Objective: The main aim of this study was to test whether the use of mouthwash is associated with subtypes of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and to test the potential risk of SCCHN depending on the mouthwash use duration, frequency, or alcoholic content.
Materials and methods: We performed a meta-analysis using Web of Science and Scopus databases to detect the risk change associated with mouthwash use depending on the alcohol content, duration and frequency of use, and anatomical location. We used a random-effects model with the Sidik-Jonkman estimator for effect size model measures.
Results: We included 17 studies in the meta-analysis containing 17,085 cases and 20,032 controls. The risk difference for SCCHN between mouthwash users and non-users was minimal, with a value of -0.02 [-0.05, 0.01]. Alcoholic mouthwash use was associated with a minimal decrease in risk (of -0.01 [-0.07, 0.05]). Frequent usage of mouthwash was associated with a statistically significant risk increase for SCCHN but the risk increase was marginal (0.04, [0.01, 0.06]).
Conclusions: Overall, our study failed to show a statistically significant correlation between mouthwash use and the risk of SCCHN. The only statistically significant correlation that we could identify was between frequent usage and SCCHN, potentially caused by prolonged contact between some constituents of mouthwash (possibly alcohol) and the oral epithelium.
Keywords: acetaldehyde; alcohol; cancer; mouthwash; oral.