title: Alcohol drinking as an unfavorable prognostic factor for male patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: The relationship between alcohol drinking and the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is unknown. To investigate the prognostic value of alcohol drinking on NPC, this retrospective study was conducted on 1923 male NPC patients. Patients were classified as current, former and non-drinkers according to their drinking status. Furthermore, they were categorized as heavy drinkers and mild/none drinkers based on the intensity and duration of alcohol drinking. Survival outcomes were compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards model. We found that current drinkers had significantly lower overall survival (OS) rate (5-year OS: 70.2% vs. 76.4%, P < 0.001) and locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS) rate (5-year LRFS: 69.3% vs. 77.5%, P < 0.001) compared with non-drinkers. Drinking ≥14 drinks/week, and drinking ≥20 years were both independent unfavorable prognostic factors for OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-1.81, P = 0.022; HR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.09-1.75, P = 0.007). Stratified analyses further revealed that the negative impacts of alcohol were manifested mainly among older patients and among smokers. In conclusion, alcohol drinking is a useful predictor of prognosis in male NPC patients; drinkers, especially heavy drinkers have poorer prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yu-Pei
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Bing-Cheng
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xin-Xing
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lu-Jun
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P. R. China.|Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P. R. China.|Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P. R. China.|Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Guan-Nan
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yi-Quan
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yun-Fei
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002277:Carcinoma; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult