Assessment of Periodontal Health Status and Serum Level of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Women with Breast Cancer

Abstract

Periodontal diseases are inflammatory diseases that affect the periodontium which lead to alveolar bone and attachment loss. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Expression of (VEG F) is elevated in both diseases and it is the marker of angiogenesis related to cancer development. 1. To determine the periodontal health status and the serum levels of (VEGF) in women with breast cancer in comparison to women without breast cancer. 2. To correlate between serum levels of VEGF with clinical periodontal parameters (PLI, GI, BOP, PPD, and CAL) in women with breast cancer in comparison to women without breast cancer. Eighty women with age ranged from (30-60) years old, 40 women with breast cancer and another 40 women without. Periodontal health status were taken for all participants and then they were subdivided into four groups: the (BC +CP) group which included participants with breast cancer and chronic periodontitis (n=20), the (BC+ G) group included participants with breast cancer and gingivitis (n=20), the (CP) group which included participants with chronic periodontitis only (n=20) and the (G) group which included participants with gingivitis only (n=20). Other than breast cancer, all subjects were systemically healthy females. Periodontal health status was determined by clinical periodontal examination of (PLI, GI, BOP, PPD and CAL). Blood samples were collected from each participant, serum levels of VEGF were determined by enzyme -linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA). The results of this study showed that the median values of PLI and GI were slightly increased in BC+G group in comparison to other groups with non-significant differences, the percentages of BOP showed highly significant differences among the groups (P <0.01). The median values of PPD showed slight increase in BC+CP group than CP group with non-significant differences. Median values of CAL were increased in CP group than BC+CP group with non-significant differences. VEGF serum levels were elevated in BC+CP group than other groups with non-significant differences. Also by using Spearman’s rank Correlation Coefficient, serum levels of VEGF were correlated positively with all clinical periodontal parameters. VEGF serum level could be associated with progression of both periodontal diseases and breast cancer.