Stornetta Alessia, Guidolin Valeria, Balbo Silvia
Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Cancers (Basel). 2018 Jan 14;10(1):20. doi: 10.3390/cancers10010020.
Alcohol is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a human carcinogen and its consumption has been associated to an increased risk of liver, breast, colorectum, and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancers. Its mechanisms of carcinogenicity remain unclear and various hypotheses have been formulated depending on the target organ considered. In the case of UADT cancers, alcohol's major metabolite acetaldehyde seems to play a crucial role. Acetaldehyde reacts with DNA inducing modifications, which, if not repaired, can result in mutations and lead to cancer development. Despite alcohol being mainly metabolized in the liver, several studies performed in humans found higher levels of acetaldehyde in saliva compared to those found in blood immediately after alcohol consumption. These results suggest that alcohol-derived acetaldehyde exposure may occur in the oral cavity independently from liver metabolism. This hypothesis is supported by our recent results showing the presence of acetaldehyde-related DNA modifications in oral cells of monkeys and humans exposed to alcohol, overall suggesting that the alcohol metabolism in the oral cavity is an independent cancer risk factor. This review article will focus on illustrating the factors modulating alcohol-derived acetaldehyde exposure and effects in the oral cavity.
国际癌症研究机构（IARC）将酒精归类为人类致癌物，饮酒与肝癌、乳腺癌、结直肠癌和上消化道（UADT）癌症风险增加有关。其致癌机制尚不清楚，根据所考虑的靶器官已提出了各种假说。在上消化道癌症的情况下，酒精的主要代谢产物乙醛似乎起着关键作用。乙醛与DNA发生反应诱导修饰，如果不修复，可能导致突变并引发癌症。尽管酒精主要在肝脏中代谢，但在人体中进行的几项研究发现，饮酒后唾液中的乙醛水平高于血液中的乙醛水平。这些结果表明，酒精衍生的乙醛暴露可能在口腔中独立于肝脏代谢而发生。我们最近的结果支持了这一假说，该结果显示在接触酒精的猴子和人类的口腔细胞中存在与乙醛相关的DNA修饰，总体表明口腔中的酒精代谢是一个独立的癌症风险因素。这篇综述文章将重点阐述调节酒精衍生的乙醛暴露及其在口腔中的影响的因素。
