Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Eur J Cancer Prev. 2010 Nov;19(6):431–465. doi: 10.1097/CEJ.0b013e32833d936d

Table 4.

Joint Effects of Alcohol and Tobacco on Oral Cavity and Pharyngeal Cancers

Ref
No.
Reference, study
location and period
Organ site
(ICD code)
Characteristics
of study
population
Tobacco Alcohol Comments/
Adjustment factors
in study design or
analysis
30 Blot, et al. (1988)
USA, 1984–85
Oral cavity and pharynx (ICD9 141, 143–146, 148, 149), excluding salivary gland and nasopharynx 1,114 (762 men, 352 women) cases; 1,268 population controls
Males
No.
Cases/Controls
OR
Alcohol (drinks/week)
<1 1–4 5–14 15–29 30+

Non-smoker 12/66
1
12/52
1.3
15/39
1.6
5/21
1.4
6/7
5.8
Short duration/former1 8/42
0.7
24/61
2.2
21/90
1.4
25/49
3.2
43/37
6.4
1–19/day for 20+ yrs 2/6
1.7
7/21
1.5
8/18
2.7
16/18
5.4
22/14
7.9
20–39/day for 20+ yrs 8/17
1.9
17/34
2.4
28/40
4.4
52/42
7.2
145/33
23.8
40+ /day for 20+ yrs 9/4
7.4
6/14
0.7
19/19
4.4
43/11
20.2
148/21
37.7
Pipe/cigar only 1/4
0.6
5/24
1.0
8/13
3.7
13/9
4.7
25/6
23.0
1Quit for 10+ yrs or smoked for >20 yrs;

Adjusted for age, race, study location, respondent status (self vs. next-of-kin)
Females
No.
Cases/Controls
OR
Alcohol (drinks/week)
<1 1–4 5–14 15–29 30+

Non-smoker 36/112
1
11/62
0.7
7/23
1.3
0/3
0.0
0/2
0.0
Short duration/former1 7/27
1.0
8/21
1.6
4/30
0.4
3/10
1.1
3/0
~
1–19/day for 20+ yrs 4/13
0.9
22/15
5.1
11/15
2.8
3/3
4.6
9/3
11.0
20–39/day for 20+ yrs 12/19
2.2
20/25
2.7
35/18
6.9
31/9
12.4
38/3
46.0
40+ /day for 20+ yrs 4/0
~
14/6
9.3
15/7
7.8
18/4
18.0
37/1
107.9
23 Tuyns, et al. (1988)
Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France
1980–83
Hypopharynx 281 male cases; 3,057 male population controls
No. of cases
OR
Alcohol (g/day)
0–40 41–80 81–120 121+

0–7 cigarettes/day 4
1
10
3.0
7
5.5
11
15.0
8–15 cigarettes/day 9
4.7
32
14.6
28
27.5
39
71.6
16–25 cigarette/day 27
13.9
42
19.5
52
48.3
56
67.8
26+ cigarettes/day 5
4.9
15
18.4
22
37.6
50
135.5
Adjusted for age, place, age/place interaction
40 Merletti, et al. (1989)
Torino, Italy, 1982–84
Oral cavity and oropharynx
(ICD9 140.3–140.5, 141, 143–146)
122 (86 men, 36 women); 606 (385 men, 221 women) population-based controls
Men
No. Cases/Controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (g/day)
0–40 41–120 >120

0–7 tobacco g/day 4/61
1
4/82 (categories combined)
0.6 (0.2–2.0)
8–15 g/day 7/31
3.3 (0.9–12.4)
15/50
3.6 (1.1–12.0)
5/10
8.6 (1.9–39.0)
>16 10/57
2.5 (0.7–8.5)
25/82
3.6 (1.2–11.3)
16/12
21.4 (5.9–77.7)
Adjusted for age, education, area of birth,
Women
No. Cases/Controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (g/day)
0–20 21–40 >40

