Dr. Mogell Dental Blog

Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentist

Saliva Test Could Detect Pancreatic Cancer

Friday, October 07, 2011

Steve Jobs died from pancreatic cancer this week and the world is mourning the passing of a true visionary in the tech field. His disease is one of the deadliest cancers because early detection is nearly impossible. Like Mr. Jobs, most pancreatic cancer patients do not discover the disease until it is too late. Scientists have published a study in Gastroenterology that found biomarkers in human saliva that are different for pancreatic cancer patients and non-cancer patients. Saliva testing for this deadly disease would be an amazing breakthrough.

The researchers also found that every type of cancer they have studied so far (pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer and ovarian cancer) has shown biomarkers for the disease in human saliva. The scientists are unsure whether this is because of the diseases they chose to study all happened to have these biomarkers or due to the fact that researchers have never really looked at saliva in this way before. They are hoping that their research will provide an easy saliva test that can detect pancreatic cancer while it is still in the very early, more curable stage.

As a dentist I see the connection between oral health and whole body health every day. A future wherein your regular dental visit could also allow us to easily diagnose such devastating diseases is very exciting because most people visit their dentist much more often than they see their physician. While we are waiting for these wonderful new advances we will continue to educate our patients about the oral health/whole body health connection and every time I pick up my iPad I will probably think about Steve Jobs and what he might have created if he had more time.

Because we are in the final three months of the year our appointments are filling fast. Please contact Kenneth A. Mogell DMD in Boca Raton, FL at 561-394-9000 to schedule your visit today.

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