Serum mRNA levels of cytokeratin-19 and vascular endothelial growth factor in oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral potentially malignant disorders using RT-PCR

Sep 22, 2026

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Background Oral cancers—including tumors of the oral cavity, salivary glands, and pharynx—are increasingly prevalent worldwide, with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) comprising over 90% of malignant oral lesions and being particularly common in South-Central Asia. This study evaluates whole-blood Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A (VEGF-A) and Cytokeratin-19 (CK-19) mRNA as a potential early detection method for OSCC. Methods used real-time RT-PCR and ROC analysis in patients with OSCC, oral potentially malignant disorders, and healthy controls. Results showed significant mRNA elevation and combined predictive value. Conclusion Blood-based mRNA transcriptome diagnostics demonstrate efficacy for OSCC detection and merit further validation for routine monitoring and broader health contexts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

Epidemiology and risk factors

VEGF biology

Senevirathna etal. BMCOral Health (2024) 24:1062 BMC Oral Health [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-024-04834-1](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-024-04834-1) RESEARCH Open Access Serum mRNA levels of cytokeratin-19 and vascular endothelial growth factor in oralsquamous cell carcinoma and oral potentially malignant disorders using RT-PCR Kalpani Senevirathna 1,2, Thilini Anupama Nanayakkarawasam Mahakapuge3, Nadeeka U. Jayawardana4, Jayanthe Rajapakse3, Chandrika Udumalagala Gamage6, Bimalka Seneviratne7, Unil Perera8, Kehinde Kazeem Kanmodi5,9,10* and Ruwan Jayasinghe 10,11 Abstract Background Oral cancers, which include tumors ofthe oral cavity, salivary glands, and pharynx, are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for over 90% of malignant oral lesions, with oralsquamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) being notably common in the Indian subcontinent and other regions of Asia. This is especially true in South-Central Asia, including Sri Lanka, where it is particularly prevalent among men. This study aims to evaluate the levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A (VEGF-A) and Cytokeratin-19 (CK-19) mRNAs in whole blood as a potential method for the early detection of OSCC. Methods The study included 40 patients (each from OSCC, Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSF), Oral Leukoplakia (OLK), Oral Lichen Planus (OLP), and 10 healthy controls. The expression levels of VEGF-A and CK-19 mRNAs were measured from extracellular RNA extracted from whole blood samples using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with sequence-specific primers. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the effectiveness of these biomarkers in detecting OSCC. Results The results demonstrated a significant increase in blood transcripts ofthe candidate mRNAs CK-19 and VEGF-A in patients with OSCC, OSF, OLK, and OLP. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed a p-value of 0.002 for each specific comparison between diseased patients and healthy controls (i. e., OSCC vs. HC, OSF vs. HC, OLP vs. HC, OLK vs. HC) for both CK-19 and VEGF-A. When these two biomarkers were used together, they provided a 60% predictive probability for patients with OSCC (p = 0 . 023) . Conclusion This study highlights the efficacy of blood mRNA transcriptome diagnostics in detecting OSCC. This innovative clinical approach has the potential to be a robust, efficient, and reliable tool for early cancer detection. Blood-based transcriptomes could be further explored for their effectiveness in various health contexts and for routine health monitoring. *Correspondence: Kehinde Kazeem Kanmodi [kanmodikehinde@yahoo.com](kanmodikehinde@yahoo.com) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://](http://)[ ](http://)[creativecommons.org/l](creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Senevirathna et al. BMC Oral Health (2024) 24:1062 Page 2 of 10 Keywords Oral cancer, Oral potentia

FAQs

What biomarkers were investigated for early OSCC detection in this study?

The study measured whole-blood mRNA levels of VEGF-A and cytokeratin-19 (CK-19) using RT-PCR. These were evaluated as candidate biomarkers for OSCC detection.

Which participant groups were included?

Forty patients were included, comprising groups with OSCC, oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), oral leukoplakia (OLK), and oral lichen planus (OLP), plus 10 healthy controls.

What were the main findings regarding biomarker performance?

Patients with OSCC and the oral potentially malignant disorders showed significantly increased CK-19 and VEGF-A blood transcripts versus healthy controls. When used together, the biomarkers provided a 60% predictive probability for OSCC.

Sep 22, 2026

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