Nf. Schlecht et al., Effect of type of alcoholic beverage on the risks of upper aerodigestive tract cancers in Brazil, CANC CAUSE, 12(7), 2001, pp. 579-587
Objectives: We investigated the effects of alcohol consumption on the risk
of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) in a hospital-based case
-control study in Brazil.
Methods: A total of 784 cases of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, and larynx
and 1578 non-cancer controls matched on age, gender, hospital area, and adm
ission period provided information on alcohol drinking, smoking, and other
characteristics via interview. Using logistic regression, we evaluated the
relative risks (RR) of UADT cancer for different beverage types based on cu
mulative ethanol content exposure and frequency of consumption.
Results: Relative to nondrinkers of any alcohol, risks of UADT cancers vari
ed across sites both with increased exposure to ethanol and by alcohol type
. RRs at equivalent levels of ethanol consumption were highest for cancers
of the mouth for hard liquor (6.9 for > 100 kg lifetime consumption, 95% co
nfidence interval (CI) = 2.8-17.1) and cachaca (4.5 for 101-500 kg, 95% CI
= 2.2-9.0). Although RRs increased with frequency of drinks per week, when
evaluated against higher proportional alcohol intake, reductions in risk we
re observed for beer and wine.
Conclusion: Although methods of measurement can influence the interpretatio
n of the carcinogenic nature of alcohols, increased RRs persisted with cont
inued exposure for all types.