Overview

• A University of Granada and Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca study of 59 patients published July 9 in Clinical Oral Investigations reported a 69.5% prevalence of periodontitis among colorectal cancer cases.
• Patients with periodontitis showed significantly higher carcinoembryonic antigen levels, suggesting CEA released by periodontal pockets could inhibit tumor cell death.
• Researchers propose that chronic interleukin-6 production in periodontitis activates molecular pathways linked to tumor proliferation and metastasis.
• The team identifies periodontitis as a modifiable risk factor for colorectal cancer development but found no direct correlation with tumor aggressiveness in other analyzed variables.
• Lead author Francisco Mesa Aguado urges integrating oral health assessments into cancer prevention strategies and highlights the need for further research to confirm these findings.