Severe Gum Disease May Increase Risk For Cancer, Likelihood Of Dying From The Disease, Studies Suggest.
Medscape (1/23, Davenport) reports that two studies suggest “severe gum disease not only may increase the risk for cancer, including lung and colorectal cancer but also may increase the likelihood of dying of the disease, particularly pancreatic cancer.” In one study, published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, investigators found “that severe periodontitis was associated with a 24% increased risk for cancer, with the highest risks seen for lung cancer and colorectal cancer.” The other study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, indicated that periodontitis was linked to “a 33% increased risk for overall cancer mortality.” The data indicated that “the mortality risk associated with gum disease among” patients “with pancreatic cancer was far higher, with a more than twofold increased risk.”
