Scientists have linked certain mouth bacteria to the development of pancreatic cancer.
The study, which was published in the journal Gut and undertaken by a team from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, found that variations of oral microbiota are associated with pancreatic diseases including pancreatic cancer.
Those responsible for the report claim that the findings open up the possibility of curbing the progress of pancreatic cancer by altering the balance of bacteria, a major breakthrough for one of the most difficult cancers to treat.
"The authors observed associations between variations of patients' salivary microbiota with pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis. This report also provides proof of salivary microbiota as an informative source for discovering non-invasive biomarkers of systemic diseases," the study stated.
As part of the study, the scientists compared the spit of ten patients with pancreatic cancer that had not yet spread around the body, to ten healthy patients.
They then verified their results with a further 28 pancreatic cancer patients and 28 healthy people.
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