A company that makes oral cancer detection tests is suing Listerine-maker Johnson & Johnson over claims the company stymied sales of the tests to protect the image of its mouthwash.

Oral Cancer Prevention International has launched a $US60 million ($56.8m) lawsuit in a New Jersey court arguing Johnson & Johnson pressured one of its subsidiary companies - OraPharma - to breach a sales agreement it had made with OCPI in early 2010 to distribute the Oral CDx Brush Test.

Bitter taste... Studies have linked mouthwash to cancer.

The brush test kit can be used by dentists to detect the presence of pre-cancerous cells in the mouth.

Some studies have linked mouthwashes with high alcohol content to cancer and OCPI alleges Johnson & Johnson, one of the world's biggest companies, was particularly concerned by a 2008 study in the Australian Dental Journal that concluded such products could cause oral cancer.