title: Chronic periodontitis and the risk of tongue cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the association between the history of chronic periodontitis and the risk of tongue cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study using preexisting data from patients admitted between June 15, 1999, and November 17, 2005.
  
  
  METHODS
  Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Prosthetics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), Buffalo, NY.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cases comprised 51 non-Hispanic white men newly diagnosed as having primary squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, and the controls, 54 non-Hispanic white men evaluated during the same period but with negative results for malignancy. Children (aged <21 years), edentulous or immunocompromised patients, and those with history of any cancer were excluded. History of periodontitis was assessed by alveolar bone loss measured from panoramic radiographs by 1 examiner blind to cancer status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Incidence of tongue cancer obtained from the RPCI Tumor Registry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjusting for the effects of age at diagnosis, smoking status, and number of teeth, each millimeter of alveolar bone loss was associated with a 5.23-fold increase in the risk of tongue cancer (odds ratio, 5.23; 95% confidence interval, 2.64-10.35).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests an association between chronic periodontitis and the risk of tongue cancer in men, independent of smoking status, age, race, ethnicity, and number of teeth. This association needs to be confirmed by larger studies using quantitative assessment of lifetime tobacco exposure. If this association is confirmed, it has a potential impact on understanding the etiology of oral cancer as well as on its prevention and control.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics, State University of New York at Buffalo, NY, USA. mine.tezal@roswellpark.org
authors.forename: Mine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tezal
authors.forename: Maureen A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hyland
authors.forename: Thom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Loree
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lillis
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hauck
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wactawski-Wende
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Scannapieco
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003710:Demography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*