A study which tracked the oral health of 122, 000 Americans for up to 10 years has discovered that the presence of two types of bacteria linked to gum disease may heighten the risk of oesophageal cancer.
The findings from the study were published in a journal Cancer Research on December 1.
According to associate director for population science at NYU Langone Health in New York City, United States (U.S.) Jiyoung Ahn, the presence of one oral bacteria known as Tannerella forsythia, was linked to a 21 percent increase in the odds of developing esophageal tumors.
"Esophageal cancer is a highly fatal cancer, and there is an urgent need for new avenues of prevention, risk stratification, and early detection." Ahn said.
Associate director of esophageal endotherapy at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, Dr. Anthony Starpoli, who reviewed the new findings stressed that researchers can't yet prove a causal link to esophageal tumors.
Starpoli is optimistic that specialists should consider a proper evaluation of the oral cavity as well as the remainder of the digestive tract in the hope of early diagnosis of esophageal cancer.
The study also revealed Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, because it's often only diagnosed at an advanced stage, five year survival rates are between 15 to 25 percent.
On a positive, the investigators found that some types of mouth bacteria were associated with a lower risk of esophageal cancer.
Learning more about the bacteria communities living naturally in the mouth "may potentially lead to strategies to prevent esophageal cancer, or at least to identify it at earlier stages," Ahn noted.
She added that good oral health involving regular tooth brushing and dental proper dental care could help protect against gum disease and health conditions associated with it.
