Article URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260803080917.htm Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49202716 Points: 27 # Comments: 0

Researchers have developed a bioengineered chewing gum that may offer a new way to target microbes associated with head and neck cancer. In tests involving oral samples from patients, extracts from the gum sharply reduced one virus and two types of bacteria linked to the disease. The research team was led by Henry Daniell of the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The findings were published in Scientific Reports and could support the development of more accessible and affordable treatments. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common form of cancer that begins in the tissues lining the mouth and throat. The disease can be particularly aggressive, and outcomes are often poor when it is discovered at a later stage. Daniell says that many recently approved cancer medications have not produced major improvements in patients' quality of life or five-year survival. That limited progress highlights the need for new approaches that can work alongside existing treatments. The new study builds on earlier research involving chewing gum made from lablab beans (bean gum). The gum contains FRIL, a naturally occurring antiviral protein. Daniell and his colleagues used oral samples from patients with HNSCC to study three microbes associated with cancer. These included human papillomavirus, or HPV, along with two bacterial species, Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn). "The global increase in oropharyngeal cancer is linked to HPV infection," says Daniell. "And Pg and Fn infections worsen survival rates of untreated recurrent or metastatic oral cancer, even after surgery and risk-adjusted adjuvant, or supplemental, therapies." Tests showed that extracts from the bean gum lowered HPV levels by 93% in saliva samples. HPV levels also fell by 80% in oral rinse samples.