Oral sub-mucous fibrosis: realities of etiology / Fibrose de submucosa oral: a realidade da etiologia

Oral sub-mucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a well known potentially malignant condition resulting commonly due tothe use of areca nut. Areca nut chewing is a primordial tradition in Asian countries. It is also a psychoactiveessence. With the emergence of commercial pan masala and gutkha, witness of massive growth in the salesof these products, with huge worldwide export market developed. Various components in this quid have itsown mechanism of action resulting in OSMF. Other causes proposed were chillies, misi, nutritional deficiency,genetic predisposition, immunologic aspects, infection and saliva. This review attempts to give an overviewabout the postulated etiologies and its role in causation of OSMF.

Fibrose de submucosa oral (FSMO) é uma condição potencialmente maligna muito conhecida resultante geralmentedo uso da noz de areca ou betel. Mastigar a noz de betel é uma tradição primordial nos países asiáticos.É também uma essência psicoativa. O surgimento comercial da pan masala e da gutkha, aliado ao enorme crescimento nas vendas desses produtos, possibilitou um grande mercado de exportação em todo o mundodesenvolvido. Vários componentes neste material tem seu próprio mecanismo de ação, resultando em FSMO.Outras causas propostas foram pimentões, misi, deficiência nutricional, predisposição genética, aspectos imunológicos,infecção e saliva. Esta revisão procura dar uma visão geral sobre as etiologias postuladas e seu papelna causa da FSMO.

Mixture of betel leaf, areca nut and tobacco chewing is a risk factor for cytogenetic damage in construction workers from south India

Aim: To determine the cytogenetic effect of betel leaf, areca nut and tobacco mixture usage among female construction workers in Tamilnadu, Southern India. Methods: Totally 236 buccal cells and blood samples were collected from 80 betel quid users and 76 users with tobacco snuffing habit which were compared with 80 healthy subjects. Peripheral blood leukocyte cultures were analyzed for chromosomal aberrations (CA) and exfoliated cells from the buccal mucosa were examined for micronucleus (MN). Results: Statistically significant (p<0.01) increase in CA and MN were observed in users with snuffing habit when compared to users without snuffing habit and controls as confirmed by chi-square test. Therefore, specific biomarkers on cytogenetic endpoints might help in planning precautionary measures to reduce oral cancer risks. Conclusions: The present study can be concluded that a mixture of betel quid, areca nut and tobacco chewing/snuffing is unsafe for oral health. The genotoxic effect of smokeless tobacco should be considered in addition to other known hazards for assessing health risks.