A specially formulated chewing gum could help fight a virus linked to head and neck cancer, offering an affordable way to reduce infection risk, according to a University of Pennsylvania study.
Led by Henry Daniell of the Department of Basic and Translational Sciences at the university’s School of Dental Medicine, the study suggests that the gum could help trap and remove human papillomavirus (HPV), which is associated with several types of cancer. Researchers found that chewing gum made with a bean-derived protein trapped and removed 93% of HPV from saliva samples collected from cancer patients, according to findings published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Daniell and his team analyzed saliva and oral rinse samples from patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, a cancer strongly associated with HPV infection as well as two harmful bacteria: Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum.
How the chewing gum traps the cancer-linked virus
The gum’s active ingredient, a protein called FRIL derived from the lablab bean, binds to the surface of viruses and causes them to clump together, preventing them from infecting healthy cells.
Before treatment, HPV was detected in all saliva samples and in 75% of oral rinse samples collected from cancer patients. After the gum was chewed, the virus was trapped in 93% of saliva samples and 80% of oral rinse samples.
💊 Scientists Develop Bioengineered Chewing Gum That Could Help Fight Oral Cancer
Researchers led by Henry Daniell of the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report that extracts from a bioengineered chewing gum can significantly lower levels of three… pic.twitter.com/qB2ytM1kUT
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The team also combined the gum with an antimicrobial peptide called protegrin-1. A single dose of the two ingredients together reduced levels of cancer-linked bacteria by more than 99% in both saliva and oral rinse samples. Prior to treatment, cancer patients had bacterial levels up to a thousand times higher than those detected in people without cancer, the study found.
The treatment did not appear to harm beneficial bacteria in the mouth. Protegrin-1 left common Streptococcus bacteria largely unaffected because these microbes are protected by an outer capsule, allowing the gum to target harmful bacteria while preserving the mouth’s normal bacterial balance.
Global HPV burden fuels push for clinical trials
The findings address a widespread public health problem. About one in three men worldwide carry HPV, and roughly one in five carry the high-risk strain known as HPV-16, according to the study. Current vaccines are administered through injections and do not stop the virus from spreading through oral contact because they do not trigger the same level of protection in mucosal tissues.
Head and neck cancer remains challenging to treat. Global figures cited in the study show that nearly 890,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, with about half of patients dying after treatment.
According to Daniell, the results support the utilization of chewing gum treatment in clinical trials to fight HPV and lower cancer risk. He added that the gum could be used alongside existing cancer therapies or as a preventive measure to help curb transmission.
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