Effect of alcohol cessation on oral cancer risk
Level of evidence: C
The effect of alcohol cessation on oral cancer risk appears to be demonstrated in heavy drinkers.
The benefits of alcohol cessation are demonstrated «Schwarzinger M, Ferreira-Borges C, Neufeld M, ym. Alcohol rehabilitation and cancer risk: a nationwide hospital cohort study in France. Lancet Public Health 2024;9(7):e461-e469 »1 in heavy drinkers even though light to moderate alcohol consumption is also associated to a small attributable fraction of oral cancer cases «Rumgay H, Shield K, Charvat H, ym. Global burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol consumption: a population-based study. Lancet Oncol 2021;22(8):1071-1080 »2. The evidence comes from one large cohort study and is not either upgraded or downgraded.
Alcohol cessation advise and motivation should be targeted to all users and especially those having other risk factors or oral potentially malignant lesions.
| Reference | Study type | Population | Exposure | Outcomes | Risk of bias «Additional comments for included studies»2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| «Schwarzinger M, Ferreira-Borges C, Neufeld M, ym. Alcohol rehabilitation and cancer risk: a nationwide hospital cohort study in France. Lancet Public Health 2024;9(7):e461-e469 »1 | Cohort study | Cohort from French National Hospital Discharge database including acute, post-acute, and psychiatric day-case or inpatient hospital admissions and alcohol associated cancer diagnoses in France between 2018 - 2021 | Alcohol rehabilitation or history of abstinence | Oral cancer | moderate |
| Reference | Comments |
|---|---|
| «Schwarzinger M, Ferreira-Borges C, Neufeld M, ym. Alcohol rehabilitation and cancer risk: a nationwide hospital cohort study in France. Lancet Public Health 2024;9(7):e461-e469 »1 | Included patients with alcohol dependence and heavy drinking diagnosis. Heavy drinking is explained as alcohol intake >60 g of pure ethanol per day (the equivalent of more than six alcoholic drinks per day) |
Results
| Reference | Number of studies and number of patients (I/C) | Follow-up time | Relative effect (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level of evidence: low The quality of evidence is not downgraded or upgraded | |||
| «Schwarzinger M, Ferreira-Borges C, Neufeld M, ym. Alcohol rehabilitation and cancer risk: a nationwide hospital cohort study in France. Lancet Public Health 2024;9(7):e461-e469 »1 | exposure (alcohol rehabilitation or a history of abstinence) n=245 550
control (alcohol dependence without rehabilitation or abstinence) n=400 170 | median follow up 3.8 y | Men 0.63 (0.57–0.70) Women 0.59 (0.48–0.72) |
I= intervention; C=comparison; CI=confidence interval
References
- Schwarzinger M, Ferreira-Borges C, Neufeld M, ym. Alcohol rehabilitation and cancer risk: a nationwide hospital cohort study in France. Lancet Public Health 2024;9(7):e461-e469 «PMID: 38942557»PubMed
- Rumgay H, Shield K, Charvat H, ym. Global burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol consumption: a population-based study. Lancet Oncol 2021;22(8):1071-1080 «PMID: 34270924»PubMed