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- Study shows chronic gum disease often a precursor to Tongue cancer
Study shows chronic gum disease often a precursor to Tongue cancer
- By News Hound
- Published 05/22/2007
- Health & Wellness
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View all articles by News HoundStudy shows chronic gum disease often a precursor
By SHERYL UBELACKER The Canadian Press
TORONTO — If the risk of losing all your teeth to gum disease isn’t incentive enough, researchers have found another preventative reason to brush and floss religiously — tongue cancer.
Researchers at the University of Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute say they have found a possible link between long-standing periodontitis, or gum disease, and the risk of developing tongue cancer.
The study, published in the May issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology, found the risk of tongue cancer due to chronic periodontal disease increased fivefold with every millimetre of lost alveolar bone — the bone in the jaw that holds teeth in place.
Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth. It begins when the bacteria in plaque — the sticky, colourless film that forms on teeth — causes the gums to become inflamed. An estimated 15 per cent of Canadian adults have the condition to varying degrees.
"We expected to see an association, given the results of earlier studies linking chronic infections and inflammation to cancer risk in other organs," said lead author Dr. Mine Tezal, a professor of periodontics and endodontics at the University of Buffalo and a research scientist at Roswell Park.
"But we didn’t expect to see such a clear association with a relatively small sample size."
In the 1999-2005 study, the researchers compared panoramic (full-mouth) dental X-rays of 51 males newly diagnosed with tongue cancer against those of 54 men without cancer. Bone loss measurements were made by the same periodontist, who did not know the cancer status of any of the participants.
After adjusting for potential effects of age, smoking status and the number of existing teeth, researchers found that the men with chronic gum disease were 5.2 times more likely to have tongue cancer with every millimetre of bone loss than those without gum disease.
"Periodontitis is a chronic disease that progresses very slowly," said Tezal. "Seeing alveolar bone loss on X-rays indicates the infection has existed for decades, making it clear that periodontitis preceded the cancer diagnosis, and not vice versa."
A larger study by Tezal and colleagues, as yet unpublished, has found a similar tongue cancer risk for women with periodontal disease.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/836911.html
TORONTO — If the risk of losing all your teeth to gum disease isn’t incentive enough, researchers have found another preventative reason to brush and floss religiously — tongue cancer.
Researchers at the University of Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute say they have found a possible link between long-standing periodontitis, or gum disease, and the risk of developing tongue cancer.
The study, published in the May issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology, found the risk of tongue cancer due to chronic periodontal disease increased fivefold with every millimetre of lost alveolar bone — the bone in the jaw that holds teeth in place.
Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth. It begins when the bacteria in plaque — the sticky, colourless film that forms on teeth — causes the gums to become inflamed. An estimated 15 per cent of Canadian adults have the condition to varying degrees.
"We expected to see an association, given the results of earlier studies linking chronic infections and inflammation to cancer risk in other organs," said lead author Dr. Mine Tezal, a professor of periodontics and endodontics at the University of Buffalo and a research scientist at Roswell Park.
"But we didn’t expect to see such a clear association with a relatively small sample size."
In the 1999-2005 study, the researchers compared panoramic (full-mouth) dental X-rays of 51 males newly diagnosed with tongue cancer against those of 54 men without cancer. Bone loss measurements were made by the same periodontist, who did not know the cancer status of any of the participants.
After adjusting for potential effects of age, smoking status and the number of existing teeth, researchers found that the men with chronic gum disease were 5.2 times more likely to have tongue cancer with every millimetre of bone loss than those without gum disease.
"Periodontitis is a chronic disease that progresses very slowly," said Tezal. "Seeing alveolar bone loss on X-rays indicates the infection has existed for decades, making it clear that periodontitis preceded the cancer diagnosis, and not vice versa."
A larger study by Tezal and colleagues, as yet unpublished, has found a similar tongue cancer risk for women with periodontal disease.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/836911.html
