Role of Oral Microbial Infections in Oral Cancer

Course overview

The oral cavity contains a delicate balance of microbial flora. Studies have shown that the human oral carcinoma surface biofilms harbor significantly increased levels of both aerobes and anaerobes. They have also shown that the tumor microenvironment is suitable for bacteria to thrive. Strains such as Escherichia coli and facultative oral streptococci are among those that have been noted to highly colonize sites of oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC).