ABSTRACT
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in saliva as a diagnostic tool. Diagnosis of many diseases, including gastric cancer and immunodeficiency, has been made using saliva. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Her2/neu antibody, made in response to certain carcinomas of the breast, could be detected in saliva when experimentally placed at a remote site. This study was conducted using two male SD rats, each weighing between 300 g and 500 g. One experimental animal received 200 microliters, and the other, 500 microliters, of encapsulated c-erbB-2 monoclonal antibody (Signet, Dedham, MA) intraperitoneally. Prior to capsule placement, baseline serum and saliva samples were taken. Samples were also taken twenty, sixty-eight, 140, 188, 308 and 356 hours post-placement. Saliva flow was induced by administration of ophthalmic pilocarpine prior to sampling. All samples were kept at -20 degrees C. Antibody detection was performed using a modified double capture ELISA system. Tissue samples from various organs were evaluated using standard laboratory staining and immunostaining techniques. The animal receiving the higher antibody concentration showed a markedly greater salivary level of the antibody than the other (peak 24.158 hnu/ml vs. 18.313 hnu/ml at 308 and 188 hours post-implantation, respectively). These results seem to indicate that Her2/neu antibody saliva levels may serve as a useful, non-invasive method in the early detection of some breast cancers.
