Salivary testosterone as a potential indicator for risky behaviour associated with smoking-related peer pressure in adolescents.

Early smoking is considered an indicator for risky behaviour in adolescents. Although social indicators predicting adolescent smoking are known, biological indicators have not been defined. This study aimed to establish whether salivary testosterone could be used as a "predictive biomarker" for smoking-associated peer pressure. Saliva samples were collected from Bruneian adolescents (aged 13-17 years) by the passive drool method. Salivary testosterone concentration was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Salivary testosterone concentration and smoking-associated peer pressure indicators were compared between adolescent males and females and statistical significance was determined by an independent samples t-test. A significant positive relationship between smoking-associated peer pressure and salivary testosterone levels in adolescents was found. However, this relationship was not significant when males and females were considered separately. Our data suggest that students who have tried cigarette smoking and have friends who are cigarette smokers have higher salivary testosterone levels.

Interleukin 1ß-A Potential Salivary Biomarker for Cancer Progression?

The relationship between cancer and inflammation is a complex but intimate one. Decades of work has shown to us that cancer progression is influenced by a multitude of factors, including genetic, environmental, and immunological factors. We often overlook that cancer progression is also a pathological consequence of a dysregulated inflammatory control in the body. A current emerging topic in cancer research is the role of inflammasomes in carcinogenesis. The inflammasome is a multicomplex protein platform that when activated results in the release of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1ß. There is increasing evidence suggesting that IL-1ß plays a pivotal role in cancer progression. This short review proposes the possibility of using IL-1ß as a potential cancer progression biomarker and discusses the use of saliva as a model biological fluid for measuring physiological IL-1ß levels in the body.