Table 1.
Characteristics of the total study population (n = 1103)
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Case subjects, No. (%) | 409 (37.1) |
| Oropharyngeal cancers | 164 (40.1) |
| Nonoropharyngeal (except nasopharyngeal) cancers | 213 (52.1) |
| Nasopharyngeal cancers | 32 (7.8) |
| Control subjects, No. (%) | 694 (62.9) |
| Lung cancers | 378 (54.5) |
| Esophagus cancers | 168 (24.2) |
| Urinary bladder cancers | 148 (21.3) |
| Hepatitis C virus antibody, No. (%) | |
| Positive* | 117 (10.6) |
| Negative | 986 (89.4) |
| Race/ethnicity, No. (%) | |
| White | 880 (79.2) |
| African American | 84 (7.6) |
| Hispanic | 85 (7.5) |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 44 (3.8) |
| Middle Eastern | 9 (0.8) |
| Native American | 1 (0.1) |
| Sex, No. (%) | |
| Female | 305 (27.6) |
| Male | 798 (72.4) |
| Age at cancer diagnosis, median (IQR), y | 62 (54–68) |
| Birth cohort | |
| Born before 1945 | 386 (35) |
| Born between 1945 and 1965 | 648 (58.7) |
| Born after 1965 | 69 (6.3) |
| Highest education level, No. (%) | |
| Available | 942 (85.4) |
| Less than 8th grade | 34 (3.6) |
| 9th–11th grade | 51 (5.4) |
| High school graduate/GED | 244 (25.9) |
| Vocational/technical school | 78 (8.3) |
| Associate degree/some college | 148 (15.7) |
| Bachelor’s degree | 230 (24.4) |
| Advanced degree | 157 (16.7) |
| Cigarette smoking status | |
| Never smoker, No. (%) | 255 (23.1) |
| Former smoker, No. (%) | 540 (49.0) |
| Number of years of smoking, median (IQR) | 29 (15–39) |
| Pack-years of smoking, median (IQR) | 27 (15–45) |
| Age when quit smoking, median (IQR), y | 50 (37–58) |
| Current smoker, No. (%) | 308 (27.9) |
| Number of years of smoking, median (IQR) | 40 (32–46) |
| Pack-years of smoking, median (IQR) | 40 (27–63) |
| Age when quit smoking, median (IQR), y | 63 (50–68) |
| Pack-years of cigarette smoking, No. (%) | |
| 0 | 255 (23.1) |
| 1–25 | 316 (28.6) |
| 26–50 | 276 (25.0) |
| 51–100 | 177 (16.1) |
| >100 | 79 (7.2) |
| Alcohol consumption | |
| Never drinker, No. (%) | 247 (22.4) |
| Former drinker, No. (%) | 279 (25.3) |
| Current drinker, No. (%) | 577 (52.3) |
| Number of drinks/wk, median (IQR) | 6 (1–17) |
| Number of alcoholic drinks/wk, No. (%) | |
| 0 | 247 (22.4) |
| ≤1 | 239 (21.7) |
| 2–14 | 309 (28.0) |
| 15–28 | 109 (9.9) |
| >28 | 199 (18.0) |
| Duration of alcohol consumption, median (IQR), y | 30 (15–40) |
| HCV genotype, No./tested (%) | |
| 1 | 32/42 (76.2) |
| 2 | 7/42 (16.7) |
| 3 | 3/42 (7.1) |
| HCV RNA, No. positive/tested (%) | 76/88 (86.4) |
| Hepatitis B exposure, No. positive/tested (%)† | 109/950 (11.5) |
| HIV infection, No. positive/tested (%)‡ | 16/652 (2.5) |
| EBV-encoded small nuclear RNA, No. positive/tested (%) | 20/39 (51.3) |
| HPV p16 status (oropharyngeal cancers only), No./tested (%)§ | |
| p16 positive§ | 83/145 (57.2) |
| Tumor positive for high-risk HPV‖ | 62/83 (74.7) |
| Tumor negative for high-risk HPV‖ | 20/83 (24.1) |
| High-risk HPV status unknown | 1/83 (1.2) |
| p16 negative§ | 43/145 (29.7) |
| Tumor positive for high-risk HPV‖ | 0/43 (0.0) |
| Tumor negative for high-risk HPV‖ | 42/43 (97.7) |
| High-risk HPV status unknown | 1/43 (2.3) |
| p16 unknown | 19/145 (13.1) |
| Tumor positive for high-risk HPV‖ | 8/19 (42.1) |
| Tumor negative for high-risk HPV‖ | 11/19 (57.9) |
*HCV RNA was tested in 88 of 117 (75.2%) patients with positive HCV antibody; 76 (86.4%) of those tested had detectable HCV RNA. EBV = Epstein-Barr virus; GED = general equivalency diploma; HPV = human papillomavirus; IQR = interquartile range.
†Positive for hepatitis B core antibody.
‡Positive for HIV antibody.
§Cancers tested for p16 using immunohistochemistry.
‖Cancers tested for high-risk HPV using in situ hybridization.