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Dental Tribune Asia Pacific Edition | 12/2017 ASIA PACIFIC NEWS 03 Almost all Myanmar mouth cancer patients chew betel quid, study finds said: “Given the number of health issues associated with chewing betel quid, particularly oral cancer and precancerous conditions such as leukoplakia and oral submucous fibrosis, understanding ways to reduce betel quid chewing is of global public health importance. In the last decade, betel quid has been classified as a group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Re- search on Cancer.” AD By DTI TOUNGOO, Myanmar: A study has found that almost all of the mouth cancer patients investi- gated used smokeless tobacco in the form of betel quid, researchers have reported at the European So- ciety for Medical Oncology Asia 2017 Congress, held in Singapore from 17 to 19 November. This observational study inves- tigated the lifestyle behaviours of head and neck cancer patients that may have contributed to their dis- ease. The cross-sectional study was conducted in the medical oncology unit of Toungoo General Hospital in 2016. All head and neck squa- mous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) pa- tients who came to the hospital for treatment were included in the study. Participants were asked about their habits regarding betel quid chewing, smoking and alcohol consumption. Of the 307 cancer pa- tients who visited Toungoo hospi- tal that year, 67 (22 per cent) had HNSCC and were included in the study. Of those, 41 were male and 26 were female. The mean age was 59.2 years (range: 36–81 years) for men and 58.7 years (range: 19–86 years) for women. The most common can- cer site was the oral cavity (34.3 per cent), followed by the larynx (25.4 per cent), oropharynx (11.9 per cent), nasopharynx (11.9 per cent), hypopharynx (10.4 per cent), lip (4.5 per cent) and nose (1.5 per cent). Regarding lifestyle habits of the entire study population, 20 patients (30 per cent) chewed betel only; 19 patients (28 per cent) chewed betel and smoked tobacco; 19 patients (28 per cent) chewed betel, smoked tobacco and con- sumed alcohol. Two patients smoked tobacco and drank alco- hol, two smoked tobacco only, two had none of the risk factors, and information was unavailable for three patients. All oral cavity can- cer patients were betel quid chewers. In addition, 48 per cent smoked tobacco and 44 per cent consumed alcohol. The majority (87 per cent) of mouth cancer pa- tients said they held betel quid in the buccal cavity most of the time. Lead author Dr Khin Khin Nwe, a medical oncologist at the Toun- goo General Hospital, said: “Ac- cording to previous studies the in- cidence of oral cancer, also called mouth cancer, in Southeast Asia has been disturbingly high for many years. It has also been shown that smokeless tobacco use is com- mon in this region—for example, in Myanmar more than 50 per cent of men use betel quid. Comment- ing on the topic, Dr Makoto Tahara from the National Cancer Center Hospital East in Chiba in Japan, The protective fluoride varnishFluor Protector N www.ivoclarvivadent.comIvoclar Vivadent AGBendererstr. 2 | 9494 Schaan | Liechtenstein | Tel. +423 235 35 35 | Fax +423 235 33 60Superior protection against dental caries and erosion • Homogeneous solution• Immediately ready for use • High-yield delivery formThe varnish for an immediate fluoridation of enamel