Risk Factors Associated with Nasopharyngeal Cancer Incidences in Indonesia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the risk factors associated the incidence of NPC, particularly in Indonesia.

METHODS

This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA statement. Database including PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, and GARUDA were retrieved. Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used to assess the quality of published study and analyse the risk of bias of included study. Random-effect model and reported pooled Odds Ratio (OR) with 95%CI was carried out in our meta-analysis.

RESULTS

A pooled of 7 studies were included in our study which included 764 participants. We found that female gender was not associated with the incidences of NPC (OR 1.45, 95% CI: 0.61-3.45, p=0.40), and smoking was highly increased the incidence of NPC (OR 4.39 95% CI (0.79-24.40), but not statistically significant (p=0.09). Furthermore, salted fish consumption and some HLA alleles were associated with increased risk.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of NPC is not associated with female gender nor smoking habits. However, the risk of NPC is higher for those who consume salted fish and have some susceptible HLA alleles. Further investigations in larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.