Evaluation of Serum and Salivary Sialic Acids as a screening tool for early detection of Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders: A Preliminary analysis among Tobacco Users

Introduction: Sialic acids as biomarkers in oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) have driven the researcher’s intent steadily and resulted in varying assertions. The study aimed to evaluate the sialic acid levels (in mg/dL) in serum and saliva among tobacco users. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among participants attending the Outpatient Department of a tertiary dental healthcare center in Chennai. The sample size was calculated using G Power (Version 3.1.9.2, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany) and included 45 patients divided into three groups based on the oral manifestations of tobacco-related habits. Group I: participants with OPMDs and tobacco usage; Group II: individuals with tobacco usage but lacking clinical manifestations of OPMDs; and Group III: participants without OPMDs and a history of tobacco usage. Serum and salivary samples were analyzed for total and free sialic acid levels. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 16 (IBM. Corp., Chicago, USA) software was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean values of serum and salivary sialic acids were increased in Group-I than in Group-II and Group-III (50.58 ± 4.12 and 39.87 ± 3.64 mg/dL, 41.51 ± 3.80 and 33.43 ± 6.36 mg/dL, 34.49 ± 2.38 and 22.90 ± 3.24 mg/dL, respectively). ANOVA comparisons of sialic acids between groups showed similar quantities of sialic acid in saliva and serum ( P value < 0.05). Patients who use tobacco had higher amounts of sialic acid, according to post-hoc tests for intergroup pairwise comparison ( P -value < 0.05). Conclusion: An increase in the serum and salivary sialic acid levels was noticed among tobacco users.