title: Indoor air pollution from solid fuels and risk of upper aerodigestive tract cancers in central and eastern Europe.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Indoor air pollution from solid fuels is a potentially important risk factor for cancer, yet data on cancers from organs other than the lung are scarce. We investigated if indoor air pollution from coal and wood are risk factors for additional cancers, particularly that of the upper aerodigestive tract (oral cavity, larynx, pharynx and esophagus) in the high-risk areas of central and eastern Europe.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data from multi-center hospital-based case-control study of 1065 histologically confirmed upper aerodigestive tract cancer cases and 1346 controls. Standardized questionnaires were used to collect information on residential fuel use for cooking and heating. Using unconditional logistic regression, we calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for upper aerodigestive tract cancer risk after adjusting for potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lifelong wood use was associated with pharyngeal and esophageal (OR 4.05, 95% CI: 1.30-12.68 and OR 2.71, 95% CI: 1.21-6.10, respectively). We observed an exposure-response relationship between duration of wood use and risk of pharyngeal cancer among those who had never used coal (P(trend)=0.04), ruling out the possibility of residual confounding by coal. Similarly, we observed an increased risk of laryngeal cancers and head & neck cancers among those who always used coal, with a noted exposure-response relationship (P(trend)<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest a possible role of indoor air pollution from solid fuel use in head and neck carcinogenesis in the high risk area of central and eastern Europe.
authors.affiliation: Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland College Park School of Public Health, College Park 20742, USA. amirsap@umd.edu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sapkota
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zaridze
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Szeszenia-Dabrowska
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mates
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fabiánová
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rudnai
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Janout
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Holcatova
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boffetta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashibe
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003031:Coal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005061:Europe, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005390:Fires; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014934:Wood
chemical_list: D003031:Coal