Prevalence of Oral Microbes in the Saliva of Oncological Patients

Abstract

This study examined the prevalence of oral microbes in the saliva of oncological patients and healthy subjects. PCR was used to assess the frequency of oral microbes including 3 cariogenic bacteria, 5 periodontopathic bacteria and 4 Candida species in the saliva of 104 oncological patients and 52 healthy subjects. Among these microorganims, Streptococcus mutans, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Candida albicans were most frequently detected in both groups. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of cariogenic bacteria between the patient and healthy groups, whereas significant differences in the frequency of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia were observed between the two groups (p < 0.05). The prevalence of all five periodontopathogens was higher in the healthy group than in the patient group. The prevalence of C. albicans in patients was significantly higher than that of healthy group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, there were significant differences in the prevalence of P. gingivalis, T. forsythia and C. albicans between the oncological patient group and healthy group.

Saliva: A Cutting Edge in Diagnostic Procedures

“…Further, the genetic analysis and their expression levels can be determined by salivary RNA transcript with microarray analysis in comparison of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients [20]. Application of saliva in diagnostics also includes the detection of ovarian cancers, breast carcinomas using specific and nonspecific tumour markers [27]. The role of bacteria in oral cancer is also interesting.…”

The prevalence rate of Porphyromonas gingivalis and its association with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…13 Also, the prevalence of P. gingivalis was compared between groups of solid and non-solid cancers by Kang et al and it was revealed that its prevalence was higher among non-solid cancers. 12 Another study by Michaud and others showed that the prevalence rate of pancreatic cancer among patients with >200 ng antibody of P. gingivalis was two-fold higher than that among those with ⩽200 ng. This result may support the idea that periodontal diseases increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.…”

“…11 The prevalence rate of periodontal bacteria among cancer patients may be associated with patients' health status, existence of any oral pathogenic condition, time of chemotherapy, surgery, disease stage, type of cancer, patients' age, previous or current antibiotic therapy, et cetera. 12 Moreover, investigating the prevalence rate of periodontal agents such as P. gingivalis among cancer patients is important, since its findings can help physicians to control correlated periodontal complications and have a better view for the next treatment planning of cancer disease. There are little knowledge about the prevalence rate of P. gingivalis among cancer patients and this study aims to evaluate and compare the prevalence rate of P. gingivalis among cancer patients via a meta-analysis method.…”

Salivary Diagnostics in Oral Cancer

“…The role of bacteria in oral cancer is currently being investigated to determine if the role is a causal or it is a co-incidental finding. Kang et al, (2009) evaluated the salivary levels of group of organisms (cariogenic, periodontopathic and fungal) and demonstrated significant increase in the levels of P. Gingivalis, T. Forsythia & C. albicans in cancer group than in normal controls. The study also found that the prevalence of S. sobrinus in healthy group was significantly lower than in healthy head and neck tumors.…”

“…Studies have found increased candidal carriage in salivary samples of OSCC group than in normal controls (Kang et al, 2009). This indicates that the salivary analysis of candida species might be useful as diagnostic and prognostic indicator of oral pre-cancer and cancer.…”