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Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is gradually increasing its incidence in our society. Unfortunately, this entity is diagnosed at an advanced stage in most patients, a fact that implies greater difficulty in its treatment and a worse prognosis. This systematic review aims to assess whether the cytokines IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-a are potential salivary biomarkers that allow early diagnosis of cancer. Material and Methods: An electronic search was performed in three databases (Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science). We used the following keywords: "salivary cytokines", "saliva cytokines", "salivary interleukins", "biomarkers", "oral squamous cell carcinoma" and "diagnosis", combined with the Boolean operators "AND" and "OR". Results: 128 publications were found and finally 23 articles were included in the review and 15 in the metaanalysis. It has been observed that the majority of OSCC patients express higher salivary concentrations of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-a compared to the control (CL) and premalignant lesion (OPML) groups. It has also been observed that the different premalignant lesions do not have statistically significant differences in the salivary concentration of the cytokines, and on the other hand, differences have been observed between the different TNM stages. The meta-analysis has shown that the difference in concentration of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-a is statistically significant between the CL group and the OSCC, and also between the CL group and OPML. Conclusions: There is sufficient evidence to affirm that IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-a are useful salivary cytokines in the early diagnosis and prognosis of OSCC. Although future studies are necessary to establish greater reliability of these biomarkers and thus be able to develop a valid diagnostic test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En la radioterapia de cabeza y cuello las glándulas salivales suelen recibir una dosis elevada de radiación, provocando una disminución progresiva y a partir de determinada dosis irreversible de la secreción salival, entre otros efectos. La xerostomía o sensación de boca seca es el efecto secundario más frecuente tras la radioterapia de cabeza y cuello, el cual disminuye la calidad de vida de los pacientes al dificultar funciones como la fonación y la deglución. Dada la complejidad y la temprana aparición de este síntoma, su prevención es la solución más eficaz. Los avances de las últimas décadas tienen un papel imprescindible: la radioterapia de intensidad modulada, la administración de sustancias citoprotectoras y el autotransplante de glándula submandibular parecen limitar en cierta medida el efecto de la radiación y disminuir así la sensación de sequedad bucal.