Addiction of tobacco chewing and smoking in the patients of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A descriptive epidemiological study in Pakistan

Abstract

Objective:The associated risk factors for the majority of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are tobacco and betel nut abuse, while there also seems to be a rising proportion of patients who report no history of tobacco or betel nut usage. Therefore, objective of the study was to find out potential risk factors and demographics of HNSCC patients addicted to tobacco and/or betel nut, as well as non-addicted patients.Methods:This epidemiological study was conducted in Karachi Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE), University of Karachi, and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) from January to December 2016. All subjects were participants in an epidemiological study of HNSCC. Demographics and clinical characteristics were obtained for 185 addicted and 26 non-addicted patients.Results:Non-addicted patients were more likely to be females (χ2=19.0, p<0.001) and were significantly younger than addicted patients (χ2=21.0, p<0.001). Addicted patients more likely belonged to a lower income group (χ2=14.4, p=0.006) and had a higher proportion of oral cancers (χ2=30.0, p<0.001). Almost all addicted females had oral cancers (97%), whereas more than half of the non-addicted females had oral cancers (53%).Conclusions:Addicted patients commonly have oral cavity cancers. This might be due to the habit of chewing tobacco and/or betel nut that addicted patients have. Non-addicted patients are commonly young females. It is likely that no single known factor is responsible for HNSCC in non-addicted patients, and several occupational exposure studies in future may be important to the etiology of non-addicted patients.

Epidemiological and Clinico-pathological spectrum of oral squamous cell carcinoma in patients presenting to a major tertiary care hospital in Lahore Pakistan.

“…Squamous cell carcinoma is ranked as the sixth most common cancer worldwide and it counts for 90% of head and neck cancers, known as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). 1 90% of these carcinomas arise from oral mucosal epithelium thus known as Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). 2 Approximately 630000 new patients are diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma every year which results in 350000 mortalities annually worldwide.…”

“…2 In Pakistan squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common cancer. 1 The burden of OSCC is expected to double in the developing countries by 2030. 5 Among the European countries the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma is highest in France, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia.…”

Ability to Cope by Family Caregivers of People Living With HIV in the Yi Population in Liangshan Prefecture: A Cross-sectional Study

“…In addition, this finding that an obvious gender disproportion in caregivers was not found in our study was inconsistent with China's traditional culture. According to traditional Chinese culture, the breadwinners are usually men; women usually retain primary responsibilities as homemakers and family caregivers (Kanwal et al, 2019).…”

Disulfidptosis features and prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients: unveiling and validating the prognostic signature across cohorts

“…The elevated incidence of HNSCC in Southeast Asia and Australia correlates with the intake of particular products containing carcinogens. Concurrently, the increasing incidence of oropharyngeal infections due to HPV has been linked to the increased incidence of HNSCC in the USA and Western Europe (Mehanna et al 2013 ; Kanwal et al 2019 ; Su et al 2016 ).…”