Cancer risk among male farmers: a multi-site case-control study

Farmers may experience exposure to several hazardous substances, and cancer risk in this occupational group is considered an important public health issue. In order to examine the association between cancer and farming among male agricultural workers, a hospital-based case-control study was conducted in five Italian rural areas. The cancer sites selected for the study were: lip, oral cavity and oropharynx, oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, lung, skin melanoma, skin non-melanoma, prostate, bladder, kidney, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In all, 1525 newly diagnosed cases, aged 20-75 years, were ascertained in hospital records, covering the period between March 1990 and September 1992, and for 1279 of them, a detailed exposure information was collected by a standard questionnaire. Data analyses were performed comparing each cancer site to a control group, including a subset of the other cancer sites in the study. Unconditional logistic regression models were used in the statistical analyses. Increased risks of cancer associated with agricultural work were found for stomach (OR = 1.4, 95%CI:0.9-2.0), rectum (OR = 1.5, 95%CI:0.8-2.7), larynx (OR = 1.4, 95%CI:0.8-2.5), and prostate (OR = 1.4, 95%CI:1.0-2.1). The excess of prostate cancer was specifically related to application of pesticides (OR = 1.7, 95%CI:1.2-2.6).     

Associations between several sites of cancer and nine organic dusts: results from an hypothesis-generating case-control study in Montreal, 1979-1983

A multi-cancer site, multi-factor case-control study was undertaken to generate hypotheses about possible occupational carcinogens. Probing interviews were carried out with over 2,000 subjects. All incident cases of 19 sites of cancer in males aged 35-70 and resident in Montreal were eligible. The interview was designed to obtain detailed lifetime job histories, and information on potential confounders. Each job history was reviewed by a team of chemists who translated it into a history of occupational exposures. These occupational exposures were then analyzed as potential risk factors in relation to the sites of cancer included. For each site of cancer analyzed as a case series, controls were selected from among the other cancer sites in the study. This report concerns the associations between sites of cancer for which there were over 100 cases processed (stomach; colorectal, also analyzed by subsites; lung; prostate; bladder; kidney; non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) and nine organic dusts (wood; paper; grain; flour; fabrics; cotton; wool; synthetics; fur). All site-exposure combinations were investigated. The ones that provided the most interesting leads were lung-wood dust (odds ratio (OR) = 1.5), stomach-wood dust (OR = 1.5), colorectal-synthetic fiber (OR = 1.5), bladder-synthetic fiber (OR = 1.8), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma-cotton dust (OR = 1.9), colon-grain dust (OR = 2.6), prostate-grain dust (OR = 2.2), and prostate-paper dust (OR = 2.0). Only the associations with wood dust, synthetic fibers and cotton dust showed some evidence of "dose-response" with duration of exposure. Because it is such a common exposure and appears to increase lung and stomach cancer risks, wood dust may be responsible for a great deal of occupational cancer.     

Incidence and mortality of cancer in Navarra, 1993-1997. Tendencies in the last 25 years

Between 1993-1997, there were 14,023 new cases of cancer registered in Navarra. In men, the most frequently diagnosed cancers were in the following order: lung, prostate, colon and rectum, stomach and bladder, which accounted for 60% of all the cancer cases. In women the sites of breast, colon and rectum, body of uterus, stomach and ovary accounted for 57% of the total number of cases. In the same period, 1993-1997, 3,875 men and 2,332 women died of cancer. 60% of all the deaths caused by malignant tumours in men were due to the sites of lung, colon and rectum, prostate, stomach and bladder. In women the sites of breast, colon and rectum, stomach, pancreas and liver, accounted for 51% of deaths from cancer. Amongst men in Navarra there has been an important increase in the last two decades of the rates of incidence and mortality of cancers related to the habit of smoking (lung, oral cavity and pharynx or pancreas). The global risk of dying from cancer was higher in the late 90s than in the 70s and 80s. From 1995 onwards, cancer mortality advanced from second place to occupy the first place as the cause of death amongst men in Navarra. Amongst women, cardiovascular diseases continue to be the first cause of death. Amongst women the global risk of death from cancer fell by 20% between 1975 and 1997, due principally to a fall in cases of stomach cancer. Tumours related to the habit of smoking have not so far shown substantial increases amongst women in Navarra. Breast cancer has increased in recent years, although its incidence and mortality amongst women in Navarra continues to be somewhat lower than the average in the European Union and the United States. Invasive cervical cancer remains at very low rates with respect to many European countries, including Spain. In both sexes there has been an increase in colorectal cancer and melanoma, while the incidence and mortality of stomach cancer continues to fall.     

