Chewing Gum Reduces HPV Levels Associated with Cancer by 93%

Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Dental Medicine have created a bioengineered chewing gum that significantly diminishes microbes associated with head and neck cancer. Laboratory experiments involving oral samples from cancer patients revealed that extracts from a lablab bean-based gum containing the antiviral protein FRIL reduced human papillomavirus (HPV) levels by 93% in saliva and 80% in oral rinse samples. A second variant of the gum, designed with the antimicrobial peptide protegrin, decreased two cancer-related bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum, by over 99%, almost entirely eradicating them. This treatment maintained beneficial oral bacteria, unlike broad-spectrum antibiotics. Lead researcher Henry Daniell indicates that the results, published in Scientific Reports, could pave the way for more accessible and cost-effective treatments for head and neck cancer, although the research is still in the preclinical stage and the gum has not yet been used as a treatment.
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