Chronic inflammation has long been considered as an important contributing factor to the development of malignant tumors in various tissues. In this study, we aimed to investigate a potential association between chronic periodontitis, a representative inflammatory disease in the oral cavity, and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the most common form of malignant tumors in the oral cavity. A retrospective study was designed to include the cases and controls, each of which consisted of patients first diagnosed with OSCC and temporomandibular disorders, respectively. The existence or a history of periodontal disease was quantitatively estimated based upon the level of alveolar bone loss (ABL) from panoramic radiographs in these groups. Unlike other covariates, including LDH, WBC count and hemoglobin, the levels of ABL measured at three independent regions (second premolar and first/second molar) were significantly higher in the OSCC group, regardless of the patients’age in most cases. Our results thus support the hypothesis that chronic periodontitis, represented by significant ABL, is an important and clinically relevant factor potentially associated with the development of OSCC.

Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION
 Ⅱ. MATERIALS AND METHODS
  1. Study design and population
  2. Definition of cases and controls
  3. Definition and assessment of periodontitis
  4. Covariates
  5. Statistical analysis
 Ⅲ. RESULTS
 IV. DISCUSSION
 Ⅵ. REFERENCES

• 박지은(School of Dentistry, Pusan National University Department of Oral Pathology) | Ji Eun Park
• 박혜련(School of Dentistry, Pusan National University Department of Oral Pathology) | Hae Ryoun Park
• 김진범(School of Dentistry, Pusan National University Department of Preventive Dentistry) | Jin Beom Kim
• 이지혜(School of Dentistry, Pusan National University Department of Oral Pathology) | Ji Hye Lee correspondence