Periodontitis: A Cellular Tactic to Escape Cancer

During acute inflammation of gingiva (gingivitis), the cells can resist apoptosis and, at the same time, serve as a barrier to tumour formation. However, during chronic inflammation (periodontitis), the cells will undergo degradation which also helps in tumour restraining. Unlike the cellular senescence during cancer, periodontal cells undergo a unique senescence activity due to the microbial infection from the dental biofilm. The distinctive senescence activity of the inflamed periodontal cells results in the cell cycle arrest which leads to an inevitable degradation of periodontal tissues superpose the regeneration of them. If this activity is not resolved, continuous destruction of the supporting periodontal tissues may eventually result in the loss of teeth. In this mini-review, we discussed briefly the cellular senescence and its sequelae in periodontitis and cancer.