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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cancer Control Soc.
Sec. Multifaceted Approaches in Cancer Support
Volume 2 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcacs.2024.1414881
This article is part of the Research Topic Mechanistic Roles of Exercise on Cancer Progression, Recurrence and Survival Outcomes View all articles

Differential effects of areca nut, tobacco, and lime on oral squamous cell carcinoma progression Authors

Provisionally accepted
Tarun Prakash Verma Tarun Prakash Verma Sonali Adhikari Sonali Adhikari Meenakshi Kandpal Meenakshi Kandpal Hem C. Jha Hem C. Jha *
  • Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Consumption of tobacco and its associated products has been linked with a high incidence of oral cancer in the Indian subcontinent. The present study aims to assess the differential effect of areca nut, tobacco, and slaked lime on the pathogenesis and progression of oral cancer. Extracts of areca nut (ANE), tobacco leaf (TLE), and lime water (LWE) were prepared and characterized. Oral keratinocyte cells (BICR10) were treated with the prepared extracts alone and in combinations. Cell apoptosis, necrosis, nuclear aberrations, and transcript expression profiles were assessed to study the cancer pathogenesis. An increase in apoptosis and necrosis was observed in the cells treated with ANE and ANE+LWE, while a decrease in apoptosis was observed in cells treated with TLE. We also found a variation in the size of nuclei and an increase in the number of multinuclei in the cells treated with TLE and TLE+LWE. Out of twenty-four head and neck cancer-related genes, we found significant upregulation in seven genes in ANE, six in ANE+LWE, thirteen in TLE, twenty in LWE, and fourteen in TLE+LWE treated cells. On pathway enrichment analysis, there were alterations in the 'pathways in cancer,' 'focal adhesion,' and 'amoebiasis.' In conclusion, although areca nut has been regarded as a carcinogen, its carcinogenic potential is lesser than tobacco and lime. Moreover, adjunctive use of tobacco and lime along with areca nut may be an essential factor in the onset and progression of oral cancer.

    Keywords: oral cancer, Cancer pathogenesis, Areca nut, Tobacco, Slaked lime

    Received: 09 Apr 2024; Accepted: 08 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Prakash Verma, Adhikari, Kandpal and Jha. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hem C. Jha, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore, India

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