Cancer clue found in gum health

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CANCER CELLS: Periodontal disease may directly increase the risk of cancer.

In the latest in a series of studies to bring oral and systemic health to the fore, researchers have found a significant link between periodontal disease and the risk of cancer.

A large prospective cohort study revealed that participants with a history of periodontal disease had a 14% increased risk of cancer compared with volunteers without disease.

Writing in Lancet Oncology, Dominique Michaud of Imperial College London and colleagues said it was unclear what caused the link and that further study was needed.

Data used in the study was extracted from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, the questionnaire-based research that started in 1986. The research included 51,529 American male health professionals ages 40 to 75. Participants filled in the original questionnaire and most have since answered subsequent surveys every two years.

Using data gathered from 48,375 men, the team collated answers on oral health, loss of teeth, history of periodontal disease, a range of lifestyle factors (including smoking) and new cancer diagnoses.

Dr Michaud and colleagues found significant associations between a history of periodontal disease and several cancers, including a 36% increase in risk of lung cancer; a 49% increase in the risk of kidney cancer; a 54% increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer, and a 30% increase in the risk of haematologic cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma.

While acknowledging this is the first report of such a link and "should be interpreted with caution", the consistency of the hazard ratios "suggests that the associations might not be because of chance" the team said.

Dr Michaud and colleagues said the findings need confirmation, but suggest that periodontal disease might be either a marker of a susceptible immune system or might directly affect cancer risk.

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