Apr 19, 2016 10:45 PM
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-04-pa...mouth.html -"Pancreatic cancer patients are known to be susceptible to gum disease, cavities, and poor oral health in general, say the study authors. That vulnerability led the research team to search for direct links between the makeup of bacteria driving oral disease and subsequent development of pancreatic cancer, a disease that often escapes early diagnosis and causes 40,000 US deaths annually.
"Our study offers the first direct evidence that specific changes in the microbial mix in the mouth—the oral microbiome—represent a likely risk factor for pancreatic cancer along with older age, male gender, smoking, African-American race, and a family history of the disease," says senior investigator and epidemiologist Jiyoung Ahn, PhD.
Specifically, researchers found that men and women whose oral microbiomes included Porphyromonas gingivalis had an overall 59 percent greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those whose microbiomes did not contain the bacterium. Similarly, oral microbiomes containing Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans were at least 50 percent more likely overall to develop the disease. Doctoral student and study lead investigator XiaoZhou Fan, MS, says both types of bacteria have been tied in the past to such diseases as periodontitis, or inflammation of the gums."
"Our study offers the first direct evidence that specific changes in the microbial mix in the mouth—the oral microbiome—represent a likely risk factor for pancreatic cancer along with older age, male gender, smoking, African-American race, and a family history of the disease," says senior investigator and epidemiologist Jiyoung Ahn, PhD.
Specifically, researchers found that men and women whose oral microbiomes included Porphyromonas gingivalis had an overall 59 percent greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those whose microbiomes did not contain the bacterium. Similarly, oral microbiomes containing Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans were at least 50 percent more likely overall to develop the disease. Doctoral student and study lead investigator XiaoZhou Fan, MS, says both types of bacteria have been tied in the past to such diseases as periodontitis, or inflammation of the gums."