Abstract
Candida albicans is involved in periodontal disease, which is influenced by sex hormones. Aim: To study the effects of the estrogen antagonist tamoxifen (TAM) on periodontal disease of oncological patients; clinical oral strains of C. albicans. Patients: With periodontitis and breast cancer and other with AIDS were used. Materials & methods: Periodontal disease was evaluated by the academy of periodontology procedures and the growth of clinical C. albicans isolates were evaluated by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute techniques. Results: Women who consumed TAM for more than 2 years decreased periodontitis severity. In vitro, TAM inhibited the growth of both fluconazole-sensitive and resistant C. albicans. Conclusion: AdministeredTAM chronically improves periodontal health and has antifungal activity on oral strains isolated from patients with odontologic and medical pathologies.
Acknowledgements
We thank JC Elverdin, Chairman of Physiology of the FOUBA, for the use of their spectrophotometer.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
Funding was received from the University of Buenos Aires, Faculties of Dentistry and Medicine. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.