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Contact with ruminants is associated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma risk
Author(s) -
Nasrollahzadeh Dariush,
Ye Weimin,
Shakeri Ramin,
Sotoudeh Masoud,
Merat Shahin,
Kamangar Farin,
Abnet Christian C.,
Islami Farhad,
Boffetta Paolo,
Dawsey Sanford M.,
Brennan Paul,
Malekzadeh Reza
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.29109
Subject(s) - odds ratio , medicine , confounding , confidence interval , esophageal squamous cell carcinoma , logistic regression , case control study , risk factor , population , etiology , esophageal cancer , cancer , environmental health
The etiology of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in the high risk area of northern Iran is only partially known. We aimed to investigate prolonged animal contact as a risk factor for ESCC in this population. From 2003 to 2007, we administered a validated questionnaire to 300 ESCC cases and 571 randomly selected controls matched for neighborhood of residence, age (±2 years) and sex. Questions on lifelong exposure to equines, ruminants, canines, and poultry, including duration and level of contact, were asked in a face‐to‐face interviews. Conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) adjusted for potential confounders. A total of 94.7% of cases and 68.7% of controls reported lifelong history of contact with ruminants. After controlling for potential confounders, contact with ruminants was associated with an eightfold increase (95% CI: 3.92–14.86) in risk of ESCC, and increments in duration of contact raised the risk estimates in a dose‐dependent manner. Contact with equines and poultry did not significantly change associated OR for ESCC risk and contact with ruminants. OR (95% CI) for contact with canines was 1.99 (1.35–2.93) which after exclusion of contact with ruminants was not significant (OR for contact only with canine: 3.18, 95% CI: 0.73–13.17). These results add to the evidence that contact with ruminants may increase the risk of ESCC.