(Press-News.org) Upper aero-digestive tract cancers (UADT), especially those of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx, are often referred to as alcohol-related cancers as it has been shown repeatedly that heavy drinkers, in particular, are at increased risk. The combination of heavy alcohol use and cigarette smoking is the key factor in increasing the risk of these cancers.
A distinguished group of scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IRAC).evaluated the role of alcohol and tobacco consumption, based on 2,252 upper aerodigestive squamous-cell carcinoma cases and 1,707 controls from seven centres in Brazil, Argentina, and Cuba. While this paper only supports much previous research, it is from a part of the world from which little information on the topic is available and it focuses on groups of people where the occurrence of such cancers is high.
The case-control analysis showed that both alcohol consumption and smoking tended to increase the risk of such cancers. However, the predominant cause of these cancers was the combination of smoking and alcohol consumption, with much higher risk than either exposure alone. The effects on risk were greater for smoking than for alcohol: for non-smokers, there was little effect of alcohol alone on risk. For non-drinkers, the risk of cancer associated with smoking was still increased, but was lower than it was for current drinkers.
Interaction of drinking and smoking: Overall, this study confirms that there is a tendency for an increase in risk for these cancers for both alcohol consumption and for tobacco use. More striking, however, was the strong interaction between these two exposures: heavy smokers and heavy drinkers were by far at the highest risk. For never-smokers, there was little effect of alcohol on the risk of these cancers, and none of the associations between alcohol and cancer among such subjects was statistically significant. As for the type of alcoholic beverage consumed, the risk for cancer was always highest among subjects stating that they consumed only aperitifs or spirits, with little apparent effect of the consumption of beer or wine.
An especially important finding in this study was that, among ex-drinkers and former smokers, the increased risks associated with alcohol and tobacco use decreased steadily as the time since quitting increased. As stated by the authors, most of these cancers "could be prevented by quitting the use of either of these two agents."
###
Reference: Szymanska K, Hung RJ, Wunsch-Filho V, Eluf-Neto J, Curado MP, Koifman S, Matos E, Menezes A, Fernandez L, Daudt AW, Boffetta P, Brennan P.
Alcohol and tobacco, and the risk of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract in Latin America: a case–control study. Cancer Causes Control (2011) 22:1037�. DOI 10.1007/s10552-011-9779-7
Comments by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research on this paper have been provided by the following members:
David Van Velden, MD, Dept. of Pathology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Gordon Troup, MSc, DSc, School of Physics, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Arne Svilaas, MD, PhD, general practice and lipidology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Erik Skovenborg, MD, Scandinavian Medical Alcohol Board, Practitioner, Aarhus, Denmark.
Harvey Finkel, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
R. Curtis Ellison, MD, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
For the detailed critique of this paper: http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum/critique-049-effects-of-smoking-and-alcohol-use-on-the-risk-of-upper-aer0-digestive-cancers-1-august-2011/
The specialists who are members of the Forum are happy to respond to questions from Health Editors regarding emerging research on alcohol and health and will offer an independent opinion in context with other research on the subject .
Helena Conibear co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
helena@alcoholforum4profs.org
Professor R Curtis Ellison co Director
The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research
ellison@bu.edu
www.alcoholforum4profs.org
www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum
Tel UK: + 44 1300 320869
The effects of smoking and alcohol use on risk of upper aero-digestive cancers
2011-08-04
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study finds satisfaction in body function, body appearance differs in older men and women
2011-08-04
When it comes to satisfaction with body function and body appearance, older men and women have different opinions, although physical activity does improve satisfaction in both sexes, according to new study by a Baylor University researcher.
Researchers found that as men and women age, there is a shift in body satisfaction away from appearance and towards body functionality, a finding that was documented more consistently in women. Additionally, when comparing concerns across genders, satisfaction with body functionality was more important for men than women. Another ...
Clemson University researchers are making every bite count
2011-08-04
CLEMSON, S.C. — Two Clemson University researchers seek to make diners mindful of mindless eating.
Psychology professor Eric Muth and electrical and computer engineering professor Adam Hoover have created the Bite Counter, a measurement device that will make it easier for people to monitor how much they eat. Worn like a watch, the Bite Counter device tracks a pattern of wrist-roll motion to identify when the wearer has taken a bite of food. Think of it as a pedometer for eating.
