Tags: gum disease | bacteria | esophageal | cancer | risk

Gum Disease Bacteria Linked to Esophageal Cancer Risk

Gum Disease Bacteria Linked to Esophageal Cancer Risk
(Copyright DPC)

By    |   Friday, 26 February 2016 12:39 PM EST


Gum disease has been linked with many health problems including heart disease and diabetes. Now, there's another reason to maintain good oral health: A type of bacteria responsible for gum disease may be a cause of esophageal cancer. Researchers at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry found the bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis in 61 percent of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The bacteria wasn't detectable in healthy esophageal tissue.

"These findings provide the first direct evidence that P. gingivalis infection could be a novel risk factor for ESCC, and may also serve as a prognostic biomarker for this type of cancer," said Dr. Huizhi Wang, assistant professor of oral immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry.

"These data, if confirmed, indicate that eradication of a common oral pathogen may contribute to a reduction in the significant number of people suffering with ESCC," he said.

The esophagus is a muscular tube that moves food from the mouth to the stomach. It is lined with two main types of cells, and there are two main kinds of esophageal cancer — adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. According to cancer.org, adenocarcinoma is more common among whites, while squamous cell carcinoma is more common among African-Americans.

Wang and colleagues examined the tissue of 100 patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer and 30 healthy patients. They measured the expression of lysine-gingipain, an enzyme unique to P. gingivalis, as well as the presence of the bacteria's DNA within the esophageal tissues. Both the enzyme and its DNA were significantly higher in the cancerous tissue.

Wang says there are two likely explanations for the bacteria's presence in cancerous tissue. Either the cancer cells thrive in the presence of P. gingivalis, or the infection of P. gingivalis helps esophageal cancer to develop.

If the bacteria is proven to help the cancer to develop, simple antibiotics may be a useful therapy, according to Wang.

"Should P. gingivalis prove to cause ESCC, the implications are enormous," Wang said.
"It would suggest that improving oral hygiene may reduce ESCC risk; screening for P. gingivalis in dental plaque may identify susceptible subjects; and using antibiotics or other anti-bacterial strategies may prevent ESCC progression."

Each year, almost 17,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and more than 15,500 people die from the disease each year, according to cancer.org. It is difficult to diagnose early, and it usually progresses rapidly and has a high mortality rate.

The study was published in Infectious Agents and Cancer.

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Health-News
Gum disease has been linked with many health problems including heart disease and diabetes. Now, there's another reason to maintain good oral health: A type of bacteria responsible for gum disease may be a cause of esophageal cancer. Researchers at the University of...
gum disease, bacteria, esophageal, cancer, risk
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2016-39-26
Friday, 26 February 2016 12:39 PM
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