What if your teeth could say a lot about your health far beyond the mouth? A vast study has just revealed a disturbing link between certain oral bacteria and the increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer, a silent killer with multiple causes
Pancreas cancer remains one of the most formidable: often diagnosed too late, its prognosis is often dark. Tobacco, alcohol, obesity, family history … Many risk factors are known. But in recent years, researchers have also been interested in another unexpected actor: our mouth.
Periodontal diseases, often due to insufficient oral hygiene, had already been associated with various serious health problems, ranging from cardiovascular disease to certain cancers.
This time, a new study confirms that an imbalance in the oral microbiome could be directly linked to the risk of pancreatic cancer.
A study on more than 120,000 people reveals a worrying signal
Led by the Nyu Grossman School of Medicine and published in Jama Oncologythe study enlisted 122,000 volunteers for several years. All provided oral samples, including 445 developed pancreatic cancer during the monitoring (mid 8.8 years). The researchers analyzed the microbes present in their mouths.
Results: some bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis, eubacterium nodatum, parvimonas micraas well as 20 other bacterial species) and fungi (4 fungal species) were associated with a significant increase in the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. The microbial risk score based on 27 oral species has been associated with a risk of pancreatic cancer more than tripled!
In a press release, Yixuan Meng, main author of the study, specifies: “Our study highlights a significant association between oral microbes and pancreatic cancer, stressing the “potential importance of the oral microbiome in early screening”.
A simple oral direct debit to identify people at high risk
Researchers see in these results a hope of better targeting prevention. As Jiyoung Ahn explains, professor of epidemiology and co-author of the study: “These results suggest that the oral microbiome could be used to identify people with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer, paving the way for targeted prevention strategies“.
In other words, a simple oral direct debit could ultimately make it possible to determine who would need more attentive screening.
Why treat your teeth could save much more than a smile
Even if the researchers insist: it is a correlation, and not a proof of direct cause, this discovery recalls how crucial oral hygiene is. Brushing your teeth twice a day, consulting your dentist regularly and preventing periodontal diseases not only protects a smile: this could also have a much wider impact on general health.
“”It is clearer than ever to brush your teeth and use dental wire can not only help prevent periodontal diseases, but also protect against cancer “said the main co-author of the study, Richard Hayes, professor in the Public Health Department of NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
For scientists, additional research is necessary in order to understand if the oral microbiome also influences the survival prognosis. But one thing is certain: paying attention to your mouth could well help protect one of the most fragile and difficult to treat organs.