Research links bacteria in mouth to colorectal cancer

Cleveland—A gut microbe described in research published Aug. 14 as “an opportunistic commensal anaerobe in the oral cavity implicated in various forms of periodontal diseases” and prevalent in extraoral infections has been linked in recent studies to colorectal cancer (CRC), the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and second most occurring cancer worldwide. But whether this is an indirect or causal link remains unclear.