title: Alcohol consumption and non-Hodgkin lymphoma survival.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epidemiological studies have shown that moderate alcohol drinkers have a lower death rate for all causes. Alcohol drinking has also been associated with reduced risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Here, we examined the role of alcohol consumption on NHL survival by type of alcohol consumed and NHL subtype.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 575 female NHL incident cases diagnosed during 1996-2000 in Connecticut was followed-up for a median of 7.75 years. Demographic, clinical, and lifestyle information was collected at diagnosis. Survival analyses were conducted with Kaplan-Meier methods, and hazard ratios (HR) were estimated from Cox Proportional Hazards models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to never drinkers, wine drinkers experienced better overall survival (75% vs. 69% five-year survival rates, p-value for log-rank test = 0.030) and better disease free survival (70% vs. 67% five-year disease-free survival rates, p-value for log-rank test = 0.049). Analysis by NHL subtype shows that the favorable effect of wine consumption was mainly seen for patients diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (wine drinkers for more than 25 years vs. never drinkers: HR = 0.36, 95% CI 0.14-0.94 for overall survival; HR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.16-0.94 for disease-free survival), and the adverse effect of liquor consumption was also observed among DLBCL patients (liquor drinkers vs. never drinkers: HR=2.49, 95% CI 1.26-4.93 for disease-free survival).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest a moderate relationship between pre-diagnostic alcohol consumption and NHL survival, particularly for DLBCL. The results need to be replicated in larger studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pre-diagnostic behaviors might impact the prognosis and survival of NHL patients.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Xuesong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Tongzhang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Francine M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Foss
authors.forename: Shuangge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Theodore R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Holford
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leaderer
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Yawei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000401:mortality*; D003237:Connecticut / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000401:mortality*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult