Dietary vitamin D and cancers of the oral cavity and esophagus.
BACKGROUND
Data on the association between vitamin D and upper digestive tract neoplasms are limited.


METHODS
In two case-control studies in Italy, we examined the relation between dietary vitamin D intake and squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE; 304 cases) and oral/pharyngeal cancer (804 cases). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by multiple logistic regression.


RESULTS
Adjusted ORs for SCCE and oral/pharyngeal cancer were 0.58 (95% CI 0.39-0.86) and 0.76 (95% CI 0.60-0.94), respectively, for the highest tertile of vitamin D intake. Using a reference group of those in the highest tertile of vitamin D who were never/former smokers, ORs were 8.7 (95% CI 4.1-18.7) for SCCE and 10.4 (95% CI 6.9-15.5) for oral/pharyngeal cancer among heavy smokers in the lowest vitamin D tertile; similarly, compared with those in the highest tertile of vitamin D who drank <3 alcoholic drinks/day, corresponding ORs were 41.9 (95% CI 13.7-128.6) for SCCE and 8.5 (95% CI 5.7-12.5) for oral/pharyngeal cancer, among heavy alcohol drinkers in the lowest vitamin D tertile.


CONCLUSIONS
We observed inverse associations between dietary vitamin D intake and risk of SCCE and, perhaps, oral/pharyngeal cancer, which were most pronounced among heavy current smokers and heavy consumers of alcohol.
Lipworth
L
L
International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD; Department of Preventive Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: loren@iei.us.
Rossi
M
M
Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Pharmacologic Research "Mario Negri", Milan.
McLaughlin
J K
JK
International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD; Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Negri
E
E
Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Pharmacologic Research "Mario Negri", Milan.
Talamini
R
R
Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Oncology Referral Center, Aviano (PN), Italy.
Levi
F
F
Cancer Epidemiology Unit and Cancer Registries of Vaud and Neuchatel, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Franceschi
S
S
Epidemiology and Biology Cluster, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
La Vecchia
C
C
Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Pharmacologic Research "Mario Negri", Milan; Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Institute of Medical Statistics and Biometrics "G. A. Maccacaro", University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D