When talking about oral diseases, people may first think of symptoms such as mouth ulcers, gingivitis, caries, periodontitis and so on. But in fact, there may be cancer lesions in the mouth. Oral cancer includes tongue cancer, tonsillar cancer, gingival cancer and other types, according to survey data, the mainland every year about 49,000 new cases of oral cancer.
It is more common in middle-aged and elderly groups, and in the clinic, the incidence of oral cancer in men is much higher than that in female patients. About 90% of oral cancer patients in mainland China are squamous cell carcinoma, which proliferates rapidly and is invasive, which can lead to functional disorders in many parts of the mouth and seriously affect the quality of life of patients.
Mr. Li, who lives in Yunnan, is a long-distance truck driver who often needs to drive night cars because of his work. At the beginning, Mr. Li chose to drink ice water to relieve his difficulties in order to concentrate on the night, but drinking ice water for a long time not only led to his frequent symptoms of abdominal pain, but also increased urine, but because he often drove long distances, he often held back his stomach pain, which caused him serious trouble.
Half a year ago, Mr. Li heard from his colleagues that chewing betel nut can help refresh his mind, and he also began to try, and since then Mr. Li has fallen in love with betel nut. Especially when driving a night train, you can chew 5 packs a night. But in the past week, Mr. Li found that he had a small blister in his mouth, and at first he didn't care, thinking it was just a simple fire.
But after two more days, he felt that the blisters were getting bigger and bigger, and it had affected his eating, so he had no choice but to go to the hospital. But who would have thought that he would be diagnosed with oral cancer. The doctor judged that the main cause of the disease was the chewing of betel nut. The doctor told Mr. Li that 40 of the 45 oral cancer patients in the clinic have the habit of chewing betel nut. So why does betel nut cause cancer?
Why does betel nut cause cancer?
Many people know that betel nut can not only refresh the mind, but also a common Chinese herbal medicine, which has been used in mainland Chinese medicine for more than 1,000 years. In the early years, in places such as Hainan, Taiwan, Hunan, and other places in China, many people had the habit of chewing betel nuts.
And an article published in the journal "Chinese Food and Nutrition" once pointed out that betel nut contains a variety of active ingredients, which can help people to refresh the brain, fight cold, fight hunger, and even improve work efficiency. The article also pointed out that betel nut can play a role in promoting gastrointestinal activity and inhibiting the growth of bacteria in the body.
Recent research surveys have shown that although betel nut can play a great role in Chinese herbal medicine, long-term chewing of betel nut may bring great harm to the body. According to the list of carcinogens released by the World Health Organization in 2017, it can be seen that betel nut is listed as a class of carcinogens, what is the reason for this?
Researchers found that betel nut contains a large number of betel nut crude fiber components, often chewing betel nut will damage the human oral mucosa, resulting in oral submucosal fibrosis and oral leukoplakia.
According to clinical research data, 66% of betel nut enthusiasts in mainland China have developed oral mucosal lesions, of which 7% have inferior fibrous lesions, 4% of oral leukoplakia lesions, and 5.2% of lichen planus lesions. These lesions lead to damage to the oral mucosa and long-term inability to heal, chronic inflammation of the oral cavity, increasing the incidence of diseases such as oral cancer.
Moreover, betel nut contains a large number of alkaloids, specific nitrosamines and other chemical components, studies have shown that betel nut can promote the apoptosis of human epithelial cells and interfere with the precipitation and degradation of extracellular matrix macromolecules in vivo. The specific nitrosamine substances in betel nut will also produce certain toxicity to the human body and increase the incidence of oral cancer.
According to the data survey, betel nut is directly proportional to the incidence of oral cancer, that is to say, the longer you chew betel nut, the greater the risk of oral cancer. The survey also found that the alkaloids in betel nut can be addictive, even more difficult than quitting smoking and alcohol, and are called "soft drugs".
In Turkey, the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries have listed betel nut as prohibited, prohibited from growing and selling. In the mainland Xiamen, Hunan and other places have also issued notices requesting the revocation of betel nut advertising, but the business of some merchants is still hot, which requires people to stay away from betel nut themselves and reduce the incidence of oral cancer. So when the human body appears what uncomfortable symptoms are a reminder of the appearance of oral cancer?
What are the symptoms of oral cancer
Mouth ulcers that cannot be cured for a long time
Many people in life will have the experience of mouth ulcers, under normal circumstances, most of the symptoms of mouth ulcers will be cured within 7-10 days, but if more than two weeks have not healed and there is still obvious burning, pain, patients should be vigilant, timely to the hospital to check whether oral cancer.
Because according to clinical data surveys, some oral cancer patients have symptoms of long-term ulcers before diagnosis, and many patients did not care at the beginning, until they were diagnosed, they did not know that this was an early symptom of oral cancer.
