ONCOmmunity

Inverse association between toothbrushing and upper aerodigestive tract cancer risk in a Japanese population

By: Sato F, Oze I, Kawakita D, Yamamoto N, Ito H, Hosono S, Suzuki T, Kawase T, Furue H, Watanabe M, Hatooka S, Yatabe Y, Hasegawa Y, Shinoda M, Ueda M, Tajima K, Tanaka H, Matsuo K.

Division of Epidemiology and Prevention, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute.
Head Neck. 2011 Nov; 33(11):1628-37. doi: 10.1002/hed.21649. Epub 2011 Jan 21.

Abstract

Background

Oral hygiene is attracting increasing attention as a potential risk factor for cancers. To investigate the association between toothbrushing frequency and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer, the authors conducted a large-scale case-control study.

Methods

A total of 856 UADT cancer case participants and 2696 age- and sex-matched control subjects without cancer were included. Edentulous or participants with unknown frequency of toothbrushing or number of remaining teeth were excluded. Associations were assessed by odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals in logistic regression models with adjustment for potential confounders.

Results

Compared with toothbrushing once per day, the adjusted odds ratio for brushing twice or more was 0.82 (95% confidence interval: 0.68, 0.99) whereas that for not brushing was 1.79 (0.79, 4.05). This association was observed especially in subjects who had a history of heavy smoking or drinking.

Conclusions

The authors suggest that toothbrushing could have a protective effect for UADT cancer.

PMID: 21259377 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Source: National Library of Medicine.