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Study finds oral bacteria linked to pancreatic cancer

2025-09-20 09:34:00, Shëndeti CNA

A person's risk of pancreatic cancer may be linked to the microbes that live in their mouth, a new study says.

People have a more than threefold higher risk of pancreatic cancer if their mouths contain 27 types of bacteria and fungi, including some directly linked to gum disease, researchers reported Sept. 18 in JAMA Oncology.

“It is clearer than ever that brushing and flossing can not only help prevent periodontal disease, but may also protect against cancer,” co-lead author Dr. Richard Hayes, professor of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said in a press release.

Pancreatic cancer is considered a "silent killer" because there are few effective screening methods to catch it early. This makes it a very deadly cancer, with a five-year survival rate of just 13%, the researchers said in preliminary notes.

Previous studies have shown that bacteria can travel through swallowed saliva to the pancreas, increasing the risk of cancer for those with poor oral health.

However, it has not been clear which microbes specifically contribute to pancreatic cancer, the researchers said.

For the study, researchers analyzed saliva samples taken from more than 122,000 Americans who participated in two large-scale studies on cancer screening and prevention.

The team identified 445 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and compared their saliva samples with those taken randomly from 445 people who remained cancer-free.

Researchers identified 20 different types of bacteria and four types of fungi that affect the risk of pancreatic cancer.

They also linked pancreatic cancer to three bacteria already known to contribute to gum disease - Porphyromonas gingivalis, Eubacterium nodatum and Parvimonas micra.

Overall, the entire group of microbes increased the risk of pancreatic cancer by nearly 3.5 times, the results show.

"By profiling bacterial and fungal populations in the mouth, oncologists may be able to identify those most in need of screening for pancreatic cancer," co-senior author Jiyoung Ahn, professor of population health and medicine at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine, said in a press release.

However, the researchers noted that, because the study is observational, it cannot draw a direct cause-and-effect link between oral health and pancreatic cancer.

The team next plans to explore whether oral viruses may contribute to cancer and how the oral microbiome may affect patients' chances of survival./ CNA