Oral contraceptive usage and the expression of CA 15-3 and c-erbB-2 in the saliva of healthy women

Objective. This study was conducted to determine if oral contraceptive use affected the salivary levels of 2 cancer biomarkers, cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3), and c-erbB-2 (erb) among women. Study design. A total of 40 women were recruited for this study, 20 controls and 20 using oral contraceptives. The average ages were 27.4 years (control) and 27.1 years (using estrogen supplements). Stimulated whole saliva specimens were collected from each woman. CA 15-3 levels were determined using enzyme immunoassay (EIA) while c-erbB-2 levels were determined by standard ELISA methods. Results. Findings from this study indicate that there were no significant differences between the control and study groups. Conclusions. Therefore, saliva may be a useful tool for monitoring women with high estrogen levels due to either tumor load or any treatment regimen, ie, the levels of the cancer biomarkers CA 15-3 and erb are not affected by increased levels of estrogen in the body.