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Objectives. The present pilot study was carried out to evaluate the periodontal status, the levels of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha in gingival crevicular fluid on hospitalized patients with colorectal cancer. Materials and Methods. The sample of our study was represented by 74 patients with colorectal cancer. They were assigned to one of the two study groups, based on cancer’s stages, as follows: (i) stage III-IV: 51 patients (A-group); (ii) stage III: 23 patients (B-group). For each participant periodontal parameters were recorded and gingival crevicular fluid samples were collected and immunologically assessed. Results. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups, regarding probing pocket depth, clinical attachment loss, bleeding on probing, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha. In A-group, statistically significant correlations were found between the inflammatory markers and probing pocket depth and between their levels and bleeding on probing. In B-group, statistically significant correlation was found between the levels of interleukin-6 and bleeding on probing. Conclusions. Our results suggest an association between the severity of periodontitis, the studied immunologic inflammatory markers and colorectal cancer’s severity.

Oral microbiota have shown a higher bacterial diversity in patients with cancers of the digestive tract, with higher levels of periopathogens. Recent studies have shown that Fusobacterium links to gastro-intestinal neoplastic tissue and accelerates its progression, as well as worsening patient outcome. The present pilot study was carried out between February and December 2020 to evaluate the possible association between the abundance of some periopathogens (Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Treponema denticola and Tannerella forsythia) in subgingival plaque and periodontal status with characteristics of gastric cancer. The study was performed on a sample of 24 patients with gastric cancer from the 1st Department of Surgery and Department of Gastroenterology within the Clinical County Hospital of Emergency of Craiova, Romania. The patients’ oral cavity was examined, gingival crevicular samples were collected, and signs of periodontal disease were recorded. On the histopathological exam, the differentiation grade and size of the tumour were registered. Our results showed that, from the periopathogens studied, the most abundant bacteria were F. nucleatum followed by T. forsythia in all groups. In our present study, the strong correlation between tumour dimension and all periodontal parameters but also between tumour dimension and F. nucleatum could suggest a positive association between periodontal disease, tumoral growth and periopathogens implication in this process.