title: Are oral and dental diseases linked to cancer?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Infection and inflammation play a role in carcinogenesis, and highly prevalent oral and dental diseases have been significantly linked to some types of cancer. This article reviews current literature in this area.
  
  
  METHODS
  Open literature review using the PubMed database and focused on publications from 2000 to 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Numerous potential mechanisms are implicated in the oral disease/carcinogenesis paradigm, including infection- and inflammation-associated cell pathology and microbial carcinogen metabolism. Poor oral hygiene is associated with oral cancer, but there is also evidence of a possible link between oral or dental infections and malignancies in general.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral infections may trigger malignant transformation in tissues of the mouth and other organs. However, scientific evidence to date remains weak and further well-conducted studies are warranted before cancer can be properly added to the list of oral infection-related systemic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. jukka.meurman@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Meurman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bascones-Martinez
mesh_terms: D002273:Carcinogens; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections; D007249:Inflammation; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D002273:Carcinogens