A large study led by NYU Langone Health identified a set of 27 bacterial and fungal oral species associated with a 3.5-fold increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Using metagenomic sequencing of saliva samples from over 120,000 individuals, researchers pinpointed specific pathogens, including periodontal bacteria and Candida fungi, that may serve as biomarkers for early detection. These findings highlight the oral microbiome’s potential role in pancreatic tumor development and as a target for non-invasive risk assessment.