Danish population-based study of the association of congenital tooth agenesis and risk of early-onset cancer

There is some evidence that tooth agenesis (congenital absence of one or more teeth) is associated with cancer risk, especially carcinomas of the colon and ovaries, but results of previous studies were conflicting. A population-based cohort study in Denmark examined the association between tooth agenesis and specific cancer types before age 40 years. In this study of 2.5 million singletons with up to 40 years of follow-up, tooth agenesis was positively associated with several cancer types, including neuroblastoma, nephroblastoma, and hepatoblastoma in childhood, osteosarcoma in adolescence, and colorectal carcinomas and carcinomas of the bladder in young adulthood. The authors conclude that tooth agenesis is associated with specific cancer types, particularly in early childhood and early adulthood.