The tidal wave of saliva research: What's new in salivary diagnostics?

Richard H. Nagelberg, DDS

In December 2015, the second North American Saliva Symposium convened in Seattle, Washington. The meeting, jointly sponsored by the University of Washington and Oasis Diagnostics, provided an opportunity for globally recognized leaders in salivary research from dentistry, medicine, pediatrics, oncology, neuroscience, and industry, among others, to share ideas and forge collaborations to further advance research.

Among the esteemed speakers was John McDevitt, PhD. As one of the plenary speakers, he outlined the focus of his research, which is the use of oral fluid samples in nontraditional health-care settings. Dr. McDevitt envisions a linkage of chemical sensors to smartphones. This would be accomplished by means of a credit card-sized disposable lab on a chip, used in conjunction with a device that analyzes biomarkers found in bodily fluids, including saliva. The test results are then relayed to the patient's smartphone. The lab on a chip is called the Programmable Bio-Nano-Chip System (p-BNC), and it is being validated by six major clinical trials in the areas of heart disease, oral cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, and drug abuse testing. Dr. McDevitt serves as the chairperson for the Department of Biomaterials and Biomimetics at New York University College of Dentistry, among many other distinctions.

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Another plenary speaker was David Wong, DMD, DMSc, from UCLA. Dr. Wong is a world-renowned scientist working in oral cancer and saliva diagnostics research. He noted that current clinical practice includes tumor tissue biopsy- based genotyping; however, the invasive nature of biopsies can result in significant morbidity and issues related to sampling bias. To address these issues, Dr. Wong has developed a liquid biopsy technique that uses saliva to detect tumor-causing lung cancer mutations. The technique is noninvasive, cost-effective, and rapid. Clinicians could use this technology to adjust their therapeutic strategies in real time, improving clinical outcomes.