Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a type of HNSCC, accounts for 90% of all oral cancers, and it has a poor five-year survival rate that has not changed in decades.
OSCC occurs between the vermilion border of the lips and the junction of the hard and soft palates or the posterior one-third of the tongue.
In a recent study published in PLOS Pathogens, researchers found that pathogens found in tissues that surround the teeth contribute to this highly aggressive type of oral cancer.
In addition, they showed that oral cancer formation mediated by the pathogens can be inhibited by a bacteriocin—an antimicrobial and probiotic peptide that is produced by bacteria.
The study is from the University of California, San Francisco. One author is Yvonne Kapila.
Risk factors of oral cancer, including smoking, alcohol drinking, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, alone have not been sufficient to explain the aggressive nature of OSCC.
Other factors such as oral pathogens may play an important role in tumor development, progression and metastasis, yet this has not been well explored.
In the study, the team tested whether oral cancer is induced by periodontal pathogens (i.e., those affecting the structures surrounding and supporting the teeth).
They found that three types of periodontal pathogens (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Fusobacterium nucleatum) enhanced OSCC tumor formation.
But the processes were inhibited by treatment with nisin—a bacteriocin and a commonly used food preservative.
According to the team, these findings offer the first direct evidence that a bacteriocin inhibits oral cancer formation mediated by periodontal pathogens.
Moreover, they suggest that nisin could have broad therapeutic potential as an antimicrobial and anticancer agent, and as an inhibitor of pathogen-mediated cancer formation.
These results could advance treatment for oral cancer and establish a novel paradigm for cancer treatment focused on antimicrobial-based therapies.
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For more information about cancer prevention and treatment, please see recent studies about these two prebiotics may help treat skin cancer, colon cancer and results showing that this type of gut bacteria may cause bowel cancer.
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