility in OSCC has not been confirmed.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to evaluate the role of the serum big ET-1 as a biomarker of OSCC, by correlating it with the clinical staging and the histopathological grading.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum levels of big ET-1 measured by the sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) in 40 OSCC cases were compared with the levels from the control group using independent t-test. Clinical stages and histopathological grades of OSCC cases were compared in relation to their mean levels of serum big ET-1, one using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test and the other the independent t-test, respectively. The significance of the mean difference between the groups was evaluated by Tukey's multiple comparison test. All statistical analyses were performed on GraphPad statistical software version 5.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By comparing the mean of the big ET-1 concentrations of cases and controls, the independent t-test revealed significant higher big ET-1 concentration of OSCC cases when compared to controls (p<0.0001). Tukey's multiple comparison test also revealed statistically significant difference among all OSCC stages in relation to the mean levels of serum big ET-1. However, the mean of the big ET-1 concentrations of cases of grade I and of grade II did not differ statistically (p=0.729).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum big ET-1 levels may be useful as a diagnostic tool in OSCC and as an adjunct to OSCC staging. However, its use as a prognostic marker warrants larger prospective studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Aurangabad, India.
authors.forename: Pritam Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Mankapure
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Aurangabad, India.
authors.forename: Suresh Ramchandra
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Barpande
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Aurangabad, India.
authors.forename: Jyoti Dilip
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bhavthankar
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Government Dental College and Hospital, Aurangabad, India.
authors.forename: Manda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mandale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012016:Reference Values; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019332:Endothelin-1