Abstract 2599: Association of periodontal disease and breast health in women undergoing screening mammography

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Abstract It is well established that chronic and persistent inflammation contributes to cancer development. Chronic inflammation is often associated with periodontal disease, or gum disease. Periodontal disease, which can be prevented or ameliorated by following proper oral hygiene, is known to be associated with various systemic disorders including coronary heart disease and some cancers, including head and neck cancer and pancreatic cancer. However, little is known about its potential association with breast cancer, with only one report in which periodontal disease was a positive predictor for breast cancer in a Swedish cohort. To examine if a potential link exists between periodontal disease and breast cancer in a separate cohort, mammography patients from the UC Irvine Athena Breast Health Network cohort were recruited to participate in a survey that included questions about their periodontal health. Diagnosis of invasive breast cancer, DCIS, and benign breast diseases was determined through data extraction from electronic medical records. There was no association between periodontal disease and DCIS or invasive breast cancer. However, there was a significant difference in the frequency of breast cysts among women with periodontal disease compared to women without periodontal disease (p<0.01). Women with periodontal disease were at least 4-fold more likely to have breast cysts, even after adjusting for potential confounders including age, race/ethnicity, and smoking history (p<0.05). To our knowledge, this is the first report on an association between periodontal disease and breast cysts. Our data suggest that further studies on potential links between periodontal disease and breast health are warranted. Citation Format: Hannah Lui Park, Teofilia Acheampong, Kathleen Nguyen, Cindy Nguyen, Argyrios Ziogas, Richard Kelly, Andrea Alvarez, Kathryn M. Larsen, Deborah Goodman, Hoda Anton-Culver. Association of periodontal disease and breast health in women undergoing screening mammography. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2599.