Cancerogenesis: Oral Pathogens and Dysbiosis

Dear Colleagues,

In addition to the role that microbiome, dysbiosis, and specific pathogens play in infectious and autoimmune diseases, the potential influences on cancer development are also increasingly recognized. The concept of cancer associated with the microbiota is currently a hot topic, and researchers have a great deal of attention to the role of the microbiome, dysbiosis, specific pathogens, and cancer.

The oral cavity is one of the largest microbial repositories in the human body, and microbial variations in the oral cavity could be highly linked to malignancies of both the oral cavity and distant organs.

Oral dysbiosis and specific pathogens, such as Human Papillomavirus, Epstein–Barr virus, and Candida Albicans, have been associated with premalignant and malignant lesions of the oral cavity and head and neck region and have been implied in malignant transformation of the oral mucosa.

Moreover, many different species of oral bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa are known to affect general health and several systemic disorders and diseases, including extra-oral cancers of the lung, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, and colorectum. The oral microbiome could promote carcinogenesis at extra-oral sites either through systemic inflammation, the distant indirect effect of virulence factors, microorganisms' direct translocation via the bloodstream, the oro-digestive and respiratory tracts, or influencing responsiveness to treatments by interacting with the host immune response.

Studies from basic to clinical research, reviews and communications, exploring the inter-relation between the oral microbiome, specific pathogens, dysbiotic phenomena, and infection, and oral and extra-oral cancerogenesis, and investigating cancer prevention measures and therapeutic interventions based on reversing dysbiosis and eradicating infections are welcome.

Dr. Federica Di Spirito
Dr. Alessandra Amato
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.