Narayanan, Maithrea Suresh
(2017)
The utility of beta 2 microglobulin (B2M) as an initial diagnostic tool for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) : evidence from a Malaysian sample.
Masters thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Abstract
Background
The delay in diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a factor in rendering the
poor prognosis, and recent research has explored the use of serum tumour markers such Beta
2 Microglobulin (B2M), to aid early diagnosis. However, despite a high incidence of OSCC in
Southeast Asia, no studies on the clinical use of B2M in the region were found.
Objectives:
To determine if serum B2M level can serve as an initial diagnostic tool to indicate if a biopsy
is warranted, and if so, to propose a local B2M serum reference value to identify OSSC patients
Methodology:
Twenty-one patients diagnosed with OSCC were seen at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia
(HUSM) over a one-year period, between June 2016 and June 2017, and an equal number of
healthy controls participated in the study. Apart from patient history, venous blood of
approximately 5ml volume was collected from each subject at the pre-treatment stage and
analysed by an Abbot ARCHITECT c8000 analyser using the immunoturbidometry
method.The results were analysed using ROC analysis and the Mann Whitney test.
Results:
Serum B2M levels showed a statistically significant increase (p<0.001) in patients compared
to controls. The test was shown to have 90.5% sensitivity and 90.5% specificity. It was found
to be a sensitive and specific serum tumour marker at a cut off value of 1.57 mg/l to differentiate
cases from controls.
Conclusion:
B2M is a sensitive and specific tumour marker to differentiate OSCC cases from controls. It is
cost effective and minimally invasive, making it a potentially useful adjunct diagnostic tool in
a high-risk patient pool.
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