Saliva May Detect Cancer

The National Institute of Health awarded the University of California Los Angeles School of Dentistry $5 million donation to use towards identifying clues that saliva may offer by way of diagnosing cancers and other serious ailments.

Project Terms

The project the team of scientists will undertake, will last five years and will focus on collecting the RNA that is produced outside of cells and analyzing the signals the material produces and identify them as possibly cancerous or hinting at the presence of other diseases.

Below are listed some other diseases the team is hoping to be able to recognize through the collection of saliva and analysis of these RNA:

• Diabetes

• Pancreatic cancer

• Breast cancer

• Ovarian cancer

The team of scientists working on the project first recognized RNA as possibly helpful identifiers in 2004.

Oral/General Health

In general the health of your teeth, mouth and gums can offer a lot of clues to the health of the rest of you. Scientists are constantly finding ties between oral health and overall health. While the two might coincide with each other in ways other than cause and effect (that is, caring only for your teeth doesn’t guarantee your other health issues will resolve themselves) it says something for the lifestyles of orally healthy people. People who take the time and effort to care for their teeth the right way are more likely to do the same in other areas of their lives.

Schedule an appointment with Dr. Arzegar of the Lifetime Smiles today and get some feedback on your oral health condition. It could wind up doing a lot more for you than you think.