Oral secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI): Associations with oropharyngeal cancer and treatment outcome

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Oral secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI): Associations with oropharyngeal cancer and treatment outcome Via Head and neck cancers by Brittney L. Dickey, Bradley Sirak, Laura Martin-Gomez, Richard R. Reich, Martha Abrahamsen, Kimberly Isaacs-Soriano, Christine H. Chung, Anna R. Giuliano Background Rates of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) associated with alcohol & tobacco use have decreased, while human papillomavirus (HPV) associated OPC has increased among men in the US. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), detectable in a variety of secretions, has been implicated in cancers of the head and neck, associated with tumor progression and anti-viral activity. Using the recently verified oral gargle specimen, this study aimed to assess the association of salivary SLPI expression with risk of OPC and response to treatment. Methods A case-control study design compared levels of salivary SLPI among OPC cases to age and tobacco smoking matched healthy controls. Oral HPV DNA and SLPI was quantified from oral gargle specimens. Logistic regression estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations of oral SLPI and risk of OPC and treatment outcomes. Results In crude and adjusted analyses of 96 OPC cases and 97 age- and smoki ng-matched controls, OPC was not significantly associated with oral gargle SLPI levels. Among cases, oral SLPI was associated with tonsillectomy (p = 0.018) and among controls oral SLPI was associated with HPV in the oral gargle (p = 0.008). Higher concentrations of SLPI was significantly associated with increased odds of incomplete treatment response (T2: OR: 12.39; 95% CI: 1.44–106.72; T3: OR: 9.86; 95% CI: 1.13–85.90) among all cases, but not among P16+ cases. Conclusions Salivary SLPI was not associated with OPC risk but was associated with higher odds of an incomplete treatment response. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.