Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a major health problem in Southeast Asia, including India. Areca nut chewing is a major health hazard in India, which has been implicated in the etiology of OSCC. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a major transcription factor involved in adaptation under hypoxic condition, a common finding in solid tumors. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different habits including areca nut chewing on HIF-1 expression in patients with OSCC.

It was a hospital-based observational case-control study. The study comprised 50 histologically proven cases of OSCC and 50 healthy controls. The HIF-1α level was measured by commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the blood samples. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.

The HIF-1α levels were found significantly higher in the patients with areca nut consumption in addition to other addictive habits. Isolated influence could not be discerned as there was only one patient who gave history of only areca nut chewing.

Our findings prove that HIF-1α expression is upregulated by areca nut chewing, which leads to worse prognosis. This calls for widespread awareness programs regarding the deleterious effects of areca nut chewing among the general population.

Prasad J, Goswami B, Agarwal K, Mehra P, Kumar S, Pahuja BK, Chauhan A, Ahirwar AK. Effect of Areca Nut Consumption on Hypoxia-inducible Factor-1 Alfa Expression in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Indian J Med Biochem 2017;21(2):81-85.