Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2013 Aug 19;8(8):e71122.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071122. eCollection 2013.

Tooth loss and risk of head and neck cancer: a meta-analysis

Ren-Sheng Wang  1 , Xue-Ying Hu, Wan-Jie Gu, Zhen Hu, Bo Wei
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Tooth loss and risk of head and neck cancer: a meta-analysis

Ren-Sheng Wang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Observational studies suggest an association between tooth loss and risk of head and neck cancer. However, whether tooth loss is an independent risk factor for head and neck cancer still remains controversial. The aim of this study is to assess the association between tooth loss and head and neck cancer risk.

Methods: Eligible studies were searched in PubMed and Embase databases from their inception to March 2013. A random-effects model or fixed-effects model was used to calculate the overall combined risk estimates.

Results: Eight case-control studies and one cross-sectional study involving 5,204 patients and 5,518 controls were included in the meta-analysis. The overall combined odds ratio for tooth loss and head and neck cancer was 2.00 (95% confidence interval, 1.28-3.14). Similar results yielded both in the moderate and severe tooth loss group. Sensitivity analysis based on various exclusion criteria maintained this significance with respect to head and neck cancer individually. Little evidence of publication bias was observed.

Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that tooth loss is associated with increased risk of head and neck cancer. This increase is probably independent of conventional head and neck cancer risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Forest plot showing the association of tooth loss with the risk of head and neck cancer.
(Balaram et al 2002 had separate adjusted OR in male and female population.).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Forest plot showing the association of moderate tooth loss with the risk of head and neck cancer.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Forest plot showing the association of severe tooth loss with the risk of head and neck cancer.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Funnel plots of tooth loss for assessment of publication bias.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ries LAG, Melbert D, Krapcho M, editors (2008) SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2005. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Available: http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2005.
    1. Jemal A, Siegel R, Ward E, Hao Y, Xu J, et al. (2008) Cancer statistics, 2008. CA Cancer J Clin 58: 71–96. - PubMed
    1. Marur S, Forastiere AA (2008) Head and neck cancer: changing epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Mayo Clin Proc 83: 489–501. - PubMed
    1. Parkin DM, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P (2005) Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J Clin 55: 74–108. - PubMed
    1. Blot WJ, McLaughlin JK, Winn DM, Austin DF, Greenberg RS, et al. (1988) Smoking and drinking in relation to oral and pharyngeal cancer. Cancer Res 48: 3282–3287. - PubMed

Publication types