Defining a global research and policy agenda for betel quid and areca nut

Mehrtash H 1 , Duncan K 2 , Parascandola M 2 , David A 3 , Gritz ER 4 , Gupta PC 5 Show all authors , Mehrotra R 6 , Amer Nordin AS 7 , Pearlman PC 2 , Warnakulasuriya S 8 , Wen CP 9 , Zain RB 10 , Trimble EL 2

Affiliations 

  • 1 National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MA, USA. Electronic address: hedieh.mehrtash@nih.gov
  • 2 National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MA, USA
  • 3 Health Partners LLC, Tamuing, GU, USA
  • 4 MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA
  • 5 Healis Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, Mumbai, India
  • 6 National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research and WHO-FCTC Smokeless Tobacco Global Knowledge Hub, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • 7 Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 8 Department of Oral Medicine, King's College London and WHO Collaborating Centre for Oral Cancer and Precancer, London, UK
  • 9 National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Department of Medical Research, China Medical Univerity, Taichung, Taiwan
  • 10 Oral Cancer Research and Coordinating Centre, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Lancet Oncol, 2017 12;18(12):e767-e775.
PMID: 29208442 DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(17)30460-6

Abstract

Betel quid and areca nut are known risk factors for many oral and oesophageal cancers, and their use is highly prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, betel quid and areca nut are associated with health effects on the cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal, metabolic, respiratory, and reproductive systems. Unlike tobacco, for which the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provides evidence-based policies for reducing tobacco use, no global policy exists for the control of betel quid and areca nut use. Multidisciplinary research is needed to address this neglected global public health emergency and to mobilise efforts to control betel quid and areca nut use. In addition, future research is needed to advance our understanding of the basic biology, mechanisms, and epidemiology of betel quid and areca nut use, to advance possible prevention and cessation programmes for betel quid and areca nut users, and to design evidence-based screening and early diagnosis programmes to address the growing burden of cancers that are associated with use.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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