Taiwan study finds oral cancer rates up 280 per cent, blames betel

Jul 27, 2010, 12:47 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan's rate of oral cancer - one of the island's top 10 causes of death - has nearly quadrupled in the past 40 years, health experts warned Tuesday, blaming among others the habit of chewing betel nut.

A study published by Dr Liao Yung-po, associate professor of public health at Chung Shan Medical University, showed an increase of 280 per cent in oral cancer deaths, with men four times as likely to die of the disease as women.

'The death toll for oral cancer in males has been increasing at such an alarming rate that relevant authorities must take note of this situation,' Liao said of his study report, citing statistics compiled by the Department of Health over the past four decades.

From 2001 to 2009, the death toll in males was 13.31 per annum for every 100,000 men, up from 3.08 per annum in the period 1971 to 1980, an increase of 330 per cent.

The overall figures for women were lower, but showed a similar increase, reaching 3.08 per 100,000 women between 2001 and 2009, up from 1.18 in the earlier period, an increase of 160 per cent.

According to Liao's study, more than 95 per cent of oral cavity cancers are squamous cell carcinoma, a type of cancer for which 'the possible causes include include betel nut chewing, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption,' he said.

'Approximately 85 per cent of the patients with oral cancer in Taiwan are regular users of betel nuts,' he added.

Most men contracting oral cancer in the last decade were aged between 40 and 50, down from 50 to 60 in the earlier period, as more younger people have taken up chewing betel nut, the study said.

Although the government has repeatedly advised and encouraged the locals to give up betel nut over the years, the habit is still popular in southern and eastern Taiwan within the grassroots and indigenous societies.