Can chewing betel nut really cause oral cancer?

Recently, the media reported that chewing betel nut is easy to cause oral cancer, but some experts said that betel nut has no causal relationship with oral cancer, which is right or wrong? Many netizens sought to dispel rumors on Weibo. So-

"Chewing betel nut often increases the risk of oral cancer, and this conclusion is beyond doubt." Associate researcher Kai Zhong from the Risk Communication Department of the National Food Risk Assessment Center told the Science and Technology Daily reporter that in 24, the International Center for Research on Cancer identified betel nut as a carcinogen, and this research was published in the special report of the International Center for Research on Cancer, Volume 85.

betel nut is easy to form carcinogens after chewing

Chewing betel nut is easy to cause oral cancer, which is mainly related to the chemical substances contained in betel nut that form carcinogenic compounds-nitrosamines. Researchers have detected three nitrosamines in the saliva of people who chew betel nut. In addition, areca nut is hard and easy to damage the oral mucosa, especially when it is wrapped with buttercup flowers (or called hawthorn leaves) and lime, which often damages the oral mucosa and increases the chance of canceration. Tobacco (including chewing and smoking) is also "congenial" to betel nut, which promotes the formation of oral cancer.

Many investigation data show that chewing betel nut frequently is related to the occurrence of various oral diseases, such as oral submucous fibrosis, oral cancer, oral leukoplakia, cracked teeth, longitudinal root fracture, etc., especially chewing betel nut wrapped with Chinese clover and ash powder is more likely to increase its cancer risk.

Kai Zhong told reporters that in 1985, scientists had found conclusive evidence that betel nut products containing tobacco ingredients caused cancer, but there was not enough evidence to prove that betel nut itself could cause cancer. Later, epidemiological evidence gradually appeared, especially from India and Pakistan, which showed that betel nut products containing tobacco and without tobacco components could cause cancer. At the same time, a large number of animal experiments and in vitro experimental evidence are constantly emerging, which proves that not only betel nut products are carcinogenic, but also its green fruits are carcinogenic.

In the classification of carcinogens, Areca catechu belongs to a class of carcinogens. Although there is no necessary relationship between the carcinogen grade and the intensity of carcinogenicity, "a class of carcinogens" means that its carcinogenic effect on people is conclusive.

The statement that there is no direct causal relationship is deceptive

The taste of betel nut is slightly astringent, slightly sweet and spicy, and it has a slight irritating feeling, which can make people feel hot and excited, so chewing betel nut is addictive. The history of human chewing betel nut is very long. At present, countries and regions that like to eat betel nut are mainly concentrated in Southeast Asia, India, South China and Taiwan Province. Although epidemiological studies have found that chewing betel nut is closely related to the occurrence of oral cancer, there are about 2 million people chewing betel nut all over the world at present, and the number is increasing.

In Europe and America, the top cancer spectrums are lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and rectal cancer, but oral cancer in Southeast Asian countries has always been among the best. In some places in South Asia, oral cancer is even the first killer of male cancer, which is a very important evidence to prove the correlation between betel nut and oral cancer.

"There is no direct causal relationship between betel nut and oral cancer, which is completely confusing," Kai Zhong told reporters. "This statement is completely correct in science, because it is impossible to completely rule out the possibility of oral cancer caused by other reasons in theory. In fact, this is a very deceptive statement, which is easily used by some people to importune and finally fall into sophistry." Kai Zhong said, "This phenomenon exists for any kind of chronic damage or long-term events, for example. Drinking high-sugar drinks for a long time is related to obesity, but it is not necessarily a causal relationship between drinking high-sugar drinks for a long time and obesity. Strict researchers can only say that "betel nut can increase the risk of oral cancer" or "eat areca is highly related to oral cancer".

Betel nut should be given up like quitting smoking

Betel nut is the seed of Betel nut, a palm plant. The betel nut chewed and eaten is made by removing the core of the fruit and wrapping it with flowers and lime. In some countries and regions, betel nut, tobacco leaves and other raw materials are mixed together to make chewing pieces. It can also be used as medicine, generally mainly used as an insect repellent, and has been listed in the Pharmacopoeia Management Catalogue.

Proper use of betel nut in clinic can achieve therapeutic effect. However, experts suggest that chewing betel nut does more harm than good. In order to reduce the risk of oral cancer, the bad habit of chewing betel nut should be changed as much as possible.

In recent years, the betel nut industry has been expanding, and its scale in India alone exceeds several hundred million dollars every year. Because of the public health problems that betel nut may bring, some countries or regions have already begun to control it. For example, in 1976, the United States banned the transportation of betel nut between States, and Canada directly banned the sale of betel nut products.

Kai Zhong suggested, "For betel nut, don't eat it if you can, and eat less if you can. You should quit betel nut like quitting smoking." He said, "There is enough scientific evidence to prove that betel nut is a carcinogen." He believes that the government should consider from the level of public health policy and learn from foreign experience. At the same time, the publicity of betel nut consumption areas and people should be increased, so that more people can know the truth about betel nut's harm to health and get rid of this custom as soon as possible.