A new study has found a link between gum disease and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

Researchers collected information on exposures, including dental caries, root canal infection, mild inflammation, periodontitis, and the number of teeth from the Swedish Dental Health Register. Data on pancreatic cancer was collated from cancer and cause of death registries.

Reflecting on the data, the report states, “periodontitis increases the risk of pancreatic cancer by 20–56 per cent in adults under 70 years as compared with the dentally healthy individuals.”

Patients with root canal infections were also identified as having an increased risk of pancreatic cancer by 58 per cent.

These results were not entirely unforeseen. The researchers explain, “root canal infection often involves the apical periodontal tissues around the root—clinically, the infection can persist for multiple years without any symptoms. Notably, oral bacteria have been found in cystic precursors to pancreatic cancer, but such precursor lesions could take up to ten years to become invasive. Although less explored, studies report that chronic apical periodontitis is associated with diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. Translocated root canal microbiomes, either microbial DNA or live bacteria, are found in distant organs, including thrombus aspirates of subjects with myocardial infarction.”

In the future, the team hoped to identify specific oral pathogens that preceded cancer development. By identifying specific bacteria, these findings would provide clues to identify tumours in high-risk populations.

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