Serum HSP90-Alpha and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma : A Prospective Biomarker.

Aim Current study aims to perform differential protein expression analysis of serum samples from Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients and healthy controls in search of potential diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarker(s). Objective OSCC is diagnosed late, resulting in poor survival and high mortality. Identification of non-invasive prognostic biomarker is of utmost importance for early diagnosis and proper management of the disease; hence we used proteomic approach to identify potential biomarkers from serum. Methods Serum samples (OSCC n=45 and control n=30) were depleted and proteins were separated using 2-D gel electrophoresis followed by identification by mass spectrometric analysis. Gene expression analysis of identified proteins in malignant and normal tissue was also performed to complement proteomics studies. Results Among differentially expressed proteins, a noteworthy observation was up regulation of Heat shock protein alpha (HSP90α) from serum of oral cancer patients. We also observed elevated levels of Haptoglobin (HP) along with down regulation of Type II keratin cytoskeletal 1(KRT1) and serum Albumin (ALB) in oral cancer patients. Gene expression studies of identified proteins in malignant and normal tissue revealed a similar pattern with the exception of KRT1. We believe that elevated levels of serum HSP90 alpha might be used as a potential biomarker. Conclusion Our findings suggest the contribution of HSP90 alpha and other identified proteins in oral pathology as pro/anti apoptotic modulators, thus they are being considered as predictive biomarkers.