Correlation of serum levo-fucose levels as a biomarker with tumor node metastasis staging in oral cancer patients.
BACKGROUND
oral cancer is a result of disordered cellular behavior initiated by various stimuli which is characterized by the alteration of serum glycoproteins consisting of different monosaccharides. One of these is levo-fucose (L-fucose), a methyl pentose. Elevated levels of protein-bound fucose have been reported in various malignancies.


OBJECTIVE
The present study attempted to correlate levels of serum L-fucose as a biomarker with the various tumor node metastasis (TNM) stages of oral cancer.


METHODS
The study was carried out on 90 subjects consisting of 30 healthy controls and 60 histopathologically proven oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cases. The serum fucose level estimation was done based on the method adopted by Winzler. Statistical analysis included independent sample'st-test, one-way ANOVA test, Karl-Pearson correlation test, and Tukey's HSDpost hoctest to evaluate the significance and variability of values between groups.


RESULTS
Significant elevation in serum fucose levels was noticed among OSCC patients when compared with the controls and a progressive ascent of L-fucose levels were noted as the stage of severity increased. Serum fucose levels were independent of histopathological grading, age, and sex.


CONCLUSIONS
Serum L-fucose levels were increased in OSCC patients, and a positive correlation was observed between serum L-fucose levels and TNM staging of OSCC. Thus, serum L-fucose can be used as an effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in OSCC patients.
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Sree Mookambika Institute of Dental Sciences, Kulasekharam, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India.
P Redwin Dhas
PR
Manchil
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Sree Mookambika Institute of Dental Sciences, Kulasekharam, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India.
E Tatu
ET
Joy
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Sree Mookambika Institute of Dental Sciences, Kulasekharam, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India.
M Shashi
MS
Kiran
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Sree Mookambika Institute of Dental Sciences, Kulasekharam, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India.
J Eugenia
JE
Sherubin
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Sree Mookambika Institute of Dental Sciences, Kulasekharam, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India.
M Farakath
MF
Khan
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Sree Mookambika Institute of Dental Sciences, Kulasekharam, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India.
B S
BS
Aravind
Biomarkers; fucose; neoplasms