Cigarette smoking and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

A case-control study was undertaken to investigate possible etiologic factors in nasopharyngeal cancer, a rare tumor in the United States. Data from 39 nasopharyngeal cancer cases and the same number of matched controls showed significantly more cases born in Asia than controls, supporting the notion that exposure in early life has a prolonged carcinogenic effect. Cases also smoked significantly more cigarettes than controls, indicating a need for investigating the role of cigarette smoking and other exposures in the etiology of nasopharyngeal cancer in western countries.