Evaluation of medical conditions associated with oral tongue cancer

Principal Investigator

Name
Anil Chaturvedi

Degrees
Ph.D.

Institution
National Cancer Institute

Position Title
Senior Investigator

Email
chaturva@mail.nih.gov

About this CDAS Project

Study
PLCO (Learn more about this study)

Project ID
PLCO-2013

Initial CDAS Request Approval
Jan 9, 2026

Title
Evaluation of medical conditions associated with oral tongue cancer

Summary
Incidence of cancers of the anterior 2/3 of the tongue (oral tongue) has been increasing in the United States and other parts of the world over the last two decades. Smoking and alcohol consumption are known major risk factors, but these exposures do not explain the increasing incidence of oral tongue cancer, particularly because the prevalence of smoking has been declining since the 1980s. Etiologic factors driving the increase in oral tongue cancers in the United States have yet to be identified. This project seeks to comprehensively explore medical conditions associated with oral tongue cancer using Medicare-linked PLCO data to better understand the etiology of this cancer.

Aims

Aim 1: Evaluate associations between inflammatory tongue conditions and oral tongue cancer risk. Inflammation of the tongue (glossitis) has been strongly associated with oral tongue cancer risk in a previous case-control study using SEER-Medicare data. We aim to explore this further in PLCO.
We will adjust for smoking, alcohol use, and other risk factors, as well as the presence of oral precancers.

Aim 2: Evaluate associations of oral tongue cancer with predisposing conditions for glossitis, including nutritional deficiency anemias, malabsorption syndromes, and autoimmune conditions. Glossitis is a common manifestation of nutritional deficiency anemias occurring primary or secondary to malabsorption syndromes, and can also be related to autoimmune conditions. We aim to explore how these predisposing conditions for glossitis relate to oral tongue cancer.

Collaborators

Anil Chaturvedi National Cancer Institute
Yukiko Yano National Cancer Institute
Christian Abnet National Cancer Institute