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. 2022 Oct;44(10):2109-2117.
doi: 10.1002/hed.27125. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Exposure to alcohol and overall survival in head and neck cancer: A regional cohort study

Alexander Denissoff  1   2 , Teemu Huusko  3   4 , Sami Ventelä  3   4 , Solja Niemelä  1   2 , Johannes Routila  3   4
Affiliations

Exposure to alcohol and overall survival in head and neck cancer: A regional cohort study

Alexander Denissoff et al. Head Neck. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Background: There is a paucity of knowledge regarding the association of alcohol use with overall survival (OS) of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: All 1033 patients treated for new HNSCC in Southwest Finland regional referral center of Turku University Hospital in 2005-2015. Cox regression analysis was used. Tumor TNM classification, age at baseline and tobacco smoking status were assessed as potential confounders.

Results: A history of severe harmful alcohol use with major somatic complications (HR: 1.41; 95%CI: 1.06-1.87; p = 0.017) as well as current use of at least 10 units per week (HR: 1.44, 95%CI: 1.16-1.78; p = 0.001) were associated with OS.

Conclusions: Alcohol consumption of 10-20 units/week, often regarded as moderate use, was found to increase risk of mortality independent of other prognostic variables. Systematic screening of risk level alcohol use and prognostic evaluation of alcohol brief intervention strategies is highly recommended.

Keywords: HNSCC; alcohol; history; survival; tobacco.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The study protocol. Including all 1033 novel HNSCC cases in Southwestern Finland region in 2005–2010, clinical prognostic factors, tobacco exposure and alcohol‐related variables were serially analyzed to form the four main statistical models of the study
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The relationship between alcohol exposure and overall survival (OS). History of (A) problem level alcohol use and (B) severe harmful alcohol use with major somatic complications were strongly associated with OS. (C) In the final statistical model, current alcohol consumption of at least 10 units/week remained a highly significant prognostic variable. CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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