Family history of cancer, its combination with smoking and drinking, and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus

We analyzed the association between history of cancer in first-degree relatives and the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) using data from three case-control studies conducted in Italy and Switzerland on 805 incident, histologically confirmed SCCE, and 3,461 hospital controls. The alcohol- and tobacco-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for a family history of esophageal cancer was 3.2 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7-6.2], and the OR was higher when the affected relative was a brother or was diagnosed at age <55 years. Compared to subjects without family history of esophageal cancer, noncurrent smokers, drinking