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    More than a dozen bacterial species among the hundreds that live in people’s mouths have been linked to a collective 50% increased chance of developing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a new study shows.


    More than a dozen bacterial species among the hundreds that live in people’s mouths have been linked to a collective 50% increased chance of developing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a new study shows.

    https://nyulangone.org/news/bacteria-involved-gum-disease-linked-increased-risk-head-neck-cancer

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    1. mvea on

      I’ve linked to the press release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

      https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/article-abstract/2824198

      From the linked article:

      More than a dozen bacterial species among the hundreds that live in people’s mouths have been linked to a collective 50 percent increased chance of developing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a new study shows. Some of these microbes had previously been shown to contribute to periodontal disease, serious gum infections that can eat away at the jawbone and the soft tissues surrounding teeth.

      Experts have long observed that those with poor oral health are statistically more vulnerable than those with healthier mouths to HNSCC, a group that includes the most common cancers of the mouth and throat. While small studies have tied some bacteria in these regions (known as the oral microbiome) to the cancers, the exact bacterial types most involved had until now remained unclear.

      Their latest report, published online September 26 in the journal JAMA Oncology, is the largest and most detailed analysis of its kind to date, says Dr. Kwak. It is also among the first to examine whether common fungi—organisms like yeast and mold that, along with bacteria, make up the oral microbiome—might play a role in HNSCC. The new experiments found no such role for fungal organisms.

      For the research, the team analyzed data from three ongoing investigations tracking 159,840 Americans from across the country to better understand how diet, lifestyle, medical history, and many other factors are involved in cancer. The data were gathered for the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II; the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial; and the Southern Community Cohort Study.