Stomach cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. It is often identified late, which makes treatment difficult. But now a new hope has arisen. In a recent research, scientists have found that stomach cancer can be detected early with just a simple oral rinse.
This research will be presented in the Digestive Disease Week conference being held in America. In this study, researchers analyzed oral bacteria samples of 98 people. Of these, 30 people had stomach cancer, 30 were in pre-cancer stage and 38 people were healthy.
Study findings
The study found that there was a clear difference in the oral bacteria of people suffering from stomach cancer and pre-cancer from the oral bacteria of healthy people. Not only this, even in cases of cancer and pre-cancer, very little difference was found in the bacteria of the mouth. This indicates that as soon as changes begin in the stomach, changes also begin to occur in the bacteria of the mouth.
Expert opinion
Dr. Perati, the main researcher of the study, says that our research shows that the bacteria in the mouth and stomach are interconnected. We can get an idea of the environment of the stomach from the bacteria present in the mouth. With this, tests can be developed in future which will be helpful in easily detecting stomach cancer.
More research needed
This research is still in its initial stages and will have to undergo more extensive studies. But doctors believe that this is an important discovery. If in the future, stomach cancer can be detected using mouthwash water alone, it could bring revolutionary changes in the early detection and treatment of cancer.
(PC: Freepik)
