"Almost 100 % of OSF cases are caused by betel-nut chewing," says Hahn. "OSF is also a cancer precursor. It becomes cancerous in approximately 8 % of patients an average of ten years after it appears." Hahn adds that one of the frightening things about the condition is that it has an uncertain relationship to the length of time that the victim has chewed betel nut.
「口腔黏膜纖維化幾乎 100 % 是由嚼檳榔引起，同時它也是一種癌前病變，平均 10 年後轉為癌症的機率約為 8 %，」韓良俊補充，可怕的是，這種病和嚼檳榔的時間長短不一定相關，有些病人才吃半年就產生硬化症。