Objective: The purpose of the study is to highlight the use of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) as salivary enzyme tumor marker and assess the activity and concentration of GGT in precancerous and cancer patients and compare it with the normal control.
Materials and methods: Individuals in the age group of above 20 years were included in the study. In this study, salivary GGT was analyzed in 75 cases. The selected patients were divided into three main groups as group I (controls with normal health), group II (patients with precancerous lesions and conditions), and group III (patients with oral cancer lesions). All the selected individuals were analyzed for salivary GGT.
Results: A significant difference was observed between control and precancerous groups with GGT values at 5% level of significance. The mean GGT value is significantly higher in precancerous group as compared with control group (p < 0.05). A significant difference was observed between control and cancerous groups with GGT values at 5% level of significance. The mean GGT value is significantly higher in cancerous group as compared with control group (p < 0.05). A significant difference was observed between precancerous and cancerous groups with GGT values at 5% level of significance. The mean GGT value is significantly higher in cancerous group as compared with precancerous group (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: There is a remarkable increase in salivary GGT activity in both precancerous and cancerous conditions. The increased activity was more marked in cancerous conditions than in precancerous conditions. The GGT levels were two- to threefold increased in precancerous conditions as compared with control group. This finding was statistically significant and also suggested the strong correlation between GGT levels and presence of precancerous conditions.
Clinical significance: Integration of all these observation strengthens our thinking that elevation of salivary GTT in pre-cancerous and cancerous conditions can be a reliable biomarker in early detection and prevention of oral malignancy.
Keywords: Cancerous; Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase; Precancerous Tumor marker..