DRINKING PRACTICES AND RISK OF SQUAMOUS-CELL ESOPHAGEAL CANCER AMONG BLACK-AND-WHITE MEN IN THE UNITED-STATES

To evaluate whether the fivefold greater incidence rate of squamous-ce ll esophageal cancer in Black compared with White men is due to type o f alcoholic beverage consumed or to other qualitative differences in a lcohol consumption, we conducted a population-based case-control study with 373 males diagnosed with squamous-cell esophageal cancer (124 Wh ites and 249 Blacks) and 1,364 male controls (750 Whites and 614 Black s) from three geographic areas in the United States, Included were all histologically confirmed cases newly diagnosed from 1 August 1986 thr ough 30 April 1989, among White and Black men aged 30 to 79 years, Ris ks varied to some extent according to type of alcohol used, with beer a stronger contributor in Whites, and wine and liquor stronger contrib utors in Blacks, However, most of the differences in the odds ratios b y type of alcohol and race were eliminated after controlling for avera ge weekly amount of total alcohol consumed, Thus, while alcohol use in all forms is an important risk factor for squamous-cell esophageal ca ncer in Whites and Blacks, type of alcoholic beverage used does not ap pear to account for the racial differences in incidence.