by

Joseph

Antibodies secreted from the mouth could be useful for predicting cancer risk, research suggests. According to the results of a study published in PloS one, scientists have found an inverse relationship between levels of salivary antibodies and cancer mortality in older adults. This finding could be useful in diagnosing cancer and developing potential treatments for disease.

A research team led by Anne C. Phillips from the School of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences, at the University of Birmingham in England selected 639 participants of the oldest cohort of the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study; in 1995, the volunteers provided salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA)  samples when they were 63 years of age. Researchers then measured saliva volume and sIgA concentration.

Scientists followed the participants for 19 years. They learned that participants with the highest concentration of sIgA had lower risk for all-cause mortality than volunteers who had very little salivary IgA.

In fact, the associations with all-cause mortality was found to be due to an underlying association with cancer deaths and particularly cancers other than lung cancer. Put another way, people who produced very small amounts of sIgA were at great risk for cancers that were not lung cancer.

On the other hand, people who produced high volumes of saliva immunoglobulin A were much more likely to not die from cancer (particularly non lung cancer) and respiratory diseases.

Immunoglobulin A is a special protein the body uses to protect itself from diseases such as the common cold and the flu; it is also very prolific in human saliva.

Phillips et al speculate that lower concentrations of sIgA makes people susceptible to disease, allowing cancers to emerge. That hypothesis could explain the higher association between cancer deaths and low sIgA observed in their study.

The research team recommended that future studies track cancer and respiratory disease deaths so that scientists can develop a better understanding of the associations in the current study.

In this regard they believe that "[a] comparison of sIgA and serum IgA in the context of specific mortality risk would also be informative in terms of the comparability of the prognostic value of these indicators."

"This is the first study to show this specific link between sIgA and mortality, and suggests that salivary IgA secretion rate could serve as an easily measurable marker of general mortality risk and particularly cancer-specific risk." Phillips et al concluded.

The work of Phillips et al is profound because it gives medical science another tool in the search for a cure for cancer.

Blessed are those whom are filled with the power of the LORD and go forth doing His work. Neither the devil nor the forces of this world can stop them and when all is said and done, their work brings glory to God.

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Article Reference

Phillips AC, Carroll D, Drayson MT, & Der G (2015). Salivary Immunoglobulin A Secretion Rate Is Negatively Associated with Cancer Mortality: The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study. PloS one, 10 (12) PMID: 26699127

"Antibodies In Saliva Could Predict Cancer Mortality Risk" copyright © 2015 Living Fit, Healthy and Happy_(SM). All Rights Reserved.

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