Role of Fusobacterium Nucleatum and Porphyromonas Gingivalis in Oral Cancer: A Literature Review

Abstract Oral cancer, predominantly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is a multifactorial disease influenced by genetic, environmental, and microbial factors. Among the emerging contributors to oral carcinogenesis, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis, two Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria that reside in the human oral cavity as part of the normal microbiota, have gained attention for their pathogenic roles. Both species play key roles in periodontal disease and exhibit significant tumour-promoting activities through distinct and synergistic mechanisms. They modulate the tumor microenvironment by promoting the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, facilitating immune evasion, and contributing to microbial dysbiosis. Clinical studies have identified their presence in OSCC tissues, correlating with advanced tumor stages, lymph node metastasis, and poor prognosis. Their involvement underscores the critical interplay between oral microbiota and host-pathogen interactions in cancer development. This review highlights the molecular mechanisms through which F. nucleatum and P. gingivalis contribute to oral carcinogenesis, emphasizing the need for further research to explore their diagnostic and therapeutic potential in oral cancer management. Addressing these microbial drivers could pave the way for innovative strategies in cancer prevention and treatment.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Advances in microbiology

• Publication date

  2025-06-01

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.2478/am-2025-0005
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Unraveling the Role of Fusobacterium nucleatum in Colorectal Cancer: Molecular Mechanisms and Pathogenic Insights

  2025cited by this paper
• The role of CXCL2-mediated crosstalk between tumor cells and macrophages in Fusobacterium nucleatum-promoted oral squamous cell carcinoma progression

  2024cited by this paper
• Integrative analysis reveals associations between oral microbiota dysbiosis and host genetic and epigenetic aberrations in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma

  2024cited by this paper
• F. Nucleatum enhances oral squamous cell carcinoma proliferation via E-cadherin/β-Catenin pathway

  2024cited by this paper
• Persistent infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis increases the tumorigenic potential of human immortalised oral epithelial cells through ZFP36 inhibition

  2024cited by this paper
• Association of DOK3 and infiltrated tumor-associated macrophages with risk for the prognosis of Porphyromonas gingivalis-infected oral cancer: a 12-year data analysis of 200 patients from a tertiary teaching hospital, Urumqi, China

  2024cited by this paper
• Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in oral cancer cells induced by prolonged and persistent Fusobacterium nucleatum stimulation.

  2024cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum induces invasive growth and angiogenic responses in malignant oral keratinocytes that are cell line- and bacterial strain-specific

  2024cited by this paper
• Association of Fusobacterium nucleatum Levels by ddPCR in Oral Rinse Samples With Periodontal Disease in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients and in Controls.

  2024cited by this paper
• Targeted Elimination of the Oral Pathogen to Overcome Chemoresistance of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Biologically Derived Nanotherapeutics

  2024cited by this paper
• Resveratrol is an inhibitory polyphenol of epithelial-mesenchymal transition induced by Fusobacterium nucleatum.

  2024cited by this paper
• Structure based High-Throughput Virtual Screening, Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Study of anticancer natural compounds against fimbriae (FimA) protein of Porphyromonas gingivalis in oral squamous cell carcinoma

  2023cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis promotes the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma by stimulating the release of neutrophil extracellular traps in the tumor immune microenvironment

  2023cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis suppresses oral squamous cell carcinoma progression by inhibiting MUC1 expression and remodeling the tumor microenvironment

  2023cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis induces an inflammatory response via the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in a periodontitis mouse model

  2023cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium infection facilitates the development of endometriosis through the phenotypic transition of endometrial fibroblasts

  2023cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum outer membrane vesicles activate autophagy to promote oral cancer metastasis

  2023cited by this paper
• Impacts of Porphyromonas gingivalis periodontitis on rheumatoid arthritis autoimmunity.

  2023cited by this paper
• Study of the inflammatory activating process in the early stage of Fusobacterium nucleatum infected PDLSCs

  2023cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis Virulence Factors and Clinical Significance in Periodontal Disease and Coronary Artery Diseases

  2022cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis W83 Membrane Components Induce Distinct Profiles of Metabolic Genes in Oral Squamous Carcinoma Cells

  2022cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum: The Opportunistic Pathogen of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases

  2022cited by this paper
• More Than Just a Periodontal Pathogen –the Research Progress on Fusobacterium nucleatum

  2022cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis promotes the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma by activating the neutrophil chemotaxis in the tumour microenvironment

  2022cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum and its associated systemic diseases: epidemiologic studies and possible mechanisms

  2022cited by this paper
• sRNA23392 packaged by Porphyromonas gingivalis outer membrane vesicles promotes oral squamous cell carcinomas migration and invasion by targeting desmocollin-2.

  2021cited by this paper
• Salivary Porphyromonas gingivalis predicts outcome in oral squamous cell carcinomas: a cohort study

  2021cited by this paper
• The baseline oral microbiota predicts the response of locally advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma patients to induction chemotherapy: A prospective longitudinal study.