0 tobacco g/day 6/66
1
5/46
1.1 (0.3–4.1)
2/25
0.8 (0.1–4.2)
1+ g/day 5/46
2.8 (0.7–11.1)
8/27
6.5 (1.7–24.5)
10/11
21.3 (5.1–88.6)
17 Franceschi, et al. (1990) Milan & Pordenone, Italy, 1986–89 Oral cavity (ICD9 140, 141, 143–145), Pharynx (ICD9 146, 148, 161.1) 157 male cases; 1272 hospital-based non-cancer male controls
No.
Cases/Controls
OR
Alcohol (drinks/week)
<35 35–59 60+

Non-smoker 3/185
1
2/81
1.6
1/23
2.3
Light 7/162
3.1
7/70
5.4
12/49
10.9
Intermediate 39/296
10.9
79/192
26.6
102/126
36.4
Heavy 7/37
17.6
8/19
40.2
19/13
79.6
Adjusted for age, area of residence, education, occupation
20 Zheng, et al. (1990)
Beijing, China (PRC), 1988–89
Oral cavity (ICD9 141, 143–145) 404 (248 men, 156 women) cases; 404 randomly selected non-cancer hospital-based controls
No.
cases/controls
OR
Alcohol (lifetime consumption of spirit equivalents in kg)
0 kg <217 kg 217–801 kg >801 kg

0 pack-years 20/51
1
9/18
1.2
4/11
0.8
4/7
2.4
1–18 pack-years 15/25
1.4
15/15
2.8
13/6
5.6
4/1
15.2
19–32 pack-years 12/11
2.1
14/8
4.9
9/14
1.7
19/5
10.1
>32 pack-years 13/9
2.5
2/1
5.9
14/7
5.9
31/9
17.4
Adjusted for age, education
45 Maier, et al. (1992)
Heidelberg & Giessen, Germany, 1987–88
Oral cavity, pharynx, larynx 200 male cases; 800 outpatient male controls
No.
Cases/Controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (g/day)
<25 25–75 >75

<5 tobacco-years 5/178
1
5/97
2.3 (0.6–8.8)
3/10
10.3 (1.9–55.8)
5–50 tobacco-years 27/246
5.7 (1.9–17.3)
50/180
14.6 (4.8–43.9)
44/19
153.2 (44.1–532)
>50 tobacco-years 14/33
23.3 (6.6–82.5)
27/28
52.8 (15.8–176.6)
25/9
146.2 (37.7–566)
22 Nam, et al. (1992)
USA, 1986
Nasopharynx 204 (141 men, 63 women) white cases; 408 (282 men, 126 women) controls
OR (p-value if
given)
Alcohol (drinks/week)
0–3 4–23 24+

≤30 pack-years 1 0.6 1.4
31–59 pack-years 1.5 2.3 (<0.05) 2.6 (<0.01)
≥60 pack-years 2.2 (<0.05) 2.3 (<0.05) 5.2 (<0.01)
Adjusted for sex
39 Mashberg, et al. (1993)
New Jersey, USA, 1972–83
Oral cavity and oropharynx 359 white and black male cases; 2,280 white or black male controls
No.
Cases/Controls
OR
Alcohol (whiskey equivalent/day)
Minimal
drinkers
2–5
WE/day
6–10
WE/day
11–21
WE/day
22+
WE/day

Minimal smokers 1/16
1
1/56
2.7
2/27
11.9
3/35
12.5
2/28
8.3
Cigar/Pipe 6/69
20.5
6/62
17.0
13/39
53.4
6/44
27.3
5/35
23.1
6–15 cigarettes/day 3/62
10.8
7/56
24.2
17/55
50.9
8/52
30.9
6/31
27.5
16–25 cigarettes/day 4/106
7.6
16/103
29.7
23/108
28.9
34/125
44.8
31/85
61.7
26–35 cigarettes/day 0/43
--
2/48
5.3
18/39
61.9
18/40
79.5
22/38
70.3
36+ cigarettes/day 1/61
3.2
4/50
10.2
17/74
26.8
40/65
98.4
30/126
32.0
Adjusted for age, race
35 Kabat, et al. (1994)
USA, 1977–90
Oral cavity and pharynx (excluding nasopharynx) 1,560 (1,097 men, 463 women) cases; 2,948 (2,075 men, 873 women) hospital-based controls
Males
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (oz/day)
1–3.9 oz/day 4–6.9 oz/day 7+ oz/day

