Clinical validation of a saliva-based matrix metalloproteinase-1 rapid strip test for detection of oral cavity cancer.

Background: We previously identified matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) as one of the most promising salivary biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and developed a sensitive ELISA for MMP-1 with good performance in detection of OSCC using a cohort of 1160 saliva samples.

Methods: A time-saving rapid strip test (RST) for MMP-1 was developed in this study and its diagnostic performance compared with ELISA using saliva samples from a new cohort of 603 subjects (171 healthy controls, 236 patients with oral potentially malignant disorders, and 196 OSCC patients).

Results: Salivary MMP-1 levels measured using RST and ELISA were highly comparable and both assays could effectively distinguish between OSCC and non-cancerous groups.