Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in never smoker–never drinkers: A descriptive epidemiologic study

Abstract

NSND patients with SCCHN are commonly young women with oral tongue cancer, elderly women with gingival/buccal cancer, or young to middle-aged men with oropharyngeal cancer. While several exposures studied may be important to the etiology of a subset of these cancers in NSND patients, it is likely that no single known factor is responsible for a majority of SCCHN in NSNDs.

Survival Analysis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma in a Subgroup of Young Patients

“…Tobacco and alcohol are well-established etiologic agents in oral squamous cell carcinoma (Dahlstrom et al, 2008). Prolonged tobacco carcinogens exposure leads to genetic mutation in the oral epithelia that can ultimately result in cancer.…”

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the Young: A Spectrum or a Distinct Group? Part 1

“…It may be that a susceptible person requires minimal or environmental exposure to develop HNSCC. There are reports of increased environmental smoke exposure in non-smoking HNSCC patients, compared with controls [11].…”

The immune microenvironment of HPV-negative oral squamous cell carcinoma from never-smokers and never-drinkers patients suggests higher clinical benefit of IDO1 and PD1/PD-L1 blockade

“…However, 10-15% HNSCC are diagnosed in never-smokers and never-drinkers patients (NSND). Three subgroups of NSND with HNSCC have been described: young to middle-aged men with oropharyngeal SCC, young women with oral tongue SCC (OTSCC) and elderly women with gingival SCC [2]. Although human papillomavirus (HPV) has been associated with the increasing incidence of oropharyngeal cancer in young men over the past decades [3], it is not involved in oral carcinogenesis [4] and therefore, does not account for the increasing incidence of OTSCC in young women [5].…”

“…However, while a fraction of HNSCC (7%) may be attributable only to alcohol drinking [9], information in alcohol habits is missing in those studies. Moreover, some studies excluded elderly people [7], which represent another well-established subgroup of NSND with OSCC [2,10].…”