A new study finds that gum disease may increase cancer risk
“People with a history of periodontal disease had a 14 percent higher risk of cancer than those without this disease and the increase persisted among never smokers,” said lead researcher Dominique Michaud, a cancer epidemiologist at Imperial College London in the UK.
People with gum infections have a high amount of inflammatory markers circulating in their blood, and inflammation has been linked to cancer, experts say. But the exact relationship, if any, between gum disease and cancer remains unclear.
This new finding needs to be examined in other populations and among women, but at least suggests that oral health may have some impact on cancer risk, Michaud said.
“If other data can support this relationship, then it will have implications for prevention and may offer new clues about the role of immune function in cancer development,” Michaud said.
In the study, Michaud’s team collected data on more than 48,000 men who participated in the follow-up study of health professionals, which was attended by health professionals 40 to 75 years.
During an average of 17.7 years of follow-5.720 reported cases of cancer. These cases did not include non-melanoma skin cancer and non aggressive prostate cancer. The most common cancers reported were colorectal, lung, bladder and advanced prostate cancer, Michaud’s group found.
After taking into account other risk factors such as smoking and diet, researchers found that men with a history of gum disease had a 14 percent higher risk of developing cancer compared to men without a history of the condition.
Although the overall risk was 14 percent, the risk of specific cancers was typically higher. Compared to men with healthy gums, those with a history of gum disease had a 36 percent greater risk of lung cancer, a 49 percent increase in the risk of kidney cancer, a risk 54 percent higher pancreatic cancer risk and a 30 percent higher white blood cell cancers.