Gum Disease can SIGNIFICANTLY increase the risk of Breast Cancer in Post Menopausal Women

With World Cancer Day this week, we thought you might be interested to know that research shows that gum disease in post menopausal women can significantly increase the risk of Brest Cancer: researchers believe the link could be the result of systemic inflammation that originates from infected gums and also suggests that bacteria from the mouth may enter the circulatory system through the gums which then affects the breast tissue.

But they have called for more research in order to identify the specific relationship. Speaking on the findings, lead researcher Dr Jo Freudenheim from the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the State University of New York at Buffalo, said "It could be that periodontal disease means there's a kind of general inflammation in the body. Inflammation is related to a number of cancers and stroke and heart disease, so it could be that chronic inflammation is causing both.

"If we can study periodontal disease and breast cancer in other populations, and if we can do a more detailed study of the characteristics of periodontal it would help us to understand if there was a relationship "

The study looked at cases of breast cancer in almost 70,000 women over almost seven years . It found that those with periodontal disease were 14% more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer .

Studies have previously identified links between gum disease and potentially life -threatening conditions such as heart disease , stroke , diabetes and even dementia

 

Ruthie