"At the societal level, current weight-loss and maintenance programs are failing to make ...
Report offers framework to guide EPA on incorporating sustainability in its decision making
2011-08-04
WASHINGTON – A new report from the National Research Council presents a framework for incorporating sustainability into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's principles and decision making. The framework, which was requested by EPA, is intended to help the agency better assess the social, environmental, and economic impacts of various options as it makes decisions.
The committee that developed the framework used the definition of sustainability based on a declaration of federal policy in the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act and included in a 2009 Executive ...
Study assesses nations' vulnerabilities to reduced mollusk harvests from ocean acidification
2011-08-04
Changes in ocean chemistry due to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are expected to damage shellfish populations around the world, but some nations will feel the impacts much sooner and more intensely than others, according to a study by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
As CO2 levels driven by fossil fuel use have increased in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, so has the amount of CO2 absorbed by the world's oceans, leading to changes in the chemical make-up of seawater. Known as ocean acidification, this decrease in pH creates ...
Pilot study suggests new approach to treat preeclampsia
2011-08-04
A novel therapy that reduces elevated blood levels of a potentially toxic protein in women with preeclampsia, a dangerous complication of pregnancy, may someday address the therapeutic dilemma posed by the condition – balancing life-threatening risks to the mother with the dangers that early delivery poses to an immature fetus. In a paper receiving online release in the journal Circulation, a team of U.S. and German researchers report promising results from their pilot study of a filtration technology that reduces reduce excess blood levels of soluble Flt-1, a protein ...
Scientists show 'swamp gas' protects blood vessels from complications of diabetes
2011-08-04
GALVESTON, Texas — Hydrogen sulfide is a foul-smelling gas with an odor resembling that of rotten eggs. Sometimes called "swamp gas," this toxic substance is generally associated with decaying vegetation, sewers and noxious industrial emissions. And — as odd as it may seem — it also plays a critical role in protecting blood vessels from the complications of diabetes, according to a new study from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
In the last few years, work from several laboratories has shown that hydrogen sulfide is produced by the body in small amounts, ...
Neighborhood status influences older women's cognitive function, study finds
2011-08-04
Older women who live in a lower socioeconomic status neighborhood are more likely to exhibit lower cognitive functioning than women who live in more affluent neighborhoods, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
The study, published online by the American Journal of Public Health, is the largest of its type to examine whether living in a poor neighborhood is associated with lower cognitive function.
The study found that potential confounders such as vascular health, health behaviors and psychosocial factors such as depressive symptoms explained only a portion ...
A hot topic: Radioactive decay is key ingredient behind Earth's heat, research shows
2011-08-04
MANHATTAN, KAN. -- Nearly half of the Earth's heat comes from the radioactive decay of materials inside, according to a large international research collaboration that includes a Kansas State University physicist.
Glenn Horton-Smith, associate professor of physics, was part of a team gathering some of the most precise measurements of the Earth's radioactivity to date by observing the activity of subatomic particles -- particularly uranium, thorium and potassium. Their work appears in the July issue of Nature Geoscience in the article "Partial radiogenic heat model for ...
Versatile compound examined in crops
2011-08-04
This release is available in Spanish.
Detergent-like compounds called saponins are best known for their cleansing properties, but U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are studying these compounds' potential for helping protect plants from insect attack.
In studies at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, operated in Peoria, Ill., by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), scientists Pat Dowd, Mark Berhow and Eric Johnson are "spiking" laboratory diets fed to corn earworms and fall armyworms with saponins from soybeans, switchgrass, ...
Researchers discover method to decrease harmful cyanogens and increase protein levels in key crop
2011-08-04
ST. LOUIS, MO August 2, 2011— Researchers working at The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have made an another advancement in their efforts to improve the root crop cassava which is a major source of calories to 700 million people worldwide, primarily living in the developing world. A study conducted by Dr. Narayanan N. Narayanan and Dr. Uzoma Ihemere, research scientists working in the lab of Dr. Richard T. Sayre, have developed an approach that not only accelerates the reduction of cyanogen during food processing, resulting in a safer food product, but also lead ...