Re: Quick question about oral cancer...

General

Quick question about oral cancer...

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Anonymous 02-13-2009, 9:24 PM
I read the whole FAQ section and it is very convincing be a scientific minded person myself.

my only concern is that for every smokeless user that got oral cancer it seems the cancer developes at the spot the dip is held ie left side right side front upper/lower lip. What are your thoughts on this.

Re: Quick question about oral cancer...

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admin 02-17-2009, 1:20 PM
Actually, most smokeless users who get oral cancer get tongue cancer, because it is the most common oral cavity cancer site.  In fact, it appears that all of the most talked about cases where someone who used smokeless tobacco happened to get oral cancer (e.g., cases where there were lawsuits, the guy who wanders around talking to middle school pep rallies, etc.) were tongue cancer.  You have probably heard about a few cases where there was cancer at the site of contact because it makes a good story and so gets repeated.  But such stories do not mean that it happens any more often than coincidence.

That said, it is certainly possible that smokeless tobacco causes a few oral cancers at the site it is held.  There is no evidence that there are enough that we can sort the signal out from the noise, but there still may be a few cases that are causal.  It is just that based on available evidence, for any given case it is better to conclude coincidence than causation.