Author: Whitmore SE, Lamont RJ.
Source: PLoS Pathog.
Year: 2014
Comment:
The authors conclude, "The implications of oral bacterial involvement in cancer are many."
Abstract / Excerpt:
“Perhaps the most likely carcinogenic link with oral bacteria is with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), one of the most common cancers worldwide. OSCC surfaces have been reported to harbor significantly higher levels of Porphyromonas and Fusobacterium compared with contiguous healthy mucosa [3]. Moreover, immunohistochemistry with P. gingivalis antibodies revealed higher levels of detection and intensity of staining in gingival carcinomas compared with healthy gingival tissue, although only a small number of cases were examined [4]. A striking association has also been demonstrated between P. gingivalis infection and pancreatic cancer. In a prospective cohort study of over 400 cases and controls, a >2-fold increase in risk of pancreatic cancer was observed among those with high levels of antibodies to P. gingivalis, after adjusting for known risk factors [5]. Similarly, in the extensive National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, orodigestive cancer mortality was found to be related to the levels of P. gingivalis antibodies, independent of periodontal disease [6]. Several recent studies have shown a strong association between F. nucleatum and colorectal cancer (CRC) [7]–[10]. F. nucleatum was found to be one of the more abundant species within and around CRC neoplasms, and levels of F. nucleatum correlated with the presence of lymph node metastases.”
Citation:
Whitmore SE, Lamont RJ. Oral bacteria and cancer. PLoS Pathog. 2014; 10(3):e1003933.