Dentition, Diet, Tobacco, and Alcohol in the Epidemiology of Oral Cancer 2

TLDR

The study collected interview and dental examination data from 584 male oral‑cavity cancer patients and 1,222 male controls with nonneoplastic diseases at Roswell Park Memorial Institute. Heavy smoking, heavy drinking, and poor dentition each independently increased oral‑cancer risk, and when combined the risk was 7.7‑fold higher than for men with none of these traits, while diet showed no association.

Abstract

Interview and dental examination data were gathered on 584 males with cancer of the oral cavity and on 1,222 control patients with nonneoplastic diseases at Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, New York. No dietary characteristics distinguished cancer patients from controls. However, a higher risk of developing oral cancer was associated with heavy smoking, heavy drinking, and poor dentition. When controlled for the other factors, each factor carried a higher risk. Moreover, heavy smokers and heavy drinkers with poor dentition and males with all three traits had a substantially higher risk than would have been expected, if the traits were considered additively. The risk for males with all three traits was 7.7 times that of men with none of these traits.