Never 1 1.2 (0.4–3.7) 2.9 (1.1–8.1)
Ex-smoker (abstained for 12+ months) 1.0 (0.7–1.6) 1.7 (1.1–2.6) 5.1 (3.3–7.8)
1–20 cigarettes/day 1.5 (0.9–2.5) 5.8 (3.7–9.1) 11.9 (7.7–18.4)
21–30 cigarettes/day 2.2 (1.1–4.3) 6.8 (3.6–12.7) 13.5 (7.9–23.2)
31+ cigarettes/day 2.0 (1.1–3.7) 6.9 (3.9–12.4) 20.1 (12.9–31.5)
Adjusted for age, education, race, time period, type of hospital
Females
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (oz/day)
1–3.9 oz/day 4+ oz/day

Never 1 3.5 (0.9–13.4)
Ex-smoker (abstained for 12+ months) 1.3 (0.9–2.0) 2.7 (1.0–7.9)
1–20 cigarettes/day 2.9 (1.9–4.3) 17.6 (8.1–37.5)
21+ cigarettes/day 3.8 (2.3–6.2) 26.7 (12.3–58.5)
4 Chyou, et al. (1995)
Hawaii, USA
Oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, larynx (ICD8 140–150, 161) Cohort of 7,995 men of Japanese ancestry
No.
cases/controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (oz/month)
0
oz/month
>0–<14
oz/month
14+
oz/month

0 cigs/day 3/1134
1
3/888
1.3 (0.3–6.3)
6/346
6.5 (1.6–26.0)
>0–20 cigs/day 8/1093
3.0 (0.8–11.3)
6/1248
1.9 (0.5–7.7)
24/916
10.7 (3.2–35.4)
>20 cigs/day 5/685
3.2 (0.8–13.4)
7/620
4.6 (1.2–17.7)
28/819
14.4 (4.4–47.4)
Study population from Kato (1992); Adjusted for age
6 Murata, et al. (1996)
Japan
Oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, larynx
(ICD9 140–150, 161)
Nested case-control study; cohort of 17,200 men; 51 cases; 102 controls
No.
cases/controls
OR (p-value if
given)
Alcohol (cups/day)1
0 0.1–1.0 1.1+

Non-smoker 7/26
1
6/18
1.2
5/9
2.1
Smoker 10/20
1.9
7/19
1.4
16/10
5.9 (<0.01)
1In sake-equivalents (180ml sake contains ~27ml ethanol)
42 Sanderson, et al. (1997)
Netherlands, 1980–90
Oral cavity and oropharynx (excluding salivary glands and lip) 303 women; 1779 women controls
No. Cases/Controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (units/day)
Non-drinker 1–5
units/day
>5
units/day

Non-smoker 125/976
1
39/205
2.4 (1.6–3.6)
Smoker 28/367
1.0 (0.6–1.5)
65/199
6.5 (4.4–9.7)
Non-smoker & Smoker 46/32
32.9 (18.3–59.2)
19 Zheng, et al. (1997)
Beijing, China (PRC), 1988–89
Tongue 111 (65 men, 46 women) cases; 111 randomly selected non-cancer hospital-based controls
No. cases/controls
OR (p-value if given)
Alcohol (lifetime intake, spirit equivalents in kg)
Never ≤255 kg >255 kg

Never 39/54
1
6/10
1.9
3/4
2.4
≤20 pack-years 10/11
1.2
9/9
1.6
4/3
3.0
>20 15/7
7.6 (<0.05)
8/1
23.3 (<0.05)
17/12
4.1
Adjusted for education (Matching variables: age, sex)
46 Schildt, et al. (1998)
Sweden, 1980–89
Oral cavity
(ICD7 140, 141, 143–145)
354 (237 men, 117 women); 354 (237 men, 117 women) population control
No. Cases/Controls
OR (95 %CI)
Liquor (based on amount and frequency scoring)
Never liquor Low intake Medium intake High intake

