ALCOHOL, SMOKING AND CANCER OF THE UPPER AERODIGESTIVE TRACT - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY AMONG HAWAII JAPANESE MEN

A cohort study of upper aerodigestive tract cancer was conducted among 7,995 Japanese-American men who were interviewed and examined from 19 65 to 1968. Information was collected about smoking history and alcoho l and dietary intake. After 24 years, 92 incident cases with histologi cal confirmation of diagnosis were identified. Current cigarette smoke rs at time of examination had a 3-fold risk for upper aerodigestive tr act cancer compared with never-smokers. A dose-response relationship w as present with increasing amount and duration of cigarette use. Consu mption of beer, wine, spirits and total alcohol was strongly associate d with increased risk. Of 23 food and beverage categories, only candy/ jelly/soda pop consumption had a statistically significant inverse tre nd. Frequent consumption of fruit was also inversely associated with t his cancer. In contrast, the risk tended to be positively associated w ith consumption of rice, seaweed, tofu or tsukudani (a mixed dish of f ish, sugar, soy sauce and seaweed), but the dose-response relationship was not statistically significant. For nutrient intake, increased cal cium and fat intake decreased the risk for this cancer. (C) 1995 Wiley -Liss, Inc.