Prevention of Betel Quid Chewers' Oral Cancer in the Asian-Pacific Area.
"Betel quid chewers' oral cancer" is one of the most common malignancies in South and Southeast Asian countries. Oral premalignancies are also very common in betel quid chewers and about 10% of these undergo malignant transformation. Although education for cessation of the betel quid chewing habit is important, there are few adequate strategies and policies for primary prevention, health promotion and education related to oral cancer control, especially in rural areas. In addition to oral health education, it is also crucial to establish a data-management system as well as monitoring and evaluation systems for oral cancer prevention.
Chiba
Itsuo
I
Oral Diagnosis and Oral Medicine, Oral Patho-biological Science, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Sapporo 060-8586, Hokkaido, Japan. ic@den.hokudai.ac.jp