Never smokers 80/100
1
50/45
1.2 (0.8–1.9)
7/11
1.4 (0.8–2.6)
4/2
4.2 (1.8–9.4)
Low intake
Life: ≤124.8 kg of tobacco
15/22
1.0 (0.6–1.6)
26/31
1.2 (0.6–2.1)
19/17
1.4 (0.7–2.7)
4/4
4.0 (1.6–9.8)
High intake
Life: >124.8 kg of tobacco
8/9
1.4 (0.8–2.3)
30/31
1.6 (0.9–2.9)
27/21
2.0 (1.0–3.6)
30/7
5.7 (2.4–14)
49 Franceschi, et al. (1999)
Italy & Switzerland, 1992–97
Oral cavity and pharynx (excluding lip, salivary gland, nasopharynx) 749 (634 men, 115 women) cases; 1,772 (1,252 men, 520 women) hospital-based controls
Oral cavity
No. Cases/Controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (drinks/week)
0–20 21–48 49–76 ≥77

Never smoker 3/193
1
5/119
2.7 (0.6–11.6)
3/34 (categories combined)
4.5 (0.8–24.2)
1–14 cigarettes/day 2/62
2.2 (0.4–13.5)
6/49
5.9 (1.4–25.1)
11/16
30.6 (7.3–128.2)
8/6
52.4 (10.4–264.2)
15–24 cigarette/day 4/78
3.0 (0.6–13.8)
28/65
22.9 (6.6–79.4)
35/28
62.5 (17.4–224.2)
31/15
110.3 (29.1–418.1)
≥25 cigarettes/cay 4/41
5.6 (1.2–26.3)
12/27
22.7 (5.9–86.9)
25/11
103.1 (26.4–402.7)
31/7
227.8 (54.6–950.7)
Ex-smoker
(abstained 12+ mo)
12/187
3.9 (1.1–14.1)
20/212
6.0 (1.7–21.0)
17/71
10.5 (2.9–38.6)
17/33
25.4 (6.7–96.0)
Study population from Franceschi (2000); Adjusted for age, area of residence, interviewer, education, vegetable and fruit intake, total energy intake
Pharynx
No. Cases/Controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (drinks/week)
0–20 21–48 49–76 ≥77

Never smoker 6/193
1
2/119
0.4 (0.1–2.3)
1/34 (categories combined)
0.5 (0.1–4.3)
1–14 cigarettes/day 4/62
2.3 (0.6–8.4)
11/49
4.5 (1.5–13.4)
17/16
16.3 (5.3–50.5)
13/6
27.5 (7.2–105.1)
15–24 cigarette/day 12/78
4.4 (1.6–12.5)
32/65
11.7 (4.6–30.2)
40/28
26.9 (10.0–72.3)
48/15
58.3 (20.3–167.3)
≥25 cigarettes/cay 7/41
5.5 (1.7–17.8)
22/27
18.6 (6.8–51.3)
18/11
32.2 (10.3–100.4)
36/7
100.4 (30.8–327.7)
Ex-smoker (abstained 12+ mo) 11/187
1.7 (0.6–4.9)
22/212
2.7 (1.3–3.7)
31/71
6.8 (2.6–17.8)
31/33
14.8 (5.4–40.9)
34 Hayes, et al. (1999)
Puerto Rico, 1992–95
Oral cavity and pharynx (ICD9 141–143–146, 148, 149) 342 (286 men, 56 women) cases; 521 (417 men, 104 women) population-based controls
Men
No. cases/controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (drinks/week)
None 1–7
drinks/week
8–21
drinks/week
22–42
drinks/week
42+
drinks/week

None 6/44
1
1/49
0.2 (0.0–1.5)
2/24
0.6 (0.1–3.5)
2/10
1.6 (0.3–.6)
4/5
6.4 (1.3–31.9)
Low 0/13
--
10/47
1.6 (0.5–4.8)
3/16
1.3 (0.3–5.7)
11/7
3.7 (0.8–16.4)
9/12
5.5 (1.6–19.0)
10–19 cigarettes/day 1/1
11.3 (0.6–213.0)
2/12
1.3 (0.2–7.2)
3/13
1.8 (0.4–8.3)
8/4
18.6 (4.1–84.0)
10/7
12.2 (3.3–45.6)
20–39 cigs/day 1/5
1.8 (0.2–19.0)
10/21
3.8 (1.2–12.0)
13/17
6.2 (2.0–19.3)
19/14
11.3 (3.7–34.5)
60/10
50.2 (16.6–152.0)
40+ cigs/day 1/3
2.4 (0.2–27.6)
6/10
4.3 (1.1–16.7)
4/7
4.1 (0.9–18.7)
10/8
10.5 (2.9–37.9)
67/15
38.7 (13.6–110.0)
Adjusted for age
50 Schlecht, et al. (1999)
Brazil, 1986–89
Oral cavity, pharynx, larynx
(ICD9 140–149, 161; excluding 142 and 147)
784 cases; 1578 hospital-based controls
Oral cavity
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (lifetime consumption in kg)
0–10 kg 11–530 kg >530 kg

