Alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and endometrial cancer risk: results from the Netherlands Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and endometrial cancer. METHODS: In 1986, the Netherlands Cohort Study was initiated. A self-administered questionnaire on dietary habits and other cancer risk factors was completed by 62,573 women. Follow-up for cancer was established by record linkage to the Netherlands Cancer Registry. RESULTS: After 11.3-years of follow-up, 280 incident endometrial cancer cases were available for analyses. In multivariate analysis, the rate ratio (RR) for alcohol users versus non-users was 1.06 (95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) = 0.78–1.43). There were neither dose-dependent trends nor associations with different types of beverages. The RR for former and current smokers versus never-smokers was 0.83 (95% CI = 0.58–1.20) and 0.59 (95% CI = 0.40–0.88), respectively. These estimates did not change significantly when body mass index (BMI) and age at menopause were added to the models. CONCLUSIONS: There is no association between alcohol consumption and endometrial cancer. Current smoking is associated with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer. This association is neither mediated by BMI nor by age at menopause.