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Micronutrients and laryngeal cancer risk in Italy and Switzerland: a case–control study

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Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relation between various micronutrients and laryngeal cancer risk. Methods: A case–control study was conducted in Italy and Switzerland between 1992 and 2000. Cases were 527 patients with incident cancer of larynx, admitted to the major teaching and general hospitals of the study areas. Controls were 1297 subjects admitted for acute, non-neoplastic diseases to the same network of hospitals. Dietary habits were assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (OR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed using multiple logistic regression. Results: Significant inverse relations emerged between laryngeal cancer risk and intake of vitamin C (OR = 0.2, for the highest versus the lowest intake quintile; 95% CI: 0.2–0.4), β-carotene (OR = 0.2; 95% CI: 0.2–0.4), α-carotene (OR = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2–0.5), lutein/zeaxanthin (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3–0.6), vitamin E (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3–0.6), β-criptoxanthin (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2–0.5), folic acid (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2–0.6), thiamin (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3–0.6), glutathione (OR = 0.5; 95% CI: 0.4–0.8), reduced glutathione (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4–0.8), vitamin B6 (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4–0.9) and potassium (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4–0.9). Direct associations were found with zinc (OR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0–2.2) and vitamin D (OR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.2–2.6). Combining low intakes of vitamin C, carotene, vitamin E, and folate with heavy smoking and drinking led to ORs between 80 and 170. Conclusions: This study provides further support that, independently from smoking and alcohol consumption, the intake of several micronutrients, including selected antioxidants, is inversely related to laryngeal cancer risk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Servizio di Epidemiologia, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, via Pedemontana Occ., 33081, Aviano (PN), Italy

    Ettore Bidoli

  2. Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, Milan, Italy

    Cristina Bosetti, Carlo La Vecchia & Eva Negri

  3. Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Carlo La Vecchia

  4. Registre Vaudois des Tumeurs, Institut Universitaire de Médicine Sociale et Préventive, Lusanne, Switzerland

    Fabio Levi

  5. Servizio di Epidemiologia, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Aviano, Italy

    Maria Parpinel, Renato Talamini & Luigino Dal Maso

  6. Field and Intervention Studies Unit, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France

    Silvia Franceschi

Authors
  1. Ettore Bidoli
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  2. Cristina Bosetti
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  3. Carlo La Vecchia
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  4. Fabio Levi
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  5. Maria Parpinel
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  6. Renato Talamini
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  7. Eva Negri
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  8. Luigino Dal Maso
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  9. Silvia Franceschi
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Correspondence to Ettore Bidoli.

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Bidoli, E., Bosetti, C., Vecchia, C.L. et al. Micronutrients and laryngeal cancer risk in Italy and Switzerland: a case–control study. Cancer Causes Control 14, 477–484 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024991618398

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