Oral bacterial flora and oral cancer: The possible link?

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Oral cancer exhibits multifactorial etiology with tobacco and alcohol long been implicated as the primary risk factors. In addition, betel nut, dietary factors and poor oral hygiene have also been found to have a role in the etiology of oral cancer. Past research has uncovered a great deal of information regarding the association of exogenous bacteria with cancer. However, our definitive knowledge of the oral commensal bacteria and oral cancer link remains inadequate. In the present article, we hypothesize a causal role for oral bacterial flora in oral cancer although an indirect one. We propose that the normal bacterial flora in conjunction with the already established risk factors such as alcohol consumption may play a role in cancer development. The continued exploration of this topic may aid in better understanding of the pathogenesis of oral cancer thereby helping in appropriate treatment and better prognosis.

Related collections

Most cited references 21

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Helicobacter pylori persistence: biology and disease.

Martin J. Blaser, John C. Atherton (2004)

Helicobacter pylori are bacteria that have coevolved with humans to be transmitted from person to person and to persistently colonize the stomach. Their population structure is a model for the ecology of the indigenous microbiota. A well-choreographed equilibrium between bacterial effectors and host responses permits microbial persistence and health of the host but confers risk of serious diseases, including peptic ulceration and gastric neoplasia.

0 comments Cited 196 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

The salivary microbiota as a diagnostic indicator of oral cancer: A descriptive, non-randomized study of cancer-free and oral squamous cell carcinoma subjects

DL Mager, AD Haffajee, PM Devlin … (2005)

Background The purpose of the present investigation was to determine if the salivary counts of 40 common oral bacteria in subjects with an oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) lesion would differ from those found in cancer-free (OSCC-free) controls. Methods Unstimulated saliva samples were collected from 229 OSCC-free and 45 OSCC subjects and evaluated for their content of 40 common oral bacteria using checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization. DNA counts per ml saliva were determined for each species, averaged across subjects in the 2 subject groups, and significance of differences between groups determined using the Mann-Whitney test and adjusted for multiple comparisons. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in detection of OSCC by levels of salivary organisms were computed and comparisons made separately between a non-matched group of 45 OSCC subjects and 229 controls and a group of 45 OSCC subjects and 45 controls matched by age, gender and smoking history. Results Counts of 3 of the 40 species tested, Capnocytophaga gingivalis, Prevotella melaninogenica and Streptococcus mitis, were elevated in the saliva of individuals with OSCC (p < 0.001). When tested as diagnostic markers the 3 species were found to predict 80% of cancer cases (sensitivity) while excluding 83% of controls (specificity) in the non-matched group. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in the matched group were 80% and 82% respectively. Conclusion High salivary counts of C. gingivalis, P. melaninogenica and S. mitis may be diagnostic indicators of OSCC.

0 comments Cited 191 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The microflora associated with human oral carcinomas.

K.N. Nagy, I Sonkodi, I Szöke … (1998)

Both local and systemic infections may complicate the morbidity of patients with oral malignant neoplasms, particularly those presenting intraorally. This study investigated the microbial contents of the biofilms present on the surfaces of oral squamous cell carcinomas. Biofilm samples were obtained from the central surface of the lesions in 21 patients (20 male, 1 female) aged 52.8 (+/- 8.2) years, and from contiguous healthy mucosa, before any antibiotic therapy or any tumour treatment. All lesions were keratinising squamous cell carcinomas with surface ulceration. Samples were transported in reduced brain heart infusion (BHI) broth and cultured within 1 h of removal, using aerobic and anaerobic complete and selective media. The median number of anaerobic colony forming units (CFU/ml) at the tumour sites (1.6 x 10(8)) was significantly higher than for the healthy (control) mucosa (3.0 x 10(7); P = 0.0001, Wilcoxon); the same was true for aerobes at the tumour sites (1.51 x 10(8)) relative to the controls (2.8 x 10(7); P = 0.0008, Wilcoxon). The species isolated in increased numbers at tumour sites were Veillonella, Fusobacterium, Prevotella, Porphyromonas, Actinomyces and Clostridium (anaerobes), and Haemophilus, Enterobacteriaceae and Streptococcus spp. (aerobes). Candida albicans was found at eight of the 21 tumour sites, but never at control sites. It was concluded that human oral carcinoma surface biofilms harbour significantly increased numbers of aerobes and anaerobes as compared with the healthy mucosal surface of the same patient. Candida albicans can also be present in these biofilms. These findings must be considered in relation to the known predisposition of such patients to systemic infections, and to the unpleasant complications of oral morbidity due to infected lesions.

0 comments Cited 140 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Oral Maxillofac Pathol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J Oral Maxillofac Pathol

Journal ID (publisher-id): JOMFP

Title: Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology : JOMFP

Publisher: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )

ISSN (Print): 0973-029X

ISSN (Electronic): 1998-393X

Publication date (Print): May-Aug 2018

Volume: 22

Issue: 2

Pages: 234-238

Affiliations

[1]Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, YMT Dental College and Hospital, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Author notes

Address for correspondence: Dr. Pratyusha Prakash Gaonkar, Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, YMT Dental College and Hospital, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai - 410 210, Maharashtra, India. E-mail: pratyushagaonkar1@ 123456gmail.com

Article

Publisher ID: JOMFP-22-234

DOI: 10.4103/jomfp.JOMFP_89_16

PMC ID: 6097369

PubMed ID: 30158777

SO-VID: 085947ac-9a5a-4da6-bd0a-7c061a11e4de

License:

This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

History

Date received : 24 May 2016

Date accepted : 27 April 2018

Comments

Comment on this article

scite_

Smart Citations

Citing PublicationsSupportingMentioningContrasting

View Citations

See how this article has been cited at scite.ai

scite shows how a scientific paper has been cited by providing the context of the citation, a classification describing whether it supports, mentions, or contrasts the cited claim, and a label indicating in which section the citation was made.

Oral bacterial flora and oral cancer: The possible link?

Read this article at

Abstract

Related collections

Karger: Oncology

Most cited references 21

Helicobacter pylori persistence: biology and disease.

The salivary microbiota as a diagnostic indicator of oral cancer: A descriptive, non-randomized study of cancer-free and oral squamous cell carcinoma subjects

The microflora associated with human oral carcinomas.

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 397

Cited by 23

Most referenced authors 220