Alcohol and tobacco use and risk of multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematological cancer and causes significant mortality and morbidity. Knowledge regarding modifiable risk factors for MM remains limited. An analysis of an Australian population-based case-control family study investigated whether smoking or alcohol consumption is associated with risk of MM and related diseases. 789 Incident cases of MM were recruited via cancer registries in Victoria and New South Wales. 1,113 Controls were either family members of cases or controls recruited for a similarly designed study of renal cancers.
Intake of 20g ethanol/day or more of alcohol had a lower risk of MM compared with nondrinkers (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.50-0.93), and there was an inverse (protective) dose-response relationship for average daily alcohol intake (OR per 10 g ethanol per day = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.86-0.99); The risk was the same for males and females and there was no evidence of an association with MM risk for smoking-related exposures
The authors state that the associations between smoking and alcohol with MM are similar to those with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Source: Further research into potential underlying mechanisms is warranted. Source: Cheah S; Bas-sett JK; Bruinsma FJ; Cozen W; Hopper JL; Jayasekara H; Joshua D; et al, “Alcohol and tobacco use and risk of multiple myeloma: a case-control study”, eJHaem, Vol 3, No 1, 2022, pp109-120