Association of chronic periodontitis and oral cancer: A review on pathogenetic mechanism and clinical implication

The objective of this article is to review the available literature on the pathogenetic mechanisms involved in the association between oral cancer and periodontitis and its clinical implications. Periodontal diseases are characterized by chronic inflammation as a response to the host tissue invasion by multi-species microbial community. The activation of different inflammatory cascades by chronic periodontitis negatively affects the oral mucosa and has the potential to activate carcinogenesis. An electronic literature search was conducted in the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. The search terms used were “CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS, ORAL CANCER, and PATHOGENESIS”. Original articles published between January 1990 and March 2018 was identified. Thirty-two potentially relevant articles were selected and included in the review after assessing the title and abstract. Several studies have shown that the inflammatory mediators produced in periodontal diseases may lead to angiogenesis and subsequently promote tumorogenesis. Periodontitis being a polymicrobial disease promotes carcinogenesis by evoking various inflammatory pathways. The rationale behind the association of oral cancer and periodontitis is that inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of both conditions.