Tobacco Smoke and Alcohol Consumption in Relation to Oral Cancer in Albania

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between tobacco, alcohol and other viruses in increasing the risk of being affected by oral carcinomas. Material and method: In our study the sample was composed by 200 patients, all Albanians. The experiment was conducted in the time period 2014-2018, in Albania. The participants were of the age range 45-75 years old and their average age was 60 years old. The ratio between males and females was 3:1, so 152 of the participants were males and 48 were females. The participants were all tobacco users, but they also had other characteristics such as: being virus carriers. More specifically, 44 patients were HPV carriers, 12 patients were EBV carriers, 16 patients were HIV carriers, 72 patients were alcohol addicted, while the remained 56 patients had no viruses they were only tobacco and marijuana smokers. Results: There were 200 patients who were smokers, so smoking is not excluded in any patient. Smoking was the dominant characteristic among participants, 36% of the patients were smokers and consumed alcohol, which increased the risk for oral carcinomas of both kinds. Based on our findings we claim that 36% of the patients smoked and drank alcohol at the same time, 36% were smokers and virus carriers, while 28% were only smokers. Conclusion: Tobacco smoking causes oral carcinomas in those patients who carry viruses, such as: HPV, HIV and EBV, although they are not regular tobacco users.