Association and prognostic value of serum inflammation markers in patients with leukoplakia and oral cavity cancer

Background: Oral cavity cancer ranks as the fourth leading cancer in men in Taiwan. The development of a serum biomarker panel for early detection and disease monitoring is, therefore, warranted. Methods: Nine inflammation- associated markers were investigated in 46 patients with leukoplakia, 151 patients with untreated oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and 111 age- and gender-matched healthy controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. During a subsequent 28-month surveillance of OSCC patients, serum samples were prospectively collected at predetermined intervals following the completion of therapy. Results: Logistic regression analysis showed matrix metalloproteases (MMP)-2, MMP-9, C-reactive protein (CRP), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and E-selectin having the best discrimination power between groups and significant elevation trends of those five markers were noted from control to OSCC. By combining those five markers, a 0.888 and 0.938 area under curve by ROC curve analysis with 67.4% and 80% overall sensitivity and fixed 90% specificity for leukoplakia and OSCC groups were demonstrated. In the follow-up period, 25 OSCC patients developed recurring or secondary tumors. All examined markers had decreased in relapse-free patients following treatment. However, in patients with relapse, interleukin-6, CRP, and serum amyloid A remained at elevated levels. Statistical analysis showed that patients with CRP ≥2 mg/L and E-selectin ≥85 ng/mL at baseline had highest probability of relapse (odds ratio= 3.029, p< 0.05). Conclusions: The results indicate that inflammation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis process of OSCC. By examining the inflammation markers, physicians could potentially identify patients at risk of cancer transformation or relapse.