Expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha and its correlation with severity of oral submucous fibrosis: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this case-control study was to evaluate the plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) levels in patients with oral submucous fibrosis and to determine the relation of plasma TNF-alpha levels with the severity of oral submucous fibrosis. STUDY DESIGN: Blood samples were collected from 25 patients who were diagnosed with oral submucous fibrosis and from 25 age- and sex-matched control participants. The plasma was isolated by centrifugation of blood samples. The levels of plasma TNF-alpha were estimated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: A total of 19 out of 25 patients had detectable plasma TNF-alpha levels ranging from 0.1 to 106.4 pg/mL (mean, 23.46 pg/mL), whereas only 12 out of 25 control participants had detectable plasma TNF-alpha levels ranging from 0.1 to 33.3 pg/mL (mean, 6.93 pg/mL). The difference between the TNF-alpha levels of patients and controls was statistically significant (P = .015) according to the Mann-Whitney test. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with oral submucous fibrosis had significantly increased TNF-alpha levels compared with controls.