Case-control study of oropharyngeal cancer

Abstract

Background: In order to test some hypotheses of risk factors for oropharyngeal cancer (neoplasm of base of tongue, palate and tonsils) matched case-control study was conducted in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, during the period 1998-2000. Methods: Study comprised 100 incidence cases with oropharyngeal cancer and 100 controls with some non-malignant diseases of head and neck. Results: According to multivariate analysis, ever smoking, interaction between smoking and alcohol consumption, and occupational exposure to wood dust were found to be independent risk factors for oropharyngeal cancer (odds ratio-OR = 5.10 95% confidence intervals-95% CI = 1.70-15.27, OR = 2.61 95% CI = 1.54-4.41, and OR = 4.16 95% CI = 1.45-11.91, respectively). Conclusion: The results of the present study are in line with other authors , findings showing that smoking and alcohol consumption are the main risk factors for oropharyngeal cancer. The effect of occupational exposure to wood dust warrants further investigation. © 2006 International Society for Preventive Oncology.