Role of IL-6 and IL-8 biomarkers for optical and electrochemical based point-of-care detection of oral cancer

Early and accurate diagnosis of oral cancer is important to reduce the mortality rate in patients. Point-of-care (POC) detection of oral cancer biomarkers has emerged as an effective means of early-stage diagnosis. Cytokines, particularly, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8), have been repeatedly implicated as potential biomarkers capable of differentially diagnosing benign oral lesions from malignant ones. The first part of this review describes the structure and function of both IL-6 and IL-8, followed by their specific role in the development of oral cancer. The second part of the review discusses the emerging biosensor platforms for the POC detection of IL-6 and IL-8. The different optical and electrochemical biosensors developed so far for the detection of IL-6 and IL-8 have been summarized with recent literature reports. Additionally, the integration of nanotechnology-based strategies for enhanced sensitivity and multiplexing is also emphasized. Finally, the challenges involved in the translation of these POC biosensors into clinical practices for oral cancer detection are discussed herein, along with future perspectives.