0–5 pack-years 1 1.2 (0.4–3.4) 2.3 (0.6–9.1)
6–42 pack-years 2.9 (1.2–6.8) 6.2 (2.7–14.1) 19.5 (2.6–147)
>42 pack-years 7.8 (2.9–21.0) 11.2 (4.8–26.3) 20.3 (9.0–45.3)
Same study population as Schlecht (2001); Adjusted for race, beverage temperature, religion, wood stove use, spicy food intake (matching variables: age, sex, study location, admission period)
Pharynx
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (lifetime consumption in kg)
0–10 kg 11–530 kg >530 kg

0–5 pack-years 1 6.2 (0.7–56.6) 22.3 (2.1–238)
6–42 pack-years 2.4 (0.2–24.0) 21.7 (2.6–180) 66.3 (1.7–2,556)
>42 pack-years 69.4 (6.9–694) 43.0 (4.9–340) 77.3 (9.2–625)
33 Garrote, et al. (2001)
Havana, Cuba, 1996–99
Oral cavity and oropharynx 200 (143 men, 57 women) cases; 200 (136 men, 64 women) hospital-based controls
No.
cases/controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (drinks/week)
0
drinks/week
<21
drinks/week
21+
drinks/week

Never smokers 14/58
1
1/14 (categories combined)
0.5 (0.1–4.7)
1–29 cigs/day 35/27
6.6 (2.8–15.7)
17/18
11.0 (3.7–32.8)
15/7
26.7 (7.2–100.0)
30+ cigs/day 15/5
10.5 (2.9–38.2)
15/3
42.3 (8.4–212.3)
21/3
111.2 (22.7–543.7)
Adjusted for age, sex, area of residence, education; also smoking (former smokers only)
43 Schwartz, et al. (2001)
Washington, USA, 1985–95
Oral cavity and oropharynx (excluding lip) 333 (237 men, 96 women) cases of in situ and invasive cancers; 541 (387 men, 154 women) population-based controls
No.
cases/controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (drinks/week)
<1
drink/week
1–14
drinks/week
≥15
drinks/week

Never 26/80
1
19/90
0.8 (0.4–1.5)
5/18
1.2 (0.4–3.6)
1–20 pack-years 9/41
0.8 (0.31.8)
27/112
0.9 (0.5–1.6)
13/14
3.8 (1.5–9.4)
≥20 pack-years 10/20
1.8 (0.7–4.5)
94/110
3.3 (1.9–5.7)
130/56
9.9 (5.5–17.9)
Adjusted for age, sex, race
14 Balaram, et al. (2002)
Southern, India, 1996–99
Oral cavity 591 (309 men, 282 women) cases; 582 (292 men, 290 women) hospital-based controls
Paan chewing
No. cases/controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol

Never
drinker
Current
drinker

Never chewer 64/174
1
48/38
2.8 (1.6–5.1)
Current chewer 48/18
7.3 (3.8–14.1)
46/13
8.6 (4.1–18.1)
Adjusted for age, center, education, oral hygiene, smoking
2 Boeing, et al. (2002)
Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, UK
Oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): Cohort of 417,752 healthy adults
No. Cases
Hazard RR (95% CI)
Alcohol (g/day)
0–30 >30–60 >60

