A simple mouth rinse may provide a new way to screen for head and neck cancers in people at high risk. A vast majority of head and neck cancers are linked to tobacco use, including smoking. Heavy drinking also increases one's risk. If found early, these cancers are often curable - so early detection is sorely needed. American researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore developed a saliva test - inexpensive, easy to perform and painless - that could spot diseases like mouth and throat cancer in heavy smokers, heavy drinkers and others at high risk. The screening test focuses on finding cells with genetic markers that suggest the presence of these cancers. In this 'swish-and-spit' test, patients are asked to brush the inside of their mouths, then rinse and gargle with a salt solution. The scientists filter out cells in the rinsed saliva that might contain one or more of 21 bits of chemically altered genes associated with head and neck cancers. The mouth rinse test was given to 211 people with head and neck cancers and another 527 healthy people. It correctly identified more than half the people with cancer as having the disease. There is no screening test for head and neck cancers. So it is essential to have a test to identify people at risk that can be performed by most medical personal - nurses, doctors, or physician's assistant.
Clinical Cancer Research,
January 2008