Oral Cancer is a common condition in India where beetle and tobacco chewing is a common habit. It has now been found that certain bacteria’s
Oral Cancer is a common condition in India where beetle and tobacco chewing is a common habit. It has now been found that certain bacteria’s excessive presence may give an early warning of cancer of the mouth.
A report published in the Open Access journal, Journal of Translational Medicine has found that patients suffering from oral cancer (usually called squamous cell carcinoma) have six common species of bacteria in the saliva at significantly higher levels than in the saliva of healthy individuals.The researchers claim that they were able to use 3 of the six species as a diagnostic tool to predict more than 80 percent of oral cancer cases. Previous similar studies have also reported that certain common oral bacteria are often found on or in oral cancer lesions. The current study is looking at the possibility of using these bacteria as a marker for oral cancer. Further research is required to validate this important finding of the researchers. If found to be correct, this test could also be used as an early warning system to prevent such cancers.
