REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Molecular Bacterial Pathogenesis
Periodontal disease and gastric and colorectal cancers: mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives
Provisionally accepted
- The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
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Periodontal disease (PD) is one of the most prevalent chronic oral diseases globally, characterized by chronic inflammatory responses in the gingiva and supporting periodontal tissues. Recent epidemiological and mechanistic studies have indicated that PD not only adversely affects oral health but is also significantly associated with gastric and colorectal cancers. This article reviews the potential link between PD and these gastrointestinal malignancies, exploring the underlying pathogenic mechanisms and potential strategies for preventing and treating gastric and colorectal cancers through the management of PD. Periodontal health management may represent an adjunct avenue for the prevention and control of gastrointestinal cancers; however, high-quality longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to clarify causality.
Keywords: Periodontal disease, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, oral – gut microbiome axis, Immune Evasion, Inflammation, therapeutic strategies
Received: 05 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Cao, Ma, Wang, Liu, Zhang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Haiyang Zhang, haiyang8339@jlu.edu.cn
Quan Wang, wquan@jlu.edu.cn
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