{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T14:55:41Z","timestamp":1791557741274,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,8]],"date-time":"2025-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757289600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Chronic periodontitis has emerged as a potential modifiable risk factor for several tumors, yet its role remains underexplored beyond epidemiological associations. This perspective review examines the immunological and molecular interplay between periodontitis and various cancers\u2014including prostate, colorectal, oral squamous cell carcinoma, and oral potentially malignant disorders\u2014highlighting shared inflammatory mediators and immune dysregulation. Special attention is given to immune cell profiles, cytokine expression, dysbiosis, and common miRNA signatures. Recent evidence suggests that periodontitis may act not only as a co-factor in tumor development but also, in some contexts, as a marker of therapeutic response, particularly in patients undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. In our view, future research should prioritize mechanistic studies to define common immune\u2013inflammatory pathways and clarify whether periodontitis functions as a field cancerization process or as a facilitator of malignant transformation in already compromised tissues. The relationship between cancer and periodontitis underscores the need to integrate oral health into oncologic care and immunotherapy management.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14176334","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]],"date-time":"2025-09-10T08:43:54Z","timestamp":1757493834000},"page":"6334","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Association Between Periodontitis and Cancer: A Perspective Review of Mechanisms and Clinical Evidence"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-9358-6948","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Bonilla","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Irene","family":"Pe\u00f1alver","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Dentistry, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda Jos\u00e9","family":"Mesa-L\u00f3pez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Digestive Diseases, Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital, 30120 Murcia, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8293-2527","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisco","family":"Mesa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0757.2012.00449.x","article-title":"Periodontal disease epidemiology\u2014Learned and unlearned?","volume":"62","author":"Baelum","year":"2013","journal-title":"Periodontol. 2000"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1053","DOI":"10.1177\/0022034519846113","article-title":"Periodontal medicine: 100 years of progress","volume":"98","author":"Beck","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. 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