Drinking of maté and the risk of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract in Latin America: a case-control study

• Published in: Cancer causes & control Vol. 21; no. 11; pp. 1799 - 1806
• Main Authors: Szymańska, K, Matos, E, Hung, R. J, Wünsch-Filho, V, Eluf-Neto, J, Menezes, A, Daudt, A. W, Brennan, P, Boffetta, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands 01.11.2010; Springer; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Adult; Aerodigestive; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alcohol drinking; Alcohols; Argentina - epidemiology; Beverages - adverse effects; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brazil - epidemiology; Cancer; Cancer Research; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - complications; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - epidemiology; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - etiology; Case control studies; Drinking; Epidemiology; Esophageal Neoplasms - complications; Esophageal Neoplasms - epidemiology; Esophagus; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms - complications; Hematology; Humans; Ilex paraguariensis - adverse effects; Latin America - epidemiology; Life Sciences; Male; Maté; Middle Aged; Mouth; Multicenter Studies as Topic; neoplasms; Oncology; Original Paper; Oropharynx; Predisposing factors; Public Health; risk; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Tobacco smoking; Tumors; UADT; Upper aerodigestive tract; South America; Latin America; Brazil; Argentina; South America; Upper aerodigestive tract; Aerodigestive; Risk; UADT; Maté; Case–control study; Latin America; Cancer; Squamous Cell/complications/epidemiology/etiology Case-Control Studies Drinking Esophageal Neoplasms/complications/epidemiology Female Head and Neck Neoplasms/complications Humans Ilex paraguariensis/adverse effects Latin America/epidemiology Male Middle Aged Multicenter Studies as Topic; Adult Aged Aged; 80 and over Argentina/epidemiology Beverages/adverse effects Brazil/epidemiology Carcinoma
• ISSN: 0957-5243; 1573-7225
• DOI: 10.1007/s10552-010-9606-6

Cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT: oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, esophagus) have high incidence rates all over the world and they are especially frequent in some parts of Latin America. In this study, we have evaluated the role of the consumption of maté, a hot herb-based beverage, based on 1168 UADT squamous-cell carcinoma cases and 1,026 frequency-matched controls enrolled from four centers in Brazil and Argentina. The effect of maté drinking on the risk of head-and-neck cancers was borderline significant. A significant effect was observed only for cancer of the esophagus (OR 3.81 (95% CI 1.75-8.30)). While duration of maté drinking was associated with the risk of all UADT cancers, the association with cumulative maté consumption was restricted to esophageal cancer (p-value of linear trend 0.006). The analyses of temperature at which maté was drunk were not conclusive. The increased risk associated with maté drinking was more evident in never-smokers and never-alcohol drinkers than in other individuals. Our study strengthens the evidence of an association between maté drinking and esophageal cancer; the hypothesis of an association with other UADT cancers remains to be clarified.