Additional value of quantifying salivary steroids in a clinical setting

Abstract

With the adoption of LC-MS/MS for the analysis of salivary steroids, a number of novel applications for salivary steroid analysis have been found. The convenience of salivary sampling and the good correlation of salivary hormones with free serum concentrations makes saliva analysis attractive for long term monitoring of testosterone replacement, CAH and prostate cancer treatment. The ability to take multiple samples at different times of the day and throughout the menstrual cycle can improve the diagnosis of conditions such as cyclical Cushing’s and PMOS, and the discovery of waking salivary cortisone as a diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency has brought salivary steroid analysis to the forefront of research. Salivary steroid analysis has finally found its killer applications and there is a well-deserved resurgence in interest in this field.