Background: Certain studies suggest that alcohol may reduce the risk of thyroid cancer in women, but the effect in men remains unclear.
Methods: We analysed the association between alcohol and thyroid cancer in a large (n=490 159) prospective NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study with self-reported beer, wine, and liquor intakes.
Results: Over 7.5 years of follow-up (median), 170 men and 200 women developed thyroid cancer. Overall, the thyroid cancer risk decreased with greater alcohol consumption (> or =2 drinks per day vs none, relative risk=0.57, 95% CI 0.36-0.89, P-trend=0.01).
Conclusions: These results suggest a potential protective role for alcohol consumption in thyroid cancer.