Wine and other alcohol consumption and risk of ovarian cancer in the California Teachers Study cohort

OBJECTIVE: Whether alcohol consumption influences ovarian cancer risk is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the association between alcohol intake at various ages and risk of ovarian cancer. METHODS: Among 90,371 eligible members of the California Teachers Study cohort who completed a baseline alcohol assessment in 1995–1996, 253 women were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer by the end of 2003. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Consumption of total alcohol, beer, or liquor in the year prior to baseline, at ages 30–35 years, or at ages 18–22 years was not associated with risk of ovarian cancer. Consumption of at least one glass per day of wine, compared to no wine, in the year before baseline was associated with increased risk of developing ovarian cancer: RR = 1.57 (95% CI 1.11–2.22), P(trend) = 0.01. The association with wine intake at baseline was particularly strong among peri-/post-menopausal women who used estrogen-only hormone therapy and women of high socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intake does not appear to affect ovarian cancer risk. Constituents of wine other than alcohol or, more likely, unmeasured determinants of wine drinking were associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer

Controversies surrounding human papilloma virus infection, head & neck vs oral cancer, implications for prophylaxis and treatment

Head & Neck Cancer (HNC) represents the sixth most common malignancy worldwide and it is historically linked to well-known behavioural risk factors, i.e., tobacco smoking and/or the alcohol consumption. Recently, substantial evidence has been mounting that Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is playing an increasing important role in oral cancer. Because of the attention and clamor surrounding oral HPV infection and related cancers, as well as the use of HPV prophylactic vaccines, in this invited perspective the authors raise some questions and review some controversial issues on HPV infection and its role in HNC, with a particular focus on oral squamous cell carcinoma