Non-smoker 58
1
7
2.6 (1.1–6.0)
4
6.9 (2.3–2.7)
1–20 cigs/day 22
2.0 (1.2–3.5)
6
5.1 (2.1–12.7)
6
22.0 (8.3–58.1)
>20 cigs/day 7
6.8 (3.0–15.5)
7
20.7 (8.7–49.0)
7
48.7 (20.0–118.9)
Adjusted for sex, follow-up time, education, BMI, vegetable and fruit intake, energy intake
21 Znaor, et al. (2003)
Chennai & Trivandrum, India, 1993–99
Oral cavity
(ICD9 140, 141, 143–5) and
1563 male cases from the Cancer Institute (Chennai) and the Regional Cancer Center (Trivandrum); histologically confirmed
Chewing Smoke Alcohol No. Cases/Controls OR (95% CI)

No No No 122/1471 1
No No Yes 16/75 2.56 (1.42–4.64)
No Yes No 268/1084 2.45 (1.94–3.10)
No Yes Yes 287/449 4.81 (3.74–6.19)
Yes-T− No No 24/83 3.39 (2.04–5.06)
Yes-T− No Yes 6/15 4.36 (1.55–12.30)
Yes-T− Yes No 25/49 4.80 (2.79–8.27)
Yes-T− Yes Yes 33/34 8.10 (4.68–14.02)
Yes-T+ No No 159/127 9.27 (6.79–12.66)
Yes-T+ No Yes 95/26 24.28 (14.87–39.65)
Yes-T+ Yes No 161/102 8.53 (6.13–11.89)
Yes-T+ Yes Yes 342/119 16.34 (12.13–22.00)
Adjusted for age, center, and education level; T+: with tobacco; T−: without tobacco
Pharynx
(ICD9 146, 148, 149)
636 male cases from the Cancer Institute (Chennai) and the Regional Cancer Center (Trivandrum); histologically confirmed
Chewing Smoke Alcohol No. Cases/Controls OR (95% CI)

No No No 50/1471 1
No No Yes 0/75 -
No Yes No 175/1084 3.54 (2.54–4.94)
No Yes Yes 199/449 8.41 (5.94–11.90)
Yes-T− No No 5/83 1.60 (0.61–4.17)
Yes-T− No Yes 0/15 -
Yes-T− Yes No 10/49 4.89 (2.29–10.43)
Yes-T− Yes Yes 19/34 10.75 (5.53–20.90)
Yes-T+ No No 25/127 3.73 (2.20–6.31)
Yes-T+ No Yes 7/26 4.28 (1.72–10.62)
Yes-T+ Yes No 32/102 4.55 (2.74–7.56)
Yes-T+ Yes Yes 114/119 13.44 (8.90–20.29)
31 Castellsague, et al. (2004)
Spain, 1996–99
Oral cavity and oropharynx
(ICDO C1–C10)
375 (304 men, 71 women); 375 (304 men, 71 women) non-cancer hospital-controls
No.
Cases/Controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (drinks/day)
Never drinker 1–2 3–5 6+

Never smoker 28/53
1
23/45
2.0 (0.9–4.4)
2/8
1.1 (0.2–6.4)
2/6
6.2 (1.0–39.2)
1–10 cigs/day 3/6
2.9 (0.6–14.8)
14/31
4.7 (1.7–12.9)
10/6
32.2 (8.1–127.1)
1/7
2.7 (0.3–26.5)
11–20 cigs/day 2/8
1.0 (0.2–6.0)
27/36
11.1 (4.0–30.6)
22/15
26.6 (8.6–82.0)
46/21
43.1 (15.0–123.8)
21+ cigs/day 2/8
1.9 (0.3–11.1)
22/43
8.2 (2.9–22.9)
40/31
22.0 (8.0–61.0)
131/49
50.7 (19.1–134.2)
Adjusted for age, sex, center, education
25 De Stefani, et al. (2004)
Montevideo, Uruguay, 1997–2003
Hypopharynx 85 males cases; 640 hospital-based male controls
OR (95% CI Alcohol (ml ethanol/day)
0–60
ml/day
61–120
ml/day
121+
ml/day

0–14 cigs/day 1 5.1 (1.1–23.3) 4.6 (0.8–25.6)
15–24 cigs/day 1.9 (0.3–12.8) 16.3 (4.2–62.9) 22.3 (5.8–86.3)
25+ cigs/day 4.3 (0.8–23.5) 5.6 (2.4–13.1) 9.4 (4.1–21.6)
Adjusted for age, residence, urban/rural status, education, BMI
41 Rodriguez, et al. (2004)
Italy and Switzerland,
1984–93, 1992–97
Oral cavity and pharynx 137 (113 men, 24 women) cases; 298 (226 men, 72 women) non-cancer hospital-based controls
No. Cases/Controls
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (drinks/day)
<6 6–<10 ≥10

