Researchers at the National Chung Cheng University (NCCU), Taiwan, said it could lead to a commercial test to help determine risks for cancer and other diseases.
“The test measures the amount of damaged DNA in a person’s body,” said Professor Hauh-Jyun Candy Chen, Ph.D., at NCCU, who led the research team.
“This is very important because such damaged DNA — we call this ‘DNA adducts’ — is a biomarker that may help doctors diagnose diseases, monitor how effective a treatment is and also recommend things high-risk patients can do to reduce the chances of actually getting a disease.
“We tried urine and blood and found these adducts. Then we turned our attention to saliva. It’s much more convenient to collect a sample of saliva,” stated Chen.
The new test measures the levels of five key DNA adducts, including some that form as a result of cigarette smoking.
The DNA is present in white blood cells found naturally in saliva and from cells shed from the lining of the mouth.
Chen uses a very sensitive laboratory instrument called a mass spectrometer to analyse for DNA adducts.
The study was presented during the 242nd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).