title: Alcohol intake and risk of aggressive histological basal cell carcinoma: a case-control study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aggressive basal cell carcinomas (BCC) are not rare. These subtypes of skin cancer are characterized by an infiltrative behavior and rapid progression. Often, management may be difficult. Recent evidence suggests that minimal UV exposure in combination with other behavioral and/or environmental factors may lead to higher incidence of BCC and, therefore, more risk of aggressive subtypes of this malignancy. Alcohol is a very commonly consumed beverage in Western societies, especially in association with outdoors activities.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate a possible relationship between alcohol intake and aggressive histological variants of BCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  We designed a prospective study. Patients who underwent surgery for BCC in our hospital were interviewed to collect data regarding alcohol intake. The specimens were reviewed by a pathologist and classified into aggressive and non-aggressive subtypes. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  136 patients were included. Of participants with aggressive BCCs, 10 (26.3%) were abstainers, 4 (10.4%) had light consumption, 18 (47.5%) moderate consumption and 6 (15.8%) heavy consumption, while among participants with non-aggressive BCCs, 57 (58.2%) were abstainers, 29 (29.5%) had light consumption, 10 (10.2%) moderate consumption and 2 (2.1%) heavy consumption. In the multivariate analysis we found a positive significant association between alcohol consumption and the presence of aggressive BBCs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to our results, alcohol intake may be linked with a higher incidence of aggressive subtypes of BCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, Spain. huseinelahmed@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Husein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Husein-Elahmed
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aneiros-Fernandez
authors.forename: María-Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gutierrez-Salmerón
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Botella-Lopez
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aneiros-Cachaza
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naranjo-Sintes
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires