Even low alcohol consumption combined with factors such as chewing tobacco is associated with a 50 percent increase mouth cancer riskwarn scientists in a new study.
Oral cancer is the eleventh most common cancer in the world. high prevalence in South Asia, especially India.
However, how exactly does the combination of the main risk factors increases a person's chances of developing cancer remains unclear.
Now researchers have found that drinking alcohol, even a glass a day, along with chewing tobacco, a common practice in South Asia, had a particularly severe combined effect.
Two men clink beer mugs (AFP via Getty Images)
This pair may be responsible for nearly two-thirds of all oral cancer cases in India, scientists found in a study published in the journal. BMJ Global Health.
The strongest association, according to the researchers, was among those who drank local alcoholic beverages such as grandson, bangla, chulliAnd Mahua.
In the study, researchers compared data from 1,803 people aged 35 to 54 who were diagnosed with buccal cancer with data from 1,903 randomly selected people without the disease.
Participants provided information on how long they had been drinking alcohol, how often they drank, and what types of alcohol they consumed.
These included 11 international drinks such as beer, whiskey, vodka, rum and breathers, as well as 30 locally produced drinks.
Participants were also asked about their tobacco use, including duration and type.
Of those diagnosed with cancer, 781 reported drinking alcohol and 1,019 said they did not.
By comparison, among participants in the control group, 481 people drank alcohol and 1,420 did not.
Researchers found that frequent alcohol consumption was strongly associated with an increased risk of cancer, with locally produced drinks having the greatest effect.
Scientists have found that even drinking very small amounts of alcohol, as little as 2 grams of beer per day, is still associated with an increased risk of buccal cancer.
Drinking one standard drink per day (about 9 grams of alcohol per day) was associated with about a 50 percent increased risk of oral cancer, according to the study.
The researchers warned that combined exposure to alcohol and tobacco was associated with a more than fourfold increase in risk.
They suspect that alcohol may change the fat content of the lining of the mouth, making it more permeable and susceptible to cancer-causing chemicals found in chewing tobacco products.
Scientists say locally produced alcohol may pose an even greater risk, in part due to its alcohol content as well as contamination with toxic substances such as methanol and acetaldehyde.
“The locally produced liquor market is unregulated, and some forms used by participants contain up to 90 percent alcohol,” the researchers wrote.
“In summary, our research shows that there is no safe limit for people to drink alcohol. [buccal mucosa cancer] risk,” they concluded.
