Altered bacterial flora and clinical course with intraoral cancer

Nineteen consecutive patients with intraoral cancer were cultured and tested for cell-mediated immunity. They were then treated and followed for three years. The recurrence rate for those patients with normal flora was similar to that reported for dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) reactors; and the recurrence rate for those patients with abnormal microorganisms was similar to that reported for DNCB non-reactors.