| Taste the difference! |
Study links smoking, drinking, tea to cancer
11/21/2006
BY KENJI TAMURA,THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Men who smoke and drink daily are nine to 11 times more likely to get cancer
of the esophagus, according to a new Tohoku University study. Surprisingly,
drinking several cups of green tea a day also increased the risk of that cancer,
the study found. But the higher risk of cancer was most noticeable among
smokers. Roughly 70 percent of the men could have avoided esophageal
cancer by quitting smoking, the researchers calculated. "Esophageal cancer
is representative of a cancer that can be prevented through a change in daily
habits," said Tohoku University's Shinichi Kuriyama, who oversaw the research
study.
"The most important thing is to quit smoking. The worst situation is smoking
while drinking alcohol."
The project was led by Atsunobu Ishikawa at the Department of Public Health
and Forensic Medicine at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine. It
followed about 27,000 men in two studies: one that began in 1984 of 9,000
men over 40 in Miyagi Prefecture, and another that started in 1990 with 18,000
men in the same age group. The subjects were asked about their diet and
daily habits. The first group was followed for nine years, the second for seven
years and seven months. Of all the subjects, 78 men eventually developed
esophageal cancer. The researchers measured the cancer rate against three
habits--smoking, drinking alcohol and drinking green tea.
Smokers were about five times more likely than non-smokers to develop
esophageal cancer. Those who drank alcohol almost daily had a 2.7-fold
greater risk than those who drank only rarely. In addition, men who drank more
than five cups of green tea a day had a 1.7-fold greater risk of cancer than
those who did not. That might be because the men drank the tea while it was
still very hot, the researchers speculated. Experts believe drinking hot liquids
increases the risk of developing esophageal cancer.
An earlier study by the same team found that green tea helps reduce the
mortality rate for cardiovascular disease. The team also calculated the risk of
a combination of the three habits. Those who neither smoked nor regularly
drank alcohol or green tea were given a base risk of 1. Smoking and drinking
alcohol increased the risk of getting esophageal cancer to 9.2 times; adding
more than three daily cups of green tea into the mix pushed it up to 11.1 times.
About 80 percent of the 15,000 people who get esophageal cancer every year
in Japan are men.(IHT/Asahi: November 21,2006)
11/21/2006
BY KENJI TAMURA,THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Men who smoke and drink daily are nine to 11 times more likely to get cancer
of the esophagus, according to a new Tohoku University study. Surprisingly,
drinking several cups of green tea a day also increased the risk of that cancer,
the study found. But the higher risk of cancer was most noticeable among
smokers. Roughly 70 percent of the men could have avoided esophageal
cancer by quitting smoking, the researchers calculated. "Esophageal cancer
is representative of a cancer that can be prevented through a change in daily
habits," said Tohoku University's Shinichi Kuriyama, who oversaw the research
study.
"The most important thing is to quit smoking. The worst situation is smoking
while drinking alcohol."
The project was led by Atsunobu Ishikawa at the Department of Public Health
and Forensic Medicine at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine. It
followed about 27,000 men in two studies: one that began in 1984 of 9,000
men over 40 in Miyagi Prefecture, and another that started in 1990 with 18,000
men in the same age group. The subjects were asked about their diet and
daily habits. The first group was followed for nine years, the second for seven
years and seven months. Of all the subjects, 78 men eventually developed
esophageal cancer. The researchers measured the cancer rate against three
habits--smoking, drinking alcohol and drinking green tea.
Smokers were about five times more likely than non-smokers to develop
esophageal cancer. Those who drank alcohol almost daily had a 2.7-fold
greater risk than those who drank only rarely. In addition, men who drank more
than five cups of green tea a day had a 1.7-fold greater risk of cancer than
those who did not. That might be because the men drank the tea while it was
still very hot, the researchers speculated. Experts believe drinking hot liquids
increases the risk of developing esophageal cancer.
An earlier study by the same team found that green tea helps reduce the
mortality rate for cardiovascular disease. The team also calculated the risk of
a combination of the three habits. Those who neither smoked nor regularly
drank alcohol or green tea were given a base risk of 1. Smoking and drinking
alcohol increased the risk of getting esophageal cancer to 9.2 times; adding
more than three daily cups of green tea into the mix pushed it up to 11.1 times.
About 80 percent of the 15,000 people who get esophageal cancer every year
in Japan are men.(IHT/Asahi: November 21,2006)
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