salivary lactate dehydrogenase, c-reactive protein, and cancer antigen 125 levels in patients with oral lichen planus and oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background: oral squamous cell carcinoma (oscc) is the most common malignancy of the oral cavity and oral lichen planus (olp) is considered a premalignant disease. objectives: this study aims at comparing the salivary levels of lactate dehydrogenase (ldh), c-reactive protein (crp), and cancer antigen 125 (ca125) among cases with oscc, olp, and healthy persons. methods: in this case-control study, salivary markers were evaluated in 55 cases (15 patients with oscc, 20 patients with olp, and 20 healthy persons); non-stimulated saliva samples were collected from the patients and saliva markers were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) method. the data were analyzed, using spss 21 software and anova test and p < 0.05 was regarded as significant. results: salivary ldh and ca125 levels were significantly higher in oscc and olp patients compared to the control group (p < 0.05). salivary crp levels were significantly higher in oscc patients compared to olp patients (p < 0.05). besides, salivary crp levels were higher in olp subjects than in the control group, but the difference was not significant (p = 0.56). conclusions: the identification of the salivary ldh, ca125, and crp may provide a suitable non-invasive predictive tool for malignant changes. however, its use in clinical practice needs further research.