ArticleClinical oral investigations2025
Radiation-induced changes in salivary metabolite profile and pathways in head and neck cancer patients.
Article in Clinical oral investigations, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Salivary metabolic profile in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and potentially malignant disorders.Clinical oral investigations · 2026Article
- Systematic verification of saliva-based biosignatures for oral cancer via targeted metabolomics.Journal of food and drug analysis · 2026Article
- Perioperative Piperacillin/Tazobactam Reduces Early Onset SSI in Preirradiated Patients Undergoing Microvascular Head and Neck Reconstruction.Head & neck · 2026Article
- An enrichment-based approach to interpreting metabolomic data using differential metabolomic profiles within the iDMET framework.BMC bioinformatics · 2026Article
- Salivary biomarkers in oral cancer diagnosis: advancing conventional treatment strategies.Military Medical Research · 2026Review
- Metabolomic profiling for predicting breast cancer treatment toxicities.Translational cancer research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThis longitudinal study assessed the salivary metabolic profile in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) treated with radiotherapy (RT). This study aims to investigate salivary metabolites and biological oral pathways induced by RT.
methodsClinical data and unstimulated whole-mouth saliva (USWMS) were obtained from 45 HNC patients before, during, and one week after the RT. Data was also collected from 30 healthy controls. NMR spectroscopy identified and quantified 24 metabolites. Spearman's rank correlation analysis and pathway enrichment analysis (MetaboAnalyst 6.0) was performed to check the effect of cancer therapy on the correlation and pathways of different salivary metabolites.
resultsOf 24 metabolites identified, 17 salivary metabolites showed a consistent decrease in the concentration during and after treatment of HNC patients. The metabolite proline decreased, whereas fucose and 1,2-Propanediol were increased in the saliva causing altered redox balance and abnormal fucosylation in HNC patients compared to controls. Spearman correlation analysis indicated changes between pyruvate and some other metabolites, including alanine, trimethylamine, choline, taurine, and succinate, during RT. Five pathways (Pyruvate metabolism; Glycolysis / Gluconeogenesis; Glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism; Glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism; and Alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism) are affected, demonstrating the metabolic dysregulation due to RT. The pyruvate metabolism was overpresented with the high Pathway Impact score.
conclusionSalivary metabolomics analysis revealed significant alterations in the metabolic profile of HNC patients undergoing RT, providing valuable insights into treatment-induced oral pathobiological changes. Alterations in salivary pathways during RT suggest disturbances in redox homeostasis, oxidative stress, and inflammation. The ability to monitor salivary metabolites and pathways non-invasively holds promise to personalized medicine in HNC treatment by enabling early detection of treatment-related toxicities, monitoring treatment response, and tailoring interventions to patient needs.
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