Are alcohol intake and smoking associated with mycosis fungoides? A European multicentre case-control study

The incidence of mycosis fungoides (MF) is low, and the aetiology of the disease is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether wine consumption protects against the disease and whether smoking constitutes a risk factor. This paper is part of the European Rare Cancers Study that tries to determine the risk factors for seven selective rare cancers, including mycosis fungoides, involved in the development of cancer. A multicentre case-control study was conducted in six European countries. Only incident cases with confirmed histology were included in the analysis which include a total of 76 cases of MF and 2899 controls. Wine intake had no protective effect; on the contrary the consumption of more than 24 g of alcohol per day was associated with a high risk of MF (odds ratio (OR)=3.02, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.34-6.79), after adjusting for centre, country, age, sex and education. There was a dose-dependent increase in the risk of MF with increased smoking habits, albeit the observed trend was not statistically significant. A combined exposure to high tobacco and alcohol use yielded a significantly increased risk factor for MF (P=0.0073). Alcohol intake was associated with MF.