Diseased gums 'can increase the risk of cancer'

By Jenny Hope Daily Mail
Last updated at 1:49 AM on 27th May 2008

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Dentist

Warning? A dentist inspects a patient's teeth

Victims of gum disease have a higher cancer risk, scientists say.

Researchers found men with unhealthy gums had a 14 per cent greater chance of developing the cancer. The findings are likely to apply to women too, they said.

Gum disease causes bad breath and bleeding gums. If it goes untreated, cavities, receding gums and tooth loss can follow, as bacteria or plaque settles between teeth and under the gum line.

Recent studies have linked it to health problems such as heart disease. But a study published today in The Lancet Oncology is the most authoritative so far to investigate a possible link with cancer.
Scientists are uncertain as to why there is a link.

But they suspect that gum disease may lead to general inflammation in the body, which promotes tumour growth.

Alternatively, it could be a sign of a weak immune system.

Smoking has long been associated with gum disease. And when smokers were taken out of the equation, to exclude the effect of tobacco, the cancer risk rose to 21 per cent.

Dr Dominique Michaud, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, used data from a study begun in 1986 focusing on U.S. male health professionals aged 40 to 75.

They were asked about health and lifestyle, including any gum disease with bone loss and tooth loss in the previous two years, smoking history and diet.

Any cancers diagnosed during a follow-up period typically covering 17.7 years, were noted.

Among the 48,375 men, 5,720 cancers were recorded, excluding non-malignant skin cancer and non-aggressive prostate cancer.

The most common were bowel, malignant skin cancer, lung, bladder and advanced prostate. Men with a history of gum disease had a higher risk of lung cancer (36 per cent), kidney cancer (49 per cent), pancreatic cancer (54 per cent), and white blood- cell cancers (30 per cent), when compared with those with no record of gum problems.

Having fewer than half the normal number of teeth was associated with a 70 per cent increased risk of lung cancer.

Dr Michaud said: 'The findings suggest dental and oral health is more significant to overall health than we thought in the past.'

Gum disease may affect cancer risk by causing inflammation in the body, a mechanism believed to promote-heart disease, she added. But it could be a marker for those who are more susceptible to immune system problems.

* Those at the top of the 'healthy weight' range, with a Body Mass Index of 25, are up to 15 per cent more likely to develop bowel cancer, and 7 per cent more likely to get post-menopausal breast cancer than those at the bottom with a BMI of 20, the World Cancer Research Fund has warned.

There were numerous reports today in the news on research from Imperial College which, as reported in Lancet Oncology, reveals a link between gum disease and an increased chance of lung, kidney, pancreatic and blood cancers. A study which involved the analysis of questionnaires and health information from 50,000 men from as far back as 1986, indicated both illnesses could reflect immune system weaknesses and that those with a history of gum disease had a 14 per cent higher chance of cancer compared with those with no history of gum disease.

Each article carries with its own slant!

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7416672.stm
  
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2034007/Gum-disease-linked-to-greater-risk-of-cancer.html
  
• http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/05/27/people-with-gum-disease-have-a-higher-risk-of-cancer-89520-20430825/
  
• http://news.scotsman.com/health/Cancer-link-to-gum-disease.4121145.jp
  
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1022001/Diseased-gums-increase-risk-cancer.html

I agree with my colleague's quote hidden away in the BBC version:

quote:

Dr Philip Preshaw, a senior lecturer in Periodontology at Newcastle University, said that the small increases in risk recorded by the study were not proof of a link.
"You are trying to look at the impact of a chronic disease over many years - it is very difficult to adjust for the effects of lifestyle over that period.
"I don't think there is any other convincing evidence for this."