Never/ex-smokers
(abstained 12+ mo)
22/157
1
4/26
1.9 (0.5–7.1)
5/8
15.7 (3.6–67.9)
1–15 cigarettes/day 9/31
2.4 (0.9–6.4)
9/4
21.2 (5.2–87.7)
2/3
8.1 (1.0–64.8)
≥15 cigarettes/day 20/43
8.3 (3.3–20.6)
24/10
44.2 (14.9–131.2)
39/16
48.1 (17.6–131.0)
Study populations from Franceschi (1990) and Franceschi (1999); Adjusted for education, marital status, BMI, coffee consumption (Matched variables: age, sex, study center)
16 De Stefani, et al. (2007)
Montevideo, Uruguay, 1988–2000
Oral cavity (excluding lip) 335 males cases; 1501 hospital-based non-cancer male controls
Oral cavity
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (ml ethanol/day)
0–60
ml/day
61–120
ml/day
121–240
ml/day
241+
ml/day

0–9 cigs/day 1 3.5 (1.2–10.5) 2.9 (0.8–11.2) 1.9 (0.2–15.9)
10–19 cigs/day 4.4 (2.1–9.4) 8.9 (3.9–20.4) 14.5 (6.1–34.2) 24.5 (8.3–72.1)
20–29 cigs/day 4.8 (2.3–10.2) 24.1 (11.5–50) 21.2 (9.6–46.8) 50.5 (21–119)
30+ cigs/day 6.5 (3.1–13.8) 29.6 (13.7–64) 42.5 (19.9–90) 33.4 (15.8–70)
Adjusted for age, residence, urban/rural status, hospital, year at diagnosis, education, family history of cancer, occupation, vegetable and fruit intake, mate intake
Pharynx (excluding nasopharynx 441 males cases; 1501 hospital-based non-cancer male controls
Pharynx
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (ml ethanol/day)
0–60
ml/day
61–120
ml/day
121–240
ml/day
241+
ml/day

0–9 cigs/day 1 0.9 (0.2–4.4) 2.5 (0.8–8.2) 9.8 (3.7–26.3)
10–19 cigs/day 2.8 (1.4–5.6) 8.8 (4.3–17.9) 18.6 (9.1–38.0) 12.4 (4.0–38.7)
20–29 cigs/day 3.7 (1.9–7.1) 16.8 (8.6–33.0) 31.4 (16.0–62) 53.2 (25–114)
30+ cigs/day 4.7 (2.4–9.2) 24.0 (12.8–48) 36.4 (18.7–71) 43.8 (23.0–84)
51 Hashibe, et al. (2009)
International Consortium of Head and Neck Cancer.
Combined analysis of 17 studies from US, South and Central American, European countries
Oral cavity (ICD9 140, 141, 143–5)
Oro-pharynx/
2,993 cases; 15,751 controls
Oral cavity
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (drinks/day)
Never 1–2 drinks/day 3+ drinks/day

Never 1 0.88 (0.65–1.20) 1.05 (0.62–1.77)
1–20 cigs/day 1.72 (1.17–2.53) 2.72 (1.47–5.04) 9.60 (5.04–18.28)
>20 cigs/day 3.13 (1.14–8.59) 3.23 (1.84–5.67) 15.49 (7.24–33.14)
Adjusted for age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, and study center
Hypo-pharynx
(ICD9 146, 148)
4,040 cases; 15,751 controls
Pharynx
OR (95% CI)
Alcohol (drinks/day)
Never 1–2 drinks/day 3+ drinks/day

Never 1 1.26 (0.92–1.73) 2.94 (1.73–5.02)
1–20 cigs/day 1.90 (1.34–2.68) 2.57 (1.72–3.83) 11.37 (6.50–19.89)
>20 cigs/day 2.83 (1.66–4.82) 4.10 (2.66–6.32) 14.29 (7.26–28.15)