Towards a Viral Etiology of Periodontal Disease in Relation to Radiotherapy Treatment of Head and Neck Cancers

The treatment of otolaryngology (OLR) cancer is based on surgery, radiation, sometimes used in combination with chemotherapy. Patients treated with radiotherapy have multiple oral diseases: mucositis, hyposalivation, tissue fibrosis, exacerbation of periodontitis. Over 70% of patients with head and neck cancers treated with radiotherapy have a lower level of dental clinical attachment and 92% have loose teeth or missing. The management of these oral complications is a priority in OLR oncology. The aim is to improve the oral health of patients to achieve a comfortable life acceptable and necessary for healing.

This project proposes to deepen the investigation with two main objectives:

1. To study in vivo the effect of radiation treatment on the evolution of the viral flora of the periodontium in a cohort of patients and matched controls.
2. To study in vitro the effects of irradiation on the replication EBV (herpesvirus) in producing websites lymphoepithelial tonsillar, and atypical dendritic cells associated with EBV that existence were recently discovered.