"Periodontal Disease Patients Have 13% Higher Cancer Risk...Active Oral Care Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A study has found that periodontal disease increases the risk of cancer occurrence. Active oral care may help reduce the risk of developing cancer.

Professor Kim Han-sang of the Department of Oncology at Yonsei Cancer Center, Professor Jeong In-kyung of the Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics at Yonsei University College of Medicine, and Professor Kim Baek-il of the Department of Preventive Dentistry at Yonsei University College of Dentistry announced on the 24th that having periodontal disease increases the risk of cancer occurrence by 13%.

The research team used national health care big data to compare and analyze the cancer incidence rates over 10 years between two groups: 50,000 patients with periodontal disease and 660,000 without, totaling 710,000 people from 2003 to 2005.

As a result, the group with periodontal disease showed about a 13% higher relative risk of overall cancer occurrence compared to the group without periodontal disease. In particular, hematologic cancers, which are closely related to the immune system, were observed to be 39.4% higher in people with periodontal disease. Additionally, the risk of bladder cancer and thyroid cancer was 30.7% and 19.1% higher respectively, and major cancers in Korea such as colorectal cancer (12.9%), lung cancer (12.7%), and stomach cancer (13.6%) showed a strong association with periodontal disease.

Periodontal disease is a condition where bacterial plaque in the mouth increases and causes toxicity, leading to inflammation of the gums. If plaque is not removed quickly, it gradually hardens into tartar, worsening symptoms, so management is necessary. When periodontal disease is present, inflammatory factors such as interleukin and TNF-alpha increase in the bloodstream, which is known to raise the risk of systemic inflammatory diseases such as heart disease and chronic diseases like cancer.

Professor Kim Han-sang explained, “By confirming the correlation between periodontal disease and increased cancer incidence, we have verified that active oral care, in addition to smoking cessation, exercise, and vegetarian diets, can help reduce the onset of chronic inflammatory diseases such as cancer,” adding, “Further research is needed to determine whether periodontal disease is a direct cause of cancer occurrence.”

This research result was published in the latest issue of the international academic journal ‘Frontiers In Oncology’.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.