Assessment of risk factors in laryngeal cancer in India: a case-control study

Cancer of the larynx is fourteenth most common cancer in the world. Limited data are available from India on associations with risk factors and hence the present hospital based matched case-control study was conducted. Three hundred and five laryngeal cancer patients and an equal number of healthy controls matched for their age within 2 years, sex and place of residence constituted the study population. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was administered to each individual to elicit information on their socio-demographic profile, food habits and risk factors and dietary consumption patterns. Univariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate forward stepwise conditional logistic analysis were performed. In the univariate analysis a lower consumption of roots and tubers green leaf vegetable other vegetables and fruits, and higher consumption of milk, eggs, meat, tea, alcohol , smoking, consumption of betel leaf with tobacco as well as a preference for spicy and fried foods emerged as significant positive variables. After adjusting for education, years of use of alcohol, smoking, chewing of betel leaf with tobacco in the model, low green leafy vegetables and preference for spicy foods were found to be positively related to the risk of laryngeal cancer. There was a significant difference in the dietary consumption patterns of laryngeal cancer patients and controls, indicating a role for nutritional factors in the etiology of laryngeal cancer in the Indian population.