Title
Relationship between periodontitis and oral cancer: A mendelian randomization study
Authors
Sreeraj Rajappan1,*, Neethu P Reghu2, Shilpa Mathew1, Bindu R Nayar3 & P.H Fathima1
Affiliation
1Department of Periodontics, Government Dental College, Alappuzha, Kerala, India; 2Department of Periodontics, Government Dental College, Kottayam, Kerala, India; 3Department of Periodontics, Government Dental College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India; *Corresponding author
Sreeraj Rajappan - E-mail: drsreeraj@gmail.com;
Phone: +91 9400316183
Neethu P Reghu - E-mail: npreghu@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9847037233
Shilpa Mathew - E-mail:
shilpamylakuzhi92@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9745506402
Bindu R Nayar - E-mail: brn05sai@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9847237090
P.H Fathima - E-mail: fathimaph92@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9656558190
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received March 1, 2026; Revised March 31, 2026; Accepted March 31, 2026, Published March 31, 2026
Abstract
Previous observational studies have found a positive association between periodontitis and oral cancer; however, the causal role of periodontitis in oral cancer has not yet been determined. Mendelian randomization (MR) studies are considered superior to traditional observational studies for causal inferences. Therefore, it is of interest to examine the potential causal link between periodontitis and oral cancers using MR analysis. Data were retrieved from the NHGRI-EBI GWAS Catalogue within MR-Base using the "TwoSampleMR" R package. The analysis employed the inverse variance method, with sensitivity analysis using MR-Egger, weighted median and mode approaches. MR analysis showed no association between periodontitis and oral cancer. However, aggressive periodontitis showed significance (p = 0.001), with an odds ratio of 1.39 (95% CI: 1.14-1.69), indicating causality
Keywords
Periodontitis, aggressive periodontitis, mouth neoplasms, oropharyngeal neoplasms, causality, mendelian randomization analysis
Citation
Rajappan et al. Bioinformation 22(3): 1741-1747 (2026)
Edited by
P Kangueane
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
