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Alcohol as a co‐factor in the etiology of cancer
Author(s) -
Schottenfeld David
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(197905)43:5+<1962::aid-cncr2820430703>3.0.co;2-p
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatocellular carcinoma , cirrhosis , cancer , alcohol , carcinogenesis , pathogenesis , carcinoma , etiology , alcohol abuse , larynx , risk factor , esophagus , respiratory tract , gastroenterology , surgery , respiratory system , biochemistry , chemistry , psychiatry
Alcohol and tobacco appear to act synergistically in the pathogenesis of epithelial cancers of the oropharynx (excluding lip), larynx, and esophagus. For the subsites within the upper aerodigestive tract, over 10,000 deaths in United States men during 1978 may be attributed to tobacco and alcohol consumption. The cancer sites for which tobacco and alcohol are major determinants occur with greater frequency in men, blacks, lower socioeconomic groups, and with increasing urbanization and increasing age (35‐70 years). Because primary hepatocellular carcinoma occurs more commonly in patients with cirrhosis, chronic alcohol abuse is an important risk mechanism for carcinoma of the liver parenchyma. Although experimental animal studies have failed to demonstrate whether ethanol can independently initiate tumorigenesis, various alternative or associated biochemical and immunological mechanisms of action have been proposed.