by Michaela Langstone

Created on: January 31, 2010   Last Updated: February 03, 2010

The link between gum disease and pancreatic cancer has been known for a number of years.  The results of a 16-year study by the Harvard School of Public Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have been published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2007.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious types of cancer where cancerous cells grow and develop within the pancreas, an oak-leaf-shaped organ that sits neatly below your stomach.  Over 33000 Americans are affected each year, 30000 of whom die, making it the fourth killer cancer.  Overall, 10-15 people per 100000 in Western populations get affected.  The findings of this study showed that men with gum disease were 63% more prone to contracting this cancer than ones without gum disease.  The risk was even higher in men who had lost their teeth within four years due to the state of their gums.  "...one of the key factors that causes [gum disease] is actually an increase of bacteria in the mouth, around the teeth  ... the bacteria make their way underneath the gum," said Dr. Michael Glougauer, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto.  "Also some of these bacteria actually will make their way and invade into the body into the circulation."

"More research is needed both to confirm this finding in other populations and also to explore the role of inflammation in this particular cancer," the said the head of the research study, Dominique Michaud.  "The association may be due to systemic (throughout the body) inflammation and/or increased levels of carcinogenic compounds generated by bacteria in the oral cavity of individuals with periodontal disease," the researchers wrote.  However, they did not take into account risk factors associated with both diseases, including smoking and obesity, but said this study does not provide hard evidence of the link.  Researchers believe that chronic infection of the gums causes inflammation in other parts of the body, which sets the body up for disease.

DIAGNOSIS AND SYMPTOMS

This is the first study that clarifies the connection between periodontal disease and pancreatic cancer.  Pancreatic cancer can develop quickly and even spread to other organs in the vicinity such as the liver or small intestine.  Diagnosis in the early stages is hard, but when symptoms appear, they can include abdominal pain which can extend to your middle or

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