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Summer 2024
Barmes global health lecture returns, Senate resolution honors NIDCR, facing cancer head-on, and more.
Facing Cancer Head-On

Did You Know?

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month. NIDCR offers resources for the general public to raise awareness of oral cancer:

Gum Cells Detect Shift in Mouth Microbes That May Trigger Inflammation, Gum Disease

In Brief:

  • Aside from their role as a physical protective barrier, epithelial cells that line the mouth and gums (gingiva) may directly activate the immune system.
  • Gingival epithelial cells, rather than immune cells, may be the harbingers of chronic inflammation that lead to gum disease.

Cells that line the mouth, gum (gingival) tissues, skin, lungs, and intestines, so-called epithelial cells, act as a physical barrier to protect the bo