In fact, this ulcer is called a cancerous ulcer, which has the characteristics of long-term incurable and repeated attacks, and there are infiltrating blocks at the ulcer base. Therefore, if the patient has a long-term incurable mouth ulcer, it is recommended to seek medical treatment in time to determine the cause.
The opening of the mouth is restricted
The cancer cells in the body of oral cancer patients will damage the muscles and joints of the opening and closing mouth, which is very likely to lead to the patient's opening restriction. However, when people have this symptom, they do not have to worry too much, because the symptoms of limited opening of the mouth are not specific manifestations of oral cancer, and may also be caused by symptoms such as inflammation of wisdom teeth and fractures of the jaw. Therefore, when patients have this symptom, it is recommended to go to the hospital in time to check and determine the cause.
Abnormal lumps appear in the mouth
The presence of unexplained masses in the mouth is also a typical symptom in patients with oral cancer in the clinic. Masses are formed mainly due to the proliferation of the squamous epithelium in the oral cavity, and the formation of masses promotes cancerous degeneration of tissues. Moreover, cancerous cells in the mouth may also metastasize to the lymphatic position of the neck, causing sudden enlargement of the lymph nodes. Therefore, when patients have this symptom, they should also pay attention to it, go to the hospital to check oral problems, and treat them in time.
Abnormal oral mucosa
Changes in oral mucosal plaques and mucosal color are more obvious changes in the early stages of oral cancer patients. Under normal circumstances, the color of people's oral mucosa is pink, and once abnormal white, brown, black and other symptoms appear, it may be a reminder that the epidermal cells of the oral mucosa of the human body have been diseased, and it is recommended to seek medical treatment in time.
In particular, patients should pay attention to symptoms of thickening, erythema and leukoplakia in the oral mucosa for more than 3 weeks, because symptoms such as oral leukoplakia are typical symptoms of precancerous lesions and are likely to develop into oral cancer. However, the vast majority of leukoplakia are benign, and if you seek medical treatment in time, you can help slow or stop the further deterioration of the disease. In addition to this, how should people prevent oral cancer in life?
How to prevent oral cancer in life?
Quitting smoking and alcohol is very important for preventing oral cancer. Clinical data surveys show that most oral cancer patients have long-term smoking and drinking habits. In fact, they do not understand that cigarettes can release thousands of chemicals that are not good for the human body after burning, of which more than 600 carcinogens can be reached.
According to clinical studies, the probability of developing oral cancer is directly proportional to the time of smoking. Moreover, the survey also found that most oral cancer patients under the age of 40 in the mainland have long-term smoking habits. This is because long-term smoking can lead to different degrees of inflammation and hyperplasia of the oral mucosa, and long-term smoking may lead to proliferation of the mucosa and whitish, resulting in white spots, which greatly increases the possibility of squamous cell carcinoma lesions.
Moreover, the probability of long-term alcohol consumption inducing oral cancer is also three times higher than that of the average person. After alcohol enters the mouth, it will irritate the gums, oral mucosa and other parts, resulting in chemical burns of the mucosa and increasing the risk of oral cancer. And alcohol has long been listed by the World Health Organization as a first-class carcinogen, so it is recommended that people stay away from alcohol for the sake of good health.
Second, avoiding overheated foods can also prevent oral cancer to some extent. Many people have heard their elders say when they are eating since they were young: Hurry up and eat while it is hot. But in fact, eating hot food is not good for people, but will induce oral cancer, esophageal cancer and other diseases. This is because hot food can damage the body's oral mucosa, and when the mucous membrane in the mouth is damaged for a long time, it also increases the risk of oral cancer.
Also, paying attention to oral hygiene is also very important for the prevention of oral cancer. Many people in life are difficult to develop the habit of brushing their teeth before going to bed and gargling after meals because of laziness, resulting in extremely poor oral hygiene, and bacteria multiplying in the mouth, making the oral flora unbalanced. Once there is a mouth ulcer, or damage to the oral mucosa, it may induce serious oral diseases, and even oral cancer.
Appropriate vitamin A supplementation can also be effective in preventing oral cancer. Survey data by international demographic researchers show that countries with low intake of vitamin A are the leading countries with a high incidence of oral cancer. Long-term vitamin A deficiency can cause thickening of the epithelium of the oral mucosa, as well as hyperkeratosis, inducing oral cancer.
Summary:
Betel nut has been listed as a carcinogen in many countries, and even India, the world's first consumer of betel nut, has established legal regulations prohibiting the sale of betel nut, although it can be sold legally in very few areas, but it is also required to label the slogan "betel nut is harmful to health". Therefore, it is recommended that Chinese residents should stay away from betel nut and protect their health.
Source:
[1] "What is betel nut, is it medicine or poison?" Guangming Network, 2021-9-22
[2] "Containing first-class carcinogens, Turkey is identified as a drug: many countries list betel nut as contraband", National Party Media Information Public Platform, 2021-8-31
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