Saliva as Biomarker of Heat Shock Protein 70 in Radiotherapy: A Clinical Approach

Purpose: Human heat shock protein is made up of eight homologous chaperones, six of which are present in the reticulum and mitochondria and the other two in the cytosol and nucleus. These proteins have tissue-specific expression, implying that they have different biological functions. This paper compares salivary Heat shock protein 70 levels in healthy people to those in patients who are undergoing radiation.

Materials and Methods: 40 individuals reporting to the department of oncology with head and neck cancer for radiotherapy were included in the experimental group and compared with 40 healthy individuals .Saliva and serum samples were collected and were analysed for Heat shock protein 70 levels with ELIZA (enzyme linked immunoassay for HSP 70) and statistical analysis was done with independent student ‘t’ test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: There was a significant increase in Serum Heat shock protein 70 levels in Experimental group (6.525 ng/ml) in comparison with the control group (3.170 ng/ml). Salivary Heat shock protein 70 shock showed significant levels in experimental levels (5.694 ng/dl) compared to control group (2.641 ng/dl).

Conclusion: Salivary and serum Heat shock protein 70 showed a significant increase in individuals undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, thus is an efficient cell stress marker.