Premium
Oral cancer after using Swedish snus (smokeless tobacco) for 70 years – a case report
Author(s) -
Zatterstrom UK,
Svensson M,
Sand L,
Nordgren H,
Hirsch JM
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
oral diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.953
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1601-0825
pISSN - 1354-523X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1601-0825.2004.00959.x
Subject(s) - snuff , snus , smokeless tobacco , medicine , chewing tobacco , dentistry , cancer , basal cell , incidence (geometry) , environmental health , epidemiology , dermatology , tobacco use , population , pathology , physics , optics
Whereas the smoking habit has declined significantly in Sweden in recent decades, there has been a marked increase in the consumption of ‘snus’ (oral moist snuff). The use of this smokeless tobacco, exposing the user locally to carcinogenic nitrosamines, raises the question – will the increasing use of snuff eventually lead to a greater incidence of oral cancer? We report the case of a 90‐year‐old man who developed a localized squamous cell carcinoma in the gingival fold under the upper lip, at the exact place where he had regularly placed loose oral snuff for 70 years. Although this is a reminder of a prevailing cancer risk, the time frame indicates that the risk is slight. This is consistent with recent epidemiological reports regarding the minor risk of snuff‐associated cancer in the Scandinavian countries.