Alcohol-Related Oral Cancer Deaths: A Strong Association between Alcohol Abuse and Cancer Mortality
- 1. Iatrika Health Service, Hungary
Abstract
The evidence of a strong association between chronic alcohol consumption and cancers, such as tumors of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and the esophagus, has existed for several years. Moreover, evidence of strong association between alcohol and cancer-related mortality is also well known. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of alcoholrelated mortality, cancer-related mortality and any association between the two conditions in a Hungarian village. The medical records and the cause of death of patients registered with the Clinic were analyzed retrospectively. A total 829 deaths were recorded between 1987 and 2011 (445 men and 384 women). Out of these 278 (241 men, 37 women) were alcoholrelated, 211 (140 men, 71 women) were cancer-related and alcohol-related cancer deaths was 82 (76 men, 6 women). More than half of the cancer mortality cases were alcohol-related. The number of deaths caused by malignant neoplasm of the oral cavity, and the pharynx was 21 out of 82, and these occurred only in alcohol-addicted men. The data confirmed that the association between alcohol abuse and cancer is strong. Reduction in excessive alcohol consumption might be an important step in cancer prevention.