New study links periodontal disease and oesophageal cancer

Scientists have established a potential link between periodontal disease and oesophageal cancer after carrying out a study of the types of bacteria present in the mouth.

The New York University Langone Health study collated oral wash samples from 122,000 participants to compare the oral microbiomes of people who went on to develop oesophageal cancer and those who did not.

It was observed that certain bacteria types – including the Tannerella forsythia and Porphyromonas gingivalis species – had associations with both oesophageal cancer and common gum disease, while other forms bacteria were linked to a lower cancer risk.

Given this suggests that the microbiota may potentially offer strategies to prevent oesophageal cancer, further research will now be carried out to verify whether any bacterial strains could be used as predictive biomarkers.

Dr Jiyoung Ahn, an associate professor and associate director for population science at the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Center at New York University Langone Health, said: "Oesophageal cancer is a highly fatal cancer, and there is an urgent need for new avenues of prevention, risk stratification and early detection."

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