Table 3. Description of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cases and healthy controls from the miRNA-sequencing pilot and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) saliva studies.
| miRNA-seq pilot | ddPCR assays | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases (n = 5) | Controls (n = 5) | pdifference | Cases (n = 11) | Controls (n = 9) | pdifference | |
| Age, median years (range) | 63 (50-76) | 38 (29-66) | 0.05a | 58 (47-73) | 36 (19-53) | 0.0003a |
| Sex, n (%) | ||||||
| Female | 1 (20%) | 3 (60%) | 0.52b | 2 (18%) | 5 (56%) | 0.16b |
| Male | 4 (80%) | 2 (40%) | 9 (82%) | 4 (44%) | ||
| Race, n (%) | ||||||
| Caucasian | 5 (100%) | 5 (100%) | > 0.99b | 11 (100%) | 5 (56%) | 0.03b |
| Black/African American | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (33%) | ||
| Other | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (11%) | ||
| Smoking status, n (%) | ||||||
| Never | 0 (0%) | 5 (100%) | 0.02b | 2 (18%) | 6 (75%) | 0.04b |
| Former | 2 (40%) | 0 (0%) | 7 (64%) | 1 (13%) | ||
| Current | 1 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (18%) | 1 (13%) | ||
| Missing | 2 (40%) | 0 (0%) | ||||
| Alcohol status | ||||||
| Non-drinker | 1 (20%) | 0 (0%) | 0.38b | 5 (45%) | 3 (38%) | > 0.99b |
| Drinker | 2 (40%) | 5 (100%) | 6 (55%) | 5 (63%) | ||
| Missing | 2 (40%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (11%) | ||
| Primary tumor site, n (%) | ||||||
| Oral cavity | 3 (60%) | --- | 3 (27%) | --- | ||
| Oropharynx | 2 (40%) | --- | 8 (73%) | --- | ||
| Stage at diagnosis, n (%) | ||||||
| Early (stage I or II) | 2 (40%) | --- | 1 (9%) | --- | ||
| Advanced (stage III or IV) | 3 (60%) | --- | 10 (91%) | --- | ||
| p16 immunohistochemistry, n (%) | ||||||
| Negative | 1 (20%) | --- | 1 (9%) | --- | ||
| Positive | 1 (20%) | --- | 8 (73%) | --- | ||
| Not evaluatedc | 3 (60%) | --- | 2 (18%) | --- | ||
a Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
b Fishers's exact test.
c All tumors that were not evaluated for p16 originated in the oral cavity.