Galectin-3 Serum Levels Could Help Clinicians Screen for Salivary Gland Tumor Patients

Abstract

analysis was performed on serum specimens from 105 patients with salivary gland cancer and 56 healthy persons.<br />Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure levels of galectin-3 (GAL-3). Serum<br />levels were compared between patients with salivary gland tumors and healthy control. A total of 105 patients were<br />enrolled in the study (55 men, 50 women). Result: Mean age was45.5 years. Thirty-nine patients with malignant and<br />66 cases with benign tumors were compared with 56 healthy participants with a mean age of 51.7. No statistically<br />significant differences were observed when comparing GAL-3 serum levels between malignant and benign salivary gland<br />tumor patients, but a statistically significant difference was found between case and control patients with p-values of<br />0.02. Serum levels of galectin-3 protein were elevated in patients with salivary gland cancer compared with the healthy<br />population. Conclusion: The difference between benign and malignant tumor patients was significant, but revealed<br />no clinic pathological characteristics in malignant tumors. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time<br />a study suggests that GAL-3 serum levels could help clinicians screen for salivary gland cancer.