Consumption of areca quid, cigarettes, and alcohol related to the comorbidity of oral submucous fibrosis and oral cancer

Objective. Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is defined as a precancerous condition, and it is also commonly seen in clinical practice, coexisting with oral cancer. The aim of this study was to identify the effects of areca quid, cigarette, and alcohol on the coexistence of oral cancer and OSF. Study design. This is a case-control study. One hundred four histologically confirmed male OSF subjects were included, which consisted of 65 OSF subjects without oral cancer (control group) and 39 OSF subjects with oral cancer (case group). Results. The cigarette consumption in the case group was significantly higher than the control group. In drinking habits, the mean consumption of alcohol in the case group was significantly higher than the control group. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify these risk factors. Age and alcohol consumption showed a significant effect, and the odds ratios were 1.07 in age and 1.5 in alcohol consumption. Conclusion. Alcohol drinking could be a risk factor associated with an increased risk of malignant transformation and coexistence with oral cancer in OSF patients, but cigarette and areca quid were not risk factors in our study. For oral cancer prevention from OSF, more attention should be paid to the importance of public health strategies targeted toward preventing and reducing alcohol consumption.