Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Survival Linked to Number of Natural Teeth, Japanese Study Finds

A study from Japan's Hiroshima University suggests a surprising correlation between the number of natural teeth a patient retains and their survival rate after undergoing pancreatic cancer surgery. The research, published in the Journal of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Sciences, analyzed 339 patients who had pancreatic resection surgery between 2014 and 2022.

Researchers found that patients who had 21 or more natural teeth before their surgery had a median overall survival of 60.7 months. In contrast, those with fewer than 20 natural teeth had a median survival of 39.1 months, a difference of nearly two years. This association remained statistically significant even after accounting for factors like tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, surgical margins, chemotherapy, and nutritional status.

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The number of teeth may reflect a person's accumulated chronic inflammation, frailty, nutritional status, and other health factors over many years.

However, the study's authors caution against a simplistic interpretation, such as assuming better chewing ability leads to longer survival. They propose that the number of teeth might serve as an indicator of a person's accumulated health status over many years. Patients with fewer teeth in the study were generally older and more likely to have conditions like diabetes, impaired kidney function, and poorer nutritional and immune markers.

This suggests that tooth count could be an external marker of long-term bodily health rather than a direct cause of cancer survival. The research team plans further studies to explore the relationship between oral bacteria, chronic inflammation, and pancreatic cancer progression. While the current findings highlight a connection, more research is needed to determine if tooth count can be used to predict patient prognosis.

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The number of natural teeth is associated with the long-term survival of patients undergoing pancreatic cancer surgery, but further research is needed to determine if it can be used to further evaluate patient prognosis.