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Indore: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore claimed to have developed a non-invasive technique that can detect early signs of oral cancer using only saliva and a swab sample from the inner surface of the mouth.

The researchers plan to validate the findings in larger and more diverse groups of patients, and then develop targeted, easy-to-use tests that can be brought into routine clinical practice, officials said on Thursday, August 13.

The technology’s key strengths are that it is point-of-care, economical, quick, and non-invasive qualities that matter greatly in a country where access to specialist cancer diagnostics is still limited outside big cities, according to the researchers.

At present, doctors confirm oral cancer through a biopsy, which involves removing a tissue sample from the affected part of the mouth.

According to researchers, the procedure can be painful and repeated biopsies are not practical. In contrast, the new technique requires no invasive procedure and could offer a low-cost and rapid screening method.

This could also help make early oral cancer screening more accessible in remote and rural areas, they said in a statement.

The study looked at two conditions – oral squamous cell carcinoma, the most common form of oral cancer, and oral submucous fibrosis, which often develops among people who chew areca nut, gutkha or tobacco and can eventually turn cancerous.

Researchers found that “saliva carries chemical signals from everything happening inside the mouth, and a soft swab of the oral lining picks up cells and proteins directly from the tissue itself”.

Using an advanced lab technique called liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, the researchers compared samples from healthy individuals, patients with oral submucous fibrosis, and patients with oral cancer. They found distinctive changes in how the body handles fat, energy, oxidative stress, tissue repair and immune activity — changes that showed up before the disease became visible to the naked eye, they said.

“By putting the saliva findings and the swab findings together, the team was able to build a much fuller picture of how healthy tissue slowly turns into a precancerous lesion, and eventually, cancer,” the statement said.

The technique has been developed under the leadership of IIT Indore professor Hem Chandra Jha.

“Oral cancer leaves molecular footprints in saliva and on the oral mucosal surface before it becomes clinically obvious. Our aim is to convert these non-invasive signals into practical tools for earlier detection and better monitoring of high-risk oral lesions,” Jha said.

The findings have been published in the British Journal of Cancer. A patent application for the technology has also been filed and is under process.