Periodontal disease and tooth loss increase pancreatic cancer (PC) risk, according to Swedish researchers who followed 5,889,441 people for a median of 7.2 years. During this time, 10,081 people developed PC.

About 30 per cent of those enrolled had mild dental inflammation or periodontitis. Compared with orally healthy controls, people aged between 19 and 50 years had a higher PC risk if they had a root canal infection (by 58 per cent), periodontitis (by 56 per cent) and mild inflammation (by 35 per cent). 

People aged between 50 and 70 years with periodontitis were 20 per cent more likely to develop PC. No links emerged in people older than 70 years.

People between 19 and 50 years of age with between one and 20 teeth were twice (hazard ratio 2.09) as likely as those with 28 teeth to develop PC. Those aged between 50 and 70 and older than 70 years with between one and 14 teeth were 51 and 13 per cent respectively more likely than those with 28 teeth to develop PC. 

The authors of the study say prospective studies should identify the oral bacteria that precede PC development. (British Journal of Cancer 2022; 127:2133-2140)