HOUSTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have found a way to identify and quantify specific protein markers in human saliva to provide an early, non-invasive diagnosis of breast cancer.
A report from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, published in the journal Cancer
Investigation, said the onset of breast cancer produces a change in the normal type and amount of proteins in glandular secretions from the salivary glands.
Biochemists the University of Texas at Austin are using that information to develop a diagnostic test that dentists and other healthcare professionals can use to detect the presence of cancer before a tumor forms.
"Why not the dentist?" lead researcher Charles Streckfus, D.D.S., a University of Texas Dental
Branch at Houston professor of diagnostic sciences, said in a statement. "Most folks, especially women
and children, visit the dental office way more often than they ever see the physician. Saliva is a non-invasive, quicker way for detection."
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