Quantitative analysis of phosphohexoseisomerase and lysozyme from mixed saliva in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background. In connection with quantitative sialochemical investigations in mixed saliva from patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OPC), the enzymes phosphohexoseisomerase (PHI) and lysozyme (Ly) were investigated. The glycolytic enzyme PHI recently became interesting as a tumor marker. Lysozyme represents the main enzyme of the nonspecific salivary immune defense. Patients and methods. The enzyme concentrations were specified in 25 men with OPC and in a control group of 20 healthy men of comparable age. Results and conclusions. In the mixed saliva of the OPC patients,the PHI concentration was significantly diminished according to the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test compared to the control group (p = 0.022). The lysozyme concentration, however, significantly increased (p = 0.011). These results prove serious sialochemical alterations in mixed saliva of OPC patients. They extend our former studies on kallikrein in glandular mixed saliva, but at present only have a descriptive character. Further pathobiochemical investigations on this subject should be carried out.