Khat and oral cancer.
Oral cancers in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia have been observed to occur mostly among patients who have been long-term khat users. In a survey that reviewed cancers for the past two years there were 28 head and neck cancer patients, 10 of whom presented with a history of having chewed khat. One of these was a case of metastatic cervical lymph node and unknown primary, one was a parotid tumour, and the remaining eight presented with oral cancers. All were non-smoking khat chewers and all of them had used it over a period of 25 years or longer. We conclude that this strong correlation between khat chewing and oral cancer warrants attention.
Department of Medicine, King Saud University, Abha Branch, College of Medicine, Saudi Arabia.
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Soufi
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Kameswaran
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Malatani
D029754:Catha; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*
D010936:Plant Extracts