title: A study of betel quid carcinogenesis. IV. Analysis of the saliva of betel chewers: a preliminary report.
abstract: Betel quid chewing is strongly associated with cancer of the oral cavity, especially when tobacco is added to the quid. It is our working hypothesis that, during chewing, Areca-derived N-nitrosamines are formed and, in the presence of tobacco, Nicotiana-specific N-nitrosamines are formed as well and further that these agents may contribute to the high risk of oral cancer in betel-quid chewers. This preliminary report presents our finding of N-nitrosoguvacoline in the saliva of betel-quid chewers (2.2-350 ppb). When the quid contains tobacco, the tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines, N'-nitrosonornicotine (1.2-38.3 ppb), N'-nitrosoanatabine (3.2-39.5 ppb), and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (1.0-2.3 ppb) are also found in the saliva.
mesh_terms: D001114:Areca; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D009602:Nitrosamines / Q000032:analysis*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D012463:Saliva / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D009602:Nitrosamines