Decreased Circulating Melatonin with Loss of Age-Related Biphasic Change in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Yu-Fen Tsai; Yen-Yun Wang; Wan-Chi Tsai; Chang-Wei Su; Ching-Wei Hsu; Shyng-Shiou F Yuan

doi:10.3390/jpm11121357

Decreased Circulating Melatonin with Loss of Age-Related Biphasic Change in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

J Pers Med. 2021 Dec 13;11(12):1357. doi: 10.3390/jpm11121357.

Authors

Yu-Fen Tsai^{1

2

3}, Yen-Yun Wang^{4

5

6}, Wan-Chi Tsai^{6

7}, Chang-Wei Su^{4

5

8}, Ching-Wei Hsu^{4

5

8}, Shyng-Shiou F Yuan^{1

5

6

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
² Department of Hematology and Oncology, E-Da Cancer Hospital, Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan.
³ School of Chinese Medicine for Post Baccalaureate, College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan.
⁴ School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
⁵ Center for Cancer Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
⁸ Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
⁹ Translational Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.

Abstract

Background: Melatonin, produced by the pineal gland, is known for its antioxidant, oncostatic, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, studies on serum melatonin levels in different cancer types have yielded conflicting results, and little is known about the clinical significance of serum melatonin in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the Southern Asian population. Therefore, we explored its role in OSCC in this study.

Methods: A total of 67 male OSCC patients and 78 healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study. The serum levels of melatonin were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared between the two groups.

Results: The serum melatonin levels were significantly lower in OSCC patients compared with healthy controls (mean ± standard deviation, 15.0 ± 4.6 vs. 18.5 ± 11.8 pg/mL, p = 0.02). In the subgroup of age less than 55 years (mean age of OSCC), OSCC patients had a significantly decreased melatonin level than healthy controls (mean melatonin, 15.7 ± 12.6 vs. 20.8 ± 3.9 pg/mL, p = 0.02). Decreased serum melatonin (odds ratio (OR): 0.95, 95%CI: 0.91-0.99), alcohol consumption (OR: 29.02, 95%CI: 11.68-72.16), betel quid chewing (OR:136.44, 95%CI: 39.17-475.27), and cigarette smoking (OR:29.48, 95%CI: 11.06-78.60) all increased the risk of OSCC under univariate analyses of logistic regression. Betel quid chewing (OR: 45.98, 95%CI: 10.34-204.49) and cigarette smoking (OR:6.94, 95%CI: 1.60-30.16) were the independent risk factors for OSCC in Taiwan. In addition, a negative correlation between age and melatonin level was observed in healthy controls (Pearson r = -0.24, p = 0.03). However, the negative correlation was lost in patients with OSCC. Melatonin concentration had no association with the severity of OSCC.

Conclusion: Overall, our study provides evidence that serum melatonin levels decreased in OSCC patients in Taiwan and the decreased level is much significant in young populations and suggests that the decreased melatonin was associated with OSCC, especially in young populations. Further studies are warranted to investigate whether melatonin can be a useful non-invasive screening tool for OSCC.

Keywords: biomarker; melatonin; oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

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