title: Risk factors for squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus in women: a case-control study.
abstract: Oesophageal cancer rates in women in the UK are more than 3 times higher than in most other European populations. A population-based matched case-control study of histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus in women was carried out in 4 regions in England and Scotland. Interviews were carried out in hospital or at home and topics included: smoking; alcohol; tea and coffee consumption; medical and obstetric history; and diet. Response rates were 62% for cases and 65% for first-chosen controls. There were 159 case-control pairs. Significant results were found for: eating salads (odds ratio (OR) 0.42, 95% CI 0.20-0.92 in the highest quartile of consumption) and a light (as distinct from no) breakfast (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.07 - 0.48) were protective; quantity of tea was a risk factor and there was a significant positive trend with temperature at which hot drinks were consumed (P = 0.03). Alcohol consumption was unrelated to risk, but there was a significant trend with years of smoking (P = 0.015). A protective effect of aspirin consumption was confined to the English centres (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01-0.56). Comparison with a parallel study of adenocarcinoma indicated a common protective effect of a healthy diet but otherwise distinct risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, University of Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Chilvers
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: McKinney
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Logan
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cook-Mozaffari
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Day
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors