title: The effect of smoking and drinking in oral and pharyngeal cancers: a case-control study in Uruguay.
abstract: In the time period 1988-2000, a case-control study on oral and pharyngeal cancers was conducted among men in Montevideo, Uruguay. The study included 776 cases and 1501 controls. The cases were distributed by site in oral cancers (335 patients) and pharyngeal cancers (441 patients). Odds ratios for smoking were higher among participants with pharyngeal cancers compared with those with oral carcinomas, but there was no significant heterogeneity. On the contrary, alcohol drinking displayed statistically higher risks among those with pharyngeal carcinomas compared with patients with oral cancer (P-value for heterogeneity=0.01). The effect of alcohol was particularly strong for cancers of the hypopharynx. Our results raise the possibility that oral and pharyngeal carcinomas are in fact different entities. Further studies are needed in order to clarify this important point.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Epidemiología, Departamento de Anatomía Patológica, Facultad de Medicina, Hospital de Clínicas, Avenida Brasil 3080 dep 402, 11300 Montevideo, Uruguay. estefani@adinet.com.uy
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Stefani
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boffetta
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Deneo-Pellegrini
authors.forename: Alvaro L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Ronco
authors.forename: Giselle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Acosta
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferro
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oreggia
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leiva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014583:Uruguay