SALTED MEAT CONSUMPTION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR CANCER OF THE ORAL CAVITY AND PHARYNX - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY FROM URUGUAY

A hospital-based, case-control study of oropharyngeal cancer was condu cted in the Oncology Institute, Montevideo, Uruguay, during 1988-1992, in which 246 new cases and 253 controls were interviewed. The study w as restricted to males. As in most previous studies, tobacco smoking a nd alcohol drinking were the major risk factors. Past and current salt ed meat consumption was associated with increased risks of oropharynge al cancer after controlling for the effects of tobacco and alcohol; cu rrent consumption was associated with a significant increase in risk ( odds ratio, 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-5.2). Current heavy cons umption of salted meat was associated with a significant 4.7% increase d risk of oropharyngeal cancer after adjusting for tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking. These findings suggest that current consumption of salted-meat is more relevant to the etiology of this set of neoplasms than past consumption. Furthermore, the joint effect of pack-years of cigarette smoking alcohol drinking and ever consumption of salted meat was associated with a high risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer (odds r atio, 10.0; 95% confidence interval, 4.7-21.3) using the referent cate gory of moderate smokers, moderate drinkers, and never users of salted meat.