  2021cited by this paper
• Conversion from epithelial to partial-EMT phenotype by Fusobacterium nucleatum infection promotes invasion of oral cancer cells

  2021cited by this paper
• The Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Porphyromonas gingivalis: Genetic Repertoire, Global Phenotype, and Review of the Literature

  2021cited by this paper
• Feasibility of investigating the association between bacterial pathogens and oral leukoplakia in low and middle income countries: A population-based pilot study in India

  2021cited by this paper
• Short chain fatty acids released by Fusobacterium nucleatum are neutrophil chemoattractants acting via free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2)

  2021cited by this paper
• Prognostic value of intratumoral Fusobacterium nucleatum and association with immune-related gene expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients

  2021cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum Promotes Cisplatin-Resistance and Migration of Oral Squamous Carcinoma Cells by Up-Regulating Wnt5a-Mediated NFATc3 Expression.

  2021cited by this paper
• The Intersection between Oral Microbiota, Host Gene Methylation and Patient Outcomes in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

  2020cited by this paper
• The Oral Microbiota May Have Influence on Oral Cancer

  2020cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes epithelial‐mesenchymal transiton through regulation of the lncRNA MIR4435‐2HG/miR‐296‐5p/Akt2/SNAI1 signaling pathway

  2020cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis Promotes Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression in an Immune Microenvironment

  2020cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis Promotes Immunoevasion of Oral Cancer by Protecting Cancer from Macrophage Attack

  2020cited by this paper
• Effects of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum on inflammasomes and their regulators in H400 cells.

  2020cited by this paper
• Oral microbial dysbiosis and its performance in predicting oral cancer.

  2020cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis disrupts vascular endothelial homeostasis in a TLR-NF-κB axis dependent manner

  2020cited by this paper
• Periodontal pathogens promote cancer aggressivity via TLR/MyD88 triggered activation of Integrin/FAK signaling that is therapeutically reversible by a probiotic bacteriocin

  2020cited by this paper
• Oral potentially malignant disorders: nomenclature and classification.

  2020cited by this paper
• Analysis of differentially expressed genes in oral epithelial cells infected with Fusobacterium nucleatum for revealing genes associated with oral cancer

  2020cited by this paper
• Fusobacteria modulate oral carcinogenesis and promote cancer progression

  2020cited by this paper
• Pathogenesis of Important Virulence Factors of Porphyromonas gingivalis via Toll-Like Receptors

  2019cited by this paper
• Serum Levels of Interleukin-6 and Titers of Antibodies against Porphyromonas gingivalis Could Be Potential Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

  2019cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum Caused DNA Damage and Promoted Cell Proliferation by the Ku70/p53 Pathway in Oral Cancer Cells

  2019cited by this paper
• Periodontal pathogens are a risk factor of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma, independent of tobacco and alcohol and human papillomavirus

  2019cited by this paper
• Corrigendum: Genome-Based Taxonomic Classification of Bacteroidetes

  2018cited by this paper
• The prevalence rate of periodontal pathogens and its association with oral squamous cell carcinoma

  2018cited by this paper
• Oral Microbiota Community Dynamics Associated With Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Staging

  2018cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis activates NFκB and MAPK pathways in human oral epithelial cells

  2017cited by this paper
• Inflammatory bacteriome featuring Fusobacterium nucleatum and Pseudomonas aeruginosa identified in association with oral squamous cell carcinoma

  2017cited by this paper
• Oral cancer cells sustainedly infected with Porphyromonas gingivalis exhibit resistance to Taxol and have higher metastatic potential

  2017cited by this paper
• Periodontal pathogens promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition in oral squamous carcinoma cells in vitro

  2017cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis: An Overview of Periodontopathic Pathogen below the Gum Line

  2016cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis initiates a mesenchymal‐like transition through ZEB1 in gingival epithelial cells

  2016cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis increases the invasiveness of oral cancer cells by upregulating IL-8 and MMPs.

  2016cited by this paper
• Hydrogen sulfide promotes cell proliferation of oral cancer through activation of the COX2/AKT/ERK1/2 axis.

  2016cited by this paper
• Periodontal diseases and risk of oral cancer in Southern India: Results from the HeNCe Life study

  2016cited by this paper
• Hydrogen sulfide accelerates cell cycle progression in oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines.

  2015cited by this paper
• Periodontal pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum promote tumor progression in an oral-specific chemical carcinogenesis model

  2015cited by this paper
• Prolonged and repetitive exposure to Porphyromonas gingivalis increases aggressiveness of oral cancer cells by promoting acquisition of cancer stem cell properties

  2015cited by this paper
• Changes in Abundance of Oral Microbiota Associated with Oral Cancer

  2014cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced autophagy suppresses cell proliferation through G1 arrest in oral cancer cells.

  2014cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis promotes invasion of oral squamous cell carcinoma through induction of proMMP9 and its activation

  2014cited by this paper
• Comparative Microbial Analysis of Paired Amniotic Fluid and Cord Blood from Pregnancies Complicated by Preterm Birth and Early-Onset Neonatal Sepsis

  2013cited by this paper
• Comparison of oral microbiota in tumor and non-tumor tissues of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

  2012cited by this paper
• Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide signaling in gingival fibroblasts-CD14 and Toll-like receptors.

  2002cited by this paper
• Infections as a major preventable cause of human cancer

  2001cited by this paper
• Subgingival colonization by Porphyromonas gingivalis.

  2000cited by this paper
• Proposal for Reclassification of Bacteroides asaccharolyticus, Bacteroides gingivalis, and Bacteroides endodontalis in a New Genus, Porphyromonas

  1988cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.