Bad Teeth And Cancer Risk– New Findings From a Study of African American Women’s Dental Health

Using this data, researchers found that compared with African American women who had strong oral health, African American women with adult tooth loss were more likely to get pancreatic cancer, which is a type of cancer that is hard to detect early and is often deadly. African American women who had lost five teeth or more had an even stronger link to pancreatic cancer. Researchers say that this link may be related to oral bacteria, or the inflammation that oral bacteria can cause.

“We need to understand the genetic makeup of the bacteria in their mouth, to understand how this affects their immune system, in a way that puts them at risk for cancer,” says Dr. Allyson Ocean, Medical Oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

This study is really about detecting patterns that are related to cancer. “We don't know that oral hygiene was the direct cause of their cancer, but what's interesting is that they are seeing more patterns emerge,” says Dr. Ocean.

But it’s possible, according to Dr. Ocean, that a study like this one could lead to more research, which would help doctors understand what it is about bacteria in the mouth that links it to cancer. “Nowadays, we hear a lot of patients having their blood and tumor sequenced for genomics, but we are actually now in the era where we are doing genetic testing on people's stool, which is genomics of their bacteria,” she says. “So I think that's where we might be able to help develop ways to predict risk. If researchers can figure out the gene signature of someone's bacteria, maybe that will eventually give us a clue as to what's causing cancer.”

The study is part of a popular movement toward trying to figure out what the influence of bacteria in the gut is on cancer risk. “There is a lot of ongoing research on the bacteria that lives in our gut, and cancer,” says Dr. Ocean. “The flora that is in our gut can influence the way someone's immune system works, and how their immune system reacts to cancer cells developing. And I believe that is where this study is heading, because oral bacteria is also the same bacteria that's in your gut. Your mouth is just an extension of your intestinal tract. So most likely the bacteria in your mouth is the same bacteria in your esophagus and other parts of the intestines.”

According to Dr. Ocean, not enough people are aware of the increased risk of pancreatic cancer in  African American people. “Pancreatic cancer is a more common disease in African American people in general, and that’s not a well known fact. People may be  pre-disposed to pancreatic cancer because it runs in their family, or if they are diabetic, or if they are African American these are all known risk factors.”

 

 

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