Environmental factors in cancer of the larynx. A second look

Abstract

During a retrospective case‐control study of recent laryngeal cancer patients, several associated factors were studied to determine possible changes in the epidemiology of laryngeal cancer between 1956 and 1974. The large sex difference noted in the early survey (male: female ratio of 14.9:1) diminished considerably in the present sample (4.6:1) because more women are cigarette smokers in the cancer age group today than was the case 20 years ago. Laryngeal cancer patients tended to be less educated than the controls and included a smaller proportion of Jews and more Catholics than the control group. The risk for developing laryngeal cancer was considerably lower for exsmokers and long‐term (10+ years) filter cigarette smokers as compared with non‐filter smokers. At each level of alcohol consumption, the risk increased as exposure to tobacco increased. Occupations associated with wood exposure were found to affect the development of laryngeai cancer, independently of smoking status. Future studies should include an extensive study of nutritional deficiencies associated with alcoholism to determine if a correlation exists between such deficiencies, socioeconomic status, and an increased risk of laryngeal cancer. Copyright © 1976 American Cancer Society