Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The association of smoking, alcoholic consumption, betel quid chewing and oral cavity cancer: a cohort study

  • Miscellaneous
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We aimed to analyze the relationship between smoking, alcoholic consumption and betel quid chewing with oral cavity cancer. All male patients age ≥18 years who visited our clinic received an oral mucosal inspection. Basic data including personal habits were also obtained. A multivariate logistic regression model was utilized to determine relevant risk factors for developing oral cavity cancer. A total of 8,356 patients were enrolled in this study. Abnormal findings were found in 382 patients (4.6%). Two hundred and ninety-seven patients received biopsy and 191 patients were proven to have oral cavity cancer. The results of multivariate logistic regression showed that those who smoked, consumed alcohol and chewed betel quid on a regular basis were most likely to contract oral cancer (odds ratio: 39.66, 95% confidence interval: 26.04–60.38). Therefore, habitual cigarette smokers, alcohol consumers, and betel quid chewers have a higher risk of contracting oral cavity cancer and should receive oral mucosal screening regularly so potential oral cavity cancer can be detected as early as possible, which may result in better and improved survival of oral cancer patients.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Parken DM, Pisani P, Ferlay J (1999) Estimates of the worldwide frequency of 25 major cancers in 1990. In J Cancer 80:827–841

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Wong YK, Tsai WC, Lin JC et al (2006) Socio-demographic factors in the prognosis of oral cancer patients. Oral Oncol 42:893–906

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Liu SA, Tsai WC, Wong YK et al (2006) Nutritional factors and survival of oral cancer patients. Head Neck 28:998–1007

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Jameson MJ, Levine PA (2006) Neoplasms of the oral cavity. In: Bailey BJ, Johnson JT (eds) Head & neck surgery—otolaryngology, 4th Edition. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Baltimore, pp 1551–1567

  5. Carvalho AL, Nishimoto IN, Califano JA et al (2004) Trends in incidence and prognosis for head and neck cancer in the United States: a site-specific analysis of the SEER database. Int J Cancer 114:806–816

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Ko YC, Huang YL, Lee CH et al (1995) Betel quid chewing, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption related to oral cancer in Taiwan. J Oral Pathol Med 24:450–453

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Guha N, Boffetta P, Filho VW et al (2007) Oral health and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and esophagus: results of two multicentric case–control studies. Am J Epidemiol 166:1159–1173

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Gillison ML (2007) Current topics in the epidemiology of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers. Head Neck 29:779–792

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Freedman ND, Abnet CC, Leitzmann MF et al (2007) Prospective investigation of the cigarette smoking-head and neck cancer association by sex. Cancer 110:1593–1601

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Boeing H, Dietrich T, Hoffmann K et al (2006) Intake of fruits and vegetables and risk of cancer of the upper aero-digestive tract: the prospective EPIC-study. Cancer Causes Control 17:957–969

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Shiu MN, Chen TH (2004) Impact of betel quid, tobacco and alcohol on three-stage disease natural history of oral leukoplakia and cancer: implication for prevention of oral cancer. Eur J Cancer Prev 13:39–45

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Rodrigues VC, Moss SM, Tuomainen H (1998) Oral cancer in the UK: to screen or not to screen. Oral Oncol 34:454–465

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Wen CP, Tsai SP, Cheng TY et al (2005) Uncovering the relation between betel quid chewing and cigarette smoking in Taiwan. Tob Control 14(Suppl 1):i16–i22

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Patel BP, Rawal UM, Shah PM et al (2005) Study of tobacco habits and alterations in enzymatic antioxidant system in oral cancer. Oncology 68:511–519

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Castellsague X, Quintana MJ, Martinez MC et al (2004) The role of type of tobacco and type of alcoholic beverage in oral carcinogenesis. Int J Cancer 108:741–749

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Zienolddiny S, Aguelon AM, Mironov N et al (2004) Genomic instability in oral squamous cell carcinoma: relationship to betel-quid chewing. Oral Oncol 40:298–303

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Chang MC, Chiang CP, Lin CL et al (2005) Cell-mediated immunity and head and neck cancer: with special emphasis on betel quid chewing habit. Oral Oncol 41:757–775

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

No potential conflict of interest was involved in this research. The authors thank Ms. Hui-Ching Ho for her assistance in statistical analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No. 160, Sec 3. Chung-Kang Road, Taichung, 40705, Taiwan

    Tin-Tin Yen, Ching-Ping Wang, Chen-Chi Wang & Shih-An Liu

  2. Department of Accounting and Information, Overseas Chinese Institute of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan

    Whe-Dar Lin

  3. Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Ching-Ping Wang, Chen-Chi Wang & Shih-An Liu

Authors
  1. Tin-Tin Yen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Whe-Dar Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ching-Ping Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chen-Chi Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Shih-An Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shih-An Liu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yen, TT., Lin, WD., Wang, CP. et al. The association of smoking, alcoholic consumption, betel quid chewing and oral cavity cancer: a cohort study. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 265, 1403–1407 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-008-0659-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-008-0659-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation