Cancer Risk Elevated With Severe Gum Disease

Odds of developing colorectal cancer were increased particularly for non-smokers with severe gum disease, the researchers found

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PEOPLE WITH severe gum disease may be at greater risk for cancer, a US study suggests.

“What this report does is continue the support of the idea that gum disease is not just a matter of what happens to our teeth,” said Dr Leonard Lichtenfeld, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, American Cancer Society.

Researchers performed dental exams on 7,466 individuals from Mississippi, Maryland, Minnesota and North Carolina and then monitored them for an average of 15 years. None of the participants had cancer at the start of the study.

15 years later, individuals with severe gum disease on the dental exam had a 24 per cent higher risk of developing any kind of cancer, and more than double the risk of lung cancer, compared to those with no or mild gum disease.

Odds of developing colorectal cancer were increased particularly for non-smokers with severe gum disease, the researchers found.