Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has commissioned or assessed on potential links between pancreatic cancer and gum disease.

George Freeman

The Department has not commissioned research on this topic.

An international study published in the journal Gut in 2013 found that gum disease might increase the risk for pancreatic cancer. The research measured antibodies to oral bacteria in prediagnosis blood samples from 405 pancreatic cancer cases and 416 matched controls, nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study (EPIC). The United Kingdom EPIC cohort was supported by the Department and six other funders.