Researchers of the Oral Cancer Cluster at the Biological and Life Sciences division of the School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University, and doctors from the Department of Head and Neck Oncology, HCG Cancer Centre, Ahmedabad, have made a breakthrough discovery that promises to alter the invasive method of conventional biopsy in oral cancer patients. Their study had led to the discovery of a novel miRNA in the saliva of patients that will help predict tumour aggressiveness and better prognosis of oral cancer.

Essentially, instead of recurrent invasive biopsies to monitor the growth rate of the cancerous tumour and the efficacy of treatment, oral cancer patients will just need to spit a couple of times into a tube. Dr. Vivek Tanavde, Associate Professor, Biological and Life Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences at Ahmedabad University, led the team in collaboration with senior oncologists Dr. Kaustubh Patel and Dr. Dushyant Mandlik of the HCG Cancer Centre. Their work on salivary exosomal miRNA-1307 was published on September 13 in the Switzerland-based International Journal of Molecular Sciences (www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/18/10639), a leading journal in the area of molecular diagnostics.

Liquid biopsies are becoming increasingly important in cancer diagnosis, given their ease of collection and the fact that they accurately reflect molecular changes happening in tumours, especially hard-to-reach tumours. Saliva is a valuable body fluid for liquid biopsies. Still, the challenge of isolating good-quality RNA from saliva has hindered previous efforts to use saliva for liquid biopsy. Salivary exosomal miRNAs as biomarkers facilitate repeated sampling, real-time disease monitoring, and assessment of therapeutic response. This study has identified a single salivary exosomal miRNA prognosticator that will aid in improved patient outcomes using a liquid biopsy approach.

Explaining how the idea will revolutionise the prediction of patient survival and also that of resistance to therapy or specific medication, Dr. Tanavde says, “Oral cancer specifically has several challenges. Patients don’t consult a doctor until there is a visible patch which might be too late for therapy. If the tumour is surgically removed, one doesn’t know if resistance has developed unless a follow-up is done, which typically happens only with visible signs of tumour growth, and there is an invasive biopsy needed at every stage. Our idea is to move towards non-invasive, definitive methods that would enable accurate monitoring of tumour response to therapy. At the same time, we would like to make this widely accessible and cost-effective. We used commercially available kits to purify salivary exosomes. Then, through a simple PCR, which is now available in the smallest of towns, we can measure the expression of miRNA-1307.”

Oral cancer is the 2nd largest cancer in India, with lip/oral cavity cancers accounting for 10.3 per cent of new cases and 8.8 per cent of deaths, according to a report published by the International Agency for Research in Cancer, an intergovernmental agency part of the World Health Organization. (Source: Globocan 2020)

About Ahmedabad University

Ahmedabad University is a leading private, non-profit research university offering students a liberal education focused on interdisciplinary learning, practice orientation, and research thinking. The University, established in 2009, is rooted in the vision of one of India’s finest educational foundations, the Ahmedabad Education Society, which was founded in 1935 by nationalist leaders. Programmes at the University range from bachelors to doctoral levels in humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, and management through its 10 Schools and Centres:

Amrut Mody School of Management | School of Arts and Sciences | School of Engineering and Applied Science | Centre for Heritage Management | International Centre for Space and Cosmology | VentureStudio | Centre for Learning Futures | Global Centre for Environment and Energy | Centre for Inter-Asian Research | Ahmedabad Design Lab

An urban university, Ahmedabad promotes independent-mindedness and diversity across all dimensions of its activity and helps students mature into critical thinkers who are analytically equipped, practically oriented, and contextually aware global citizens. The University provides a contemporary educational framework that brings liberal arts, sciences, and the professions to engage together in creating new knowledge for addressing complex challenges of the society and in offering majors that merge the boundaries of disciplines to prepare students for the new economy.