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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2020; 41(04): 510-518
DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_99_20
DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_99_20
Review Article
Addictions Causing Head-and-Neck Cancers
Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
Abstract
Background
Head-and-neck cancers pose a serious economic burden, with most countries investing significant resources to reduce the incidence, primarily focusing on understanding addictive etiologies. The traditional literature focused on tobacco and alcohol use, with few studies on contemporary factors such as e-cigarette, waterpipe smoking, and human papillomavirus. This article attempts to collate and present an update on the globally identified etiologic factors.
Aims
The aim of this study was to identify and review the addictive etiologic factors causing head-and-neck cancers.
Methods
An electronic search was performed on Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar to identify the etiologies causing head-and-neck cancers and narrowed down on those driven by addiction. Further, we identified their constituents, mechanism of action, and the risks attributable to various forms of products.
Results
Substances identified included smoked and chewed tobacco, alcohol, mate, marijuana, areca nut and betel quid, and viruses. An alarming majority of youth are now utilizing these substances. Furthermore, migrant movements have led to the spread of traditional practices across the regions, especially from the Asian subcontinent.
Conclusion
Ironically, despite modern advances and technology, we still see that a large proportion of population succumb to these cancers, emphasizing the need for more effective and targeted policies to combat this menace at the grassroots level.
Keywords
Addictions - alcohol - areca nut - betel quid - head-and-neck cancer - marijuana - tobacco - virusPublication History
Received: 17 March 2020
Accepted: 29 June 2020
Article published online:
17 May 2021
© 2020. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)
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