Pancreatic cancer is one of the more deadly forms of cancer because it typically isn’t diagnosed until it is at an advanced stage. More than 50,000 individuals are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, and typically only 10 percent of those individuals will be alive five years after diagnosis. Because of this, researchers are always looking for new ways to diagnose the condition before it worsens, as earlier treatment yields better results.

Bacterial Research

One new avenue researchers are exploring is your mouth. The latest breakthrough came when researchers were studying the types of bacteria inside our mouths, and how they relate to pancreatic cancer. According to their findings, researchers believe they have identified two different types of periodontal disease-causing bacteria whose presence have been associated with an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Mouth Bacteria and Cancer

For their study, researchers collected saliva samples from a large group of individuals. They sequenced the DNA from saliva samples of 361 people who had pancreatic cancer and 371 healthy control subjects. After comparing the samples, researchers uncovered that participants who had the bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis in their mouth had a 59 percent increased risk for developing pancreatic cancer than those who didn’t have the bacteria in their mouth.

Additionally, individuals with the bacteria Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans had at least a 50 percent increase relative risk for developing pancreatic cancer, researchers wrote. They believe the presence of the these two types of bacteria could lead to inflammation in other parts of the body, a key development in the early stages of pancreatic cancer.

“Inflammation is related to cancer. The bacteria could be causing inflammation in the pancreas: that’s one theory,” said Jiyoung Ahn, PhD, lead author of the study and associate professor of population health and environmental medicine at Langone Medical Center at New York University.

Researchers stopped short of saying the presence of the bacteria caused pancreatic cancer, only that a correlation exists. They plan to conduct further studies on mice earlier this year to see how these pathogens influence pancreatic cancer development. As it currently stands, the study offers another reason why oral health is an important part of whole body health!