Maintaining health of mouth and teeth my reduce cancer risk

CANCER DIGEST – July 24, 2020 – People with history of gum disease appear to have higher risk of developing digestive tract cancers, according to a new study published online July 20, 2020 in the journal GUT.

Researchers led by Chun-Han Lo and colleagues at Harvard Medical School examined the history of periodontal disease and tooth loss with the risk of esophageal and stomach cancer in 98,459 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, and 49,685 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Both studies were conducted over a couple of decades beginning1988 for the men and 1992 in women.

The researchers’ analysis showed there were 199 cases of esophageal cancer and 238 cases of gastric, or stomach cancer. When they analyzed differences in the cancer cases compared to non-cancer participants, they found that a history of periodontal disease was associated with a 43% increase risk for esophageal cancer, and 52% increased risk of gastric, or stomach cancer.

Tooth loss also was associated with higher cancer risk with those who had lost teeth having 42% higher risk of esophageal cancer and a 33% higher risk of stomach cancer compared to participants without tooth loss.

While the study did not look for a biological reason for the links, the researchers suggest that bacteria growing on the gums may increase cancer risk.


Source British Medical Journal (BMJ) press releasePhoto credit – Healthypeople.gov