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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Nephrol. Sep 25, 2025; 14(3): 108406
Published online Sep 25, 2025. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v14.i3.108406
Published online Sep 25, 2025. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v14.i3.108406
Saliva as a non-invasive biomarker for chronic kidney disease: Challenges and potential in disease monitoring
Mohammad Abu Raihan Uddin, Tuan Salwani Tuan Ismail, Wan Nor Fazila Hafizan Wan Nik, Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Chemical Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu, Kelantan 16150, Malaysia
Wan Nor Arifin, Biostatistics and Research Methodology Unit, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia
Salbiah Isa, Department of Clinical Medicine, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Sains@ Bertam, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kepala Batas 13200, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Co-corresponding authors: Tuan Salwani Tuan Ismail and Wan Nor Fazila Hafizan Wan Nik.
Author contributions: Uddin MAR conducted extensive literature search, extracted and analyzed data from relevant studies, and was responsible for drafting the initial and revised versions of the manuscript; Tuan Ismail TS and Wan Nik WNFH provided close supervision throughout the development of the review, offering expert guidance on the overall structure, methodology, and interpretation of findings; Wan Arifin WN contributed to statistical insights and critically revised the manuscript for intellectual content; Isa S supported content refinement, clinical relevance, and editorial feedback.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tuan Salwani Tuan Ismail, Associate Professor, Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Chemical Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia. tusti@usm.my
Received: April 14, 2025
Revised: May 14, 2025
Accepted: August 4, 2025
Published online: September 25, 2025
Processing time: 157 Days and 7.3 Hours
Revised: May 14, 2025
Accepted: August 4, 2025
Published online: September 25, 2025
Processing time: 157 Days and 7.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Saliva-based diagnostics offer a promising, non-invasive alternative for monitoring chronic kidney disease (CKD), particularly in resource-limited or outpatient settings. This review highlights that salivary urea and creatinine, especially via the spitting method, show consistent correlations with serum levels, supporting their potential use in CKD screening and monitoring. However, salivary parathyroid hormone and calcium exhibit weaker associations due to physiological and analytical limitations. Standardization of collection methods and further mechanistic and clinical research are essential to optimize the clinical utility of salivary biomarkers in CKD.