A simple, cost-effective saliva test was developed to detect oral cancer, a breakthrough that would dramatically improve screening and lead to fewer people dying of the world’s sixth most common cancer.

Investigators in a study enrolled 100-120 patients with white lesions or growths in their mouths and tonsil areas, and looked for previously identified biomarkers to confirm the presence of oral cancer. By creating a simple saliva test which could identify the biomarker’s presence, they would know which patients need treatment and which ones could avoid needless and invasive biopsies.

The key challenge to tackle the issue of a poor survival rate linked to late detection of oral cancer is to develop strategies to identify and detect the disease when it is at a very early stage. The saliva-based test, as a noninvasive technique, greatly expand the abilities of clinicians to early screen for the cancerous lesions .