Drinking, smoking boost esophageal cancer risk
08/09/99
The combination of smoking and drinking can increase risks for esophageal cancer by more than 100-fold, an international team of researchers report. The team estimates that "up to 90% of esophageal cancers in men could be prevented if these habits could b
Esophageal cancer remains one of the leading digestive-tract cancers, killing close to 9,000 Americans every year. Experts have long linked smoking and drinking with the development of this lethal cancer, but there has been little data regarding the effect of these two habits in combination.
In what they call "the largest and most comprehensive analysis to date," a team of European and South American researchers led by Dr. Xavier Castellsagu of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat in Barcelona, Spain, examined the results of five South American cancer studies involving over 2,600 subjects.
Cigarettes
