Lipid Profile as a Marker of Pre-stage Cancer and Oral Cancer in Tobacco Users

Aim: To investigate the serum lipid profile in conventional smokers, reverse smokers and tobacco chewers and smokers and chewers associated with precancer and oral cancer.

Study Design: A cross sectional longitudinal study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Oral medicine and Radiology, Vishnu dental college, Bhimavaram, between October 2011 and November 2013.

Methodology: A total of 100 subjects with age range of 20-80 years were included and divided into five groups with 20 subjects in each group. The subjects in Group 1 were Conventional smokers, Group 2 were Reverse smokers, Group 3 were Tobacco chewers, Group 4 were Smokers and chewers and Group 5 with no habit of tobacco usage. Serum lipid profile levels were estimated and analyzed for all the five groups.

Results: Total cholesterol (TC) and HDL were significantly reduced in all forms of tobacco abusers of oral precancer group. There was significant decrease of TC, HDL in conventional smokers (Group 1) and Reverse smokers (Group 2), significant decrease of total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, VLDL in tobacco chewers (Group 3) and smokers and chewers (Group 4) of oral cancer group compared with the controls. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, VLDL were much lower in the oral cancer group compared with the control. Although these parameters were low in the precancer group compared with the controls and triglycerides showed non –significant p value.

Conclusion: An inverse relationship was obtained between serum lipid levels and oral precancer and oral cancer subjects. Thus the serum lipid profile can be used as an indicator to reflect the initial changes occurring in neoplastic cells, thus substantiating their use as a diagnostic adjuvant in monitoring the oral precancer and oral cancer condition.