Exposure to alcohol and tobacco and the risk of laryngeal cancer.

The association between various risk factors and laryngeal cancer was evaluated using a case-control design. Subjects were chosen from the Missouri Cancer Registry from 1984 and 1985. The analysis was limited to white males and included 63 cases and 200 controls. The odds ratios (ORs) associated with previous tobacco use, adjusted for age and alcohol use, followed an increasing linear trend (p less than .01). Similarly, a dose-response relationship between alcohol use and laryngeal cancer (p less than .05) was identified. The risk for laryngeal cancer was increased synergistically by alcohol and tobacco. After controlling for alcohol and tobacco, the only occupational category with an elevated risk was nonconstruction laborers (OR = 3.82; 95% confidence interval = 1.87-5.77). Further studies of the interaction between alcohol and tobacco, occupational factors, and laryngeal cancer etiology are suggested.