The first signs of deadly stomach cancer could be detected years before symptoms develop using a medical mouthwash, a new study suggests.
Researchers at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey used a “swipe and spit” mouthwash to find signs of the disease.
Specifically, they found telltale changes in the bacteria in the mouths of people who developed the disease.
Stomach cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, is particularly deadly as the symptoms often mimic other less serious conditions, meaning the disease is detected late, when it has spread to other parts of the body. body.
Some studies suggest the disease is increasing among young people, echoing the current trend with many types of cancer, including colon cases that have increased more than 300 percent in adolescents over the past 20 years.
The finding could mean that a simple “swipe and spit” mouthwash could be used as a screening tool to identify people at higher risk of stomach cancer.
As shown above, having no energy, unintentional weight loss, constant indigestion, difficulty swallowing, feeling unwell, and a lump in the upper abdomen are warning signs and symptoms of stomach cancer.
In 2020, only 0.6 children ages 10 to 14 per 100,000 residents were diagnosed with colorectal cancer compared to 0.1 per 100,000 in 1999, an increase of 500 percent. Increases were also seen in older adults, with rates rising 71 percent to 6.5 per 100,000 people ages 30 to 34 and 58 percent to 11.7 per 100,000 ages 35 to 39 in 2020.
Country music star Toby Keith lost his battle with stomach cancer at age 62 in February 2024.
The researchers found that the type of bacteria in the mouth and stomach are related.
“Knowing what insects are in your mouth tells us what the stomach environment is like,” said Dr. Shruthi Reddy Perati, study author and general surgery resident at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
“That has a huge implication that could lead to some practice-changing evidence and guidelines.”
Researchers analyzed oral bacteria samples from 98 patients scheduled for endoscopy, where a camera is inserted into the stomach through the throat to investigate digestive problems.
The sample included 30 patients with stomach cancer.
They also analyzed samples from 30 people with precancerous stomach conditions, such as inflammation and thinning of the stomach lining, as well as 38 health control subjects.
These conditions do not always lead to cancer, but in people who undergo endoscopy, one in 50 with inflammation of the stomach lining will develop stomach cancer within 20 years.
Doctors found key differences between the oral microbiomes (the microorganisms in the mouth) of the healthy group compared to the cancer group and precancerous patients.
There was also very little difference between samples from precancerous patients and those with cancer, suggesting that key changes occur and can be detected in the precancerous stage.
The researchers focused on the 13 types of bacteria that showed the most significant differences between control participants and cancerous and precancerous patients.
Increases in bacteria, including rothia, leptotrichia, and lactobacillus, were observed in the microbiomes of patients with gastric cancer.
There are currently no formal stomach cancer screening guidelines in the US.
Each year there are about 11,130 deaths from stomach tumors in the United States.
It comes as other research showed colorectal cancers have increased by up to six-fold in some young age groups since 2000.
Doctors said the cancers are likely going undetected because in the United States, routine screening tests are only recommended every 10 years starting at age 45.
The trend of younger and younger cancer cases has been linked to junk food, obesity and toxic chemicals.