Wine Information Council
28 december 2010
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Alcohol drinking and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with focus on light-drinkers and never-smokers – A systematic review and meta-analysis

Quantification of the association between alcohol drinking and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an open issue, particularly among light alcohol drinkers, never-smokers, and Asian populations, in which some high-risk polymorphisms in alcohol metabolizing genes are more prevalent. To address these issues, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using 40 case-control and 13 cohort studies that reported on the risk associated with alcohol drinking for at least 3 levels of consumption. In studies adjusted for age, sex, and tobacco smoking, the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between light alcohol drinking (12.5-<50g/d) and 5.54 (3.92-7.28) for high alcohol intake (>/=50g/d); the RRs were slightly higher in non-Asian populations. In prospective studies, the RR (95% CI) was 1.35 (0.92-1.98) for light, 2.15 (1.55-2.98) for moderate, and 3.35 (2.06-5.46) for high alcohol intakes; light drinking showed an association with ESCC in Asia (5 studies) but not in other regions (3 studies). Among never-smokers (9 studies), the RR (95% CI) was 0.74 (0.47-1.16) for light, 1.54 (1.09-2.17) for moderate, and 3.09 (1.75-5.46) for high intakes. This meta-analysis further corroborates the association of moderate and high alcohol intake with risk of ESCC and provides risk estimates based on multiple prospective studies. Light alcohol intake appears to be associated to ESCC mainly in studies in Asia, which suggests a possible role of genetic susceptibility factors.

Additional Info

  • Authors

    Islami F.; Fedirko V.; Tramacere I.; Bagnardi V.; Jenab M.; Scotti L.; Rota M.; Corrao G.; Garavello W.; Schuz J.; Straif K.; Negri E.; Boffetta P.; La Vecchia C.

  • Issue

    Int.J.Cancer

  • Published Date

    28 december 2010

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