Tooth loss and lack of regular oral hygiene are associated with higher risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

We tested the association between tooth loss and oral hygiene and the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in people living in a high-risk area of Iran. We used a case-control study of pathologically confirmed ESCC cases (n = 283) and controls (n = 560) matched on sex, age, and neighborhood. Subjects with ESCC had significantly more decayed, missing, or filled teeth (DMFT) with a median (interquartile range) of 31 (23-32) compared with controls 28 (16-32; P = 0.0045). Subjects with ESCC were significantly more likely than controls to fail to practice regular oral hygiene (78 versus 58). In multivariate-adjusted conditional logistic regression models, having 32 DMFT compared with ≤15 conferred an odds ratio (95 confidence interval) of 2.10 (1.19-3.70). Compared with daily tooth brushing, practicing no regular oral hygiene conferred an odds ratio (95 confidence interval) of 2.37 (1.42-3.97). Restricting the analysis to subjects that had never smoked tobacco did not materially alter these results. We found significant associations between two markers of poor oral hygiene, a larger number of DMFT and lack of daily tooth brushing, and risk of ESCC in a population at high risk for ESCC where many cases occur in never smokers. Our results are consistent with several previous analyses in other high-risk populations. Copyright © 2008 American Association for Cancer Research

Study of Serum level of Chrome in Bladder Cancer Patients

ABSTRACT Introduction & Objective: Chrome (Cr) is one of the carcinogen trace elements that its role in cancer induction is documented in many studies. In spite o this, there are limited studies about the relationship between chrome and bladder cancer. So we decided to study the serum concentration of Cr in patients with bladder cancer in comparison with healthy individuals. Materials & method: During this case control study, 51 patients with bladder cancer and 58 normal subjects, after matching in age, sex and smoking habits with case group, were selected. Blood samples were collected from each cases. Serum level of Cr was measured in all samples by using the Flameless Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Finally data were analyzed, using student t test. Results: Mean age of participants was 62.74 ± 14.63 years in control group and 58.2 ± 9.8 years in case group. Mean of serum Cr concentration was 128.82 ± 16.99 µg/L in bladder cancer patients and 121.93 ± 16.67 µg/L in control group. The difference in Cr level of serum was significant between two groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Results of this study indicated the high level of Cr in the serum of bladder cancer patients. Performing of some strategies in reduction of environmental contaminations, finding the contaminated sources and modifying them, can be useful, for reduction of serum level of Cr, especially in high risk groups