Poor Oral Hygiene Linked to Tripled Risk of Pancreatic Cancer, New Study Finds
That unbrushed mouth may be doing more than turning people away — it could be quietly raising your risk of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
A major new study from NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center has identified more than two dozen microbes in the mouth that may significantly increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, a disease notorious for its low survival rate and late detection. The findings, published in JAMA Oncology, suggest that oral hygiene may play a far more critical role in cancer prevention than previously thought.
The research tracked 122,000 individuals over nine years, analyzing their saliva for bacterial and fungal DNA. Comparing data from 445 pancreatic cancer patients with 445 matched cancer-free individuals, researchers discovered 24 species of bacteria and fungi that appeared to alter pancreatic cancer risk — either increasing or decreasing it. Of those, 27 microbes in total were linked to a more than threefold increase in risk.
“It is clearer than ever that brushing and flossing your teeth may not only help prevent periodontal disease but may also protect against cancer,” said co-senior author Dr. Richard Hayes, professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The study proposes a mechanism as unsettling as it is fascinating: harmful oral microbes may travel from the mouth to the pancreas via swallowed saliva. Once there, they may contribute to inflammation or immune dysregulation, potentially creating a microenvironment favorable to cancer growth.
“Our findings provide new insight into the relationship between the oral microbiome and pancreatic cancer,” said lead author Yixuan Meng, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU. “These microbes could be influencing tumor development through systemic inflammation or by altering immune responses in the pancreas.”
Some of the bacteria flagged in the study are already known culprits in gum disease — a chronic infection that damages the soft tissue and bone supporting the teeth. Gum disease itself has been previously linked to systemic inflammation and an increased risk of several illnesses, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
This new research adds pancreatic cancer to that growing list. The inflammatory markers released by the bacteria involved in periodontal disease may contribute to a “pro-tumor environment,” the study suggests.
