Cancer Risk Linked to Periodontal Diseases
Results from a large study involving more than 7,000 subjects found that patients with severe periodontitis exhibited a 24% higher risk of cancer compared with those without or with mild periodontitis.
Results from a large study involving more than 7,000 subjects found that patients with severe periodontitis exhibited a 24% higher risk of cancer compared with those without or with mild periodontitis. Conducted at Tufts University in Boston, the study also found that edentulous subjects were at a 28% higher risk of cancer compared with those without or with mild periodontitis. The most significant risks were found with lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Surprisingly, these increased cancer risks existed even for those subjects who had never smoked. Authors of the paper, “Periodontal Disease Assessed Using Clinical Dental Measurements and Cancer Risk in the ARIC Study,” published in the January issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, assert that the data provide additional evidence supporting a link between periodontal diseases and cancer risk, particularly in lung cancer. They suggest additional research is needed that considers different classifications of periodontal disease severity.
From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. February 2018;16(2):14-15.
