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Review
. 2024 May 7;25(10):5083.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25105083.

About a Possible Impact of Endodontic Infections by Fusobacterium nucleatum or Porphyromonas gingivalis on Oral Carcinogenesis: A Literature Overview

Luca Ciani  1 , Antonio Libonati  2 , Maria Dri  3 , Silvia Pomella  1 , Vincenzo Campanella  1 , Giovanni Barillari  1
Affiliations
Review

About a Possible Impact of Endodontic Infections by Fusobacterium nucleatum or Porphyromonas gingivalis on Oral Carcinogenesis: A Literature Overview

Luca Ciani et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Periodontitis is linked to the onset and progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), an epidemiologically frequent and clinically aggressive malignancy. In this context, Fusobacterium (F.) nucleatum and Porphyromonas (P.) gingivalis, two bacteria that cause periodontitis, are found in OSCC tissues as well as in oral premalignant lesions, where they exert pro-tumorigenic activities. Since the two bacteria are present also in endodontic diseases, playing a role in their pathogenesis, here we analyze the literature searching for information on the impact that endodontic infection by P. gingivalis or F. nucleatum could have on cellular and molecular events involved in oral carcinogenesis. Results from the reviewed papers indicate that infection by P. gingivalis and/or F. nucleatum triggers the production of inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in dental pulp cells or periodontal cells, affecting the survival, proliferation, invasion, and differentiation of OSCC cells. In addition, the two bacteria and the cytokines they induce halt the differentiation and stimulate the proliferation and invasion of stem cells populating the dental pulp or the periodontium. Although most of the literature confutes the possibility that bacteria-induced endodontic inflammatory diseases could impact on oral carcinogenesis, the papers we have analyzed and discussed herein recommend further investigations on this topic.

Keywords: Fusobacterium nucleatum; Porphyromonas gingivalis; endodontic infections; endodontic neoplasms; odontogenic tumors; oral premalignant diseases; oral squamous cell carcinoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Theoretical effects that dental pulp infection by P. gingivalis and/or F. nucleatum could have on OSCCs. Arrows symbolize the direction of connections. Abbreviations: CSC, cancer stem cell; EMT, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; FGF, fibroblast growth factor; I.C., inflammatory cytokines; TGF, transforming growth factor; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor. Created with BioRender.com.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Theoretical effects that an apical periodontitis by P. gingivalis and/or F. nucleatum could have on OSCCs. Arrows symbolize the directions of connections. Abbreviations: ERMs, epithelial cell rests of Malassez; G.F., growth factors; I.C., inflammatory cytokines. Created with BioRender.com.
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