Is there an association between alcohol intake or smoking and small bowel adenocarcinoma? Results from a European multi-center case-control study

Objective: To discover whether tobacco smoking and intake of different type s of alcoholic drinks are associated with small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA). Methods: A population-based European multi-center case-control study was co nducted from 1995 to 1997. Results: After a histological review using uniform diagnostic criteria, 47 (33%) of the 142 identified cases of SBA were excluded due to reclassificat ion as either tumors of the papilla of Vater (n = 22), stromal tumors, or m etastases; 95 cases were accepted for study. In all, 70 cases of SBA togeth er with 2070 controls matched by age, sex, and region were interviewed. A h igh intake (more than 24 g alcohol per day) of beer or spirits was associat ed with SBA, an odds ratio (OR) of 3.5 and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 1.5-8.0 and 3.4 (95% CI 1.3-9.2), respectively). There was no association with wine intake or total alcohol intake. Tobacco smoking was probably unre lated to SBA. Conclusions: A high intake of beer or spirits seems to be a risk factor for SBA. Since this association was not seen for wine drinkers, protective com ponents of wine may counterbalance a carcinogenic effect of alcohol on the small bowel. Alternatively, the result may be confounded by other factors, e.g. dietary factors.