A Case-control Study On The Association Between Allergic Rhinitis And Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

ObjectiveBoth allergic rhinitis(AR)and nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)were diseases that were affected by genetic and environmental factors.Guangdong was a high-risk area of NPC and AR.Patients with AR were more likely to develop NPC,which was an important clinical issue of common concern for doctors and patients.At present,the association between AR and NPC was still unclear.This study explored the issue of whether AR was a risk factor for NPC through a case-control study.MethodsThis study was a retrospective case-control study.77 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who were initially either diagnosed or treated were screened from the inpatient medical records system of the Guangdong ProvincialHospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine,and 230 patients in the control group matched with non-malignant tumors l)ased on their gender,age and initial diagnosis year.The information of the outpatient system in the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and telephone survey to find out whether the patients had allergic rhinitis and collected information on the case observation form.The chi-square test and conditional logistic regression analysis were used to understand the correlation between AR and NPC.Furthermore the study calculated the odds ratio(OR)and evaluated whether AR was a risk factor for NPC.ResultsIn total,91 of the 307 study subjects(29.6%)were diagnosed with AR.14(18.2%)in the case group and 77(33.5%)in the control group(P<0.05).Conditional logistic regression suggested that the OR of the patients with AR diagnosis was 0.453(95%confidence interval(Cl):0.238-0.862)compared to controls.Even after adjusting for the degree of education,working years,exposed to dust or irritating odors,past medical history such as hepatitis and family history such as cancer,the OR of having received an AR diagnosis among cases was 0.336(95%CI 0.130-0.868).ConclusionThis study demonstrated an association between NPC and AR.