Marital status and cancer risk in Italy

BACKGROUND: Marital status has long been related to cancer incidence and mortality rates. However, only few analytical studies have been conducted on this issue considering known or potential confounding factors. METHODS: We systematically examined the relation between marital status and cancer risk using data from a network of case-control studies conducted between 1983 and 2001, including a total of 17,976 incident cases with the following cancer sites: oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, larynx, breast, endometrium, ovary, prostate, bladder, kidney, thyroid, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, multiple myelomas, and sarcomas. Controls were 15,345 patients admitted to the hospital for non-neoplastic conditions. RESULTS: As compared to married subjects, never married ones were at significantly increased risk of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancers and at reduced risk of cancer of the colon, liver, bladder, kidney, and thyroid. However, for other cancer sites considered, most odds ratios were close to unity. Likewise, there was no consistent excess risk for divorced or widowed subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Despite some significant associations, our study suggests that marital status is not materially associated with cancer risk. Thus, the evidence that married subjects are at lower risk of several other major diseases may not be applicable to cancer.     

Ethnic disparities in cancer incidence and survival among the oldest old in the United States

ABSTRACT

Objective: To examine potential ethnic disparities in cancer incidence and survival rates among the oldest old using data from the SEER Program.

Design: Cases diagnosed with one of the leading four cancer sites (lung and bronchus, colon and rectum, female breast, prostate) and four cancer sites (stomach, liver and intrahepatic bile duct, gallbladder, and cervical) that disproportionally affect Hispanics were reported to one of 18 SEER registries. Differences in cancer incidence were examined for cases aged ≥85 years diagnosed during the most recent 5-year time period (2009–2013) and, to examine changes over time, from 1992 to 2013. Five-year relative cancer survival probability was examined for Hispanics and non-Hispanics aged ≥85 years diagnosed 2006–2012.

Results: From 2009 to 2013, non-Hispanics aged ≥85 years had higher incidence rates compared to Hispanics for colon and rectum, lung and bronchus, female breast, and prostate cancers. Five-year survival probability for cancers of all stages combined was higher for non-Hispanics than Hispanics in this age group. However, Hispanics had higher survival probability of colon and rectum and lung and bronchus cancers diagnosed at regional (colon and rectum: 67.2% vs. 60.5%; lung and bronchus: 15.9% vs. 12.7%) and distant (colon and rectum: 5.4% vs. 3.8%; lung and bronchus: 2.8% vs. 2.2%) stages than non-Hispanics, respectively.

Conclusion: Ethnic differences in cancer incidence and survival probability exist for the ≥85 population. Continued efforts are needed to understand and reduce ethnic disparities in cancer prevention and treatment for this population.     

Incidence and mortality due to cancer in Navarre, 1998-2002. Trends in the last 30 years

Between 1998-2002, 16,952 new cases of cancer were registered in Navarre. In men, the most frequently diagnosed cancers were in the following order: prostate, lung, colon and rectum, bladder and stomach, which accounted for 63.2%. In women, the sites were breast, colon and rectum, corpus uteri, stomach and ovary, which accounted for 57.6% of the cases. In the same period, 1998-2002, 4,127 men and 2,470 women died from cancer. Sixty percent of all deaths due to malign tumours in men were due to cancer of the lung, prostate, colon and rectum, stomach and bladder. In women this was due to cancers of colon and rectum, breast, stomach, pancreas and lung, which accounted for 49% of the cases. In men in Navarre there has been an increase in the incidence rates of cancer of the prostate, kidney and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Avoidable cancers such as those related to smoking (lung, oral cavity and pharynx or pancreas) continue to rise, and represent a greater global risk of dying from cancer in the latest period studied than in the decades of the 1970s and 1980s. From 1995 up to the present, mortality due to cancer has moved from occupying the second place to become the first cause of death among men in Navarre. The global risk of death due to cancer in men is now equal to the first period studied, 1975-1977. Amongst women the global risk of death due to cancer fell by 25% between 1975 and 2002, basically at the cost of breast and stomach cancer. Tumours related to smoking increased both in mortality and in incidence and appear as a significant health problem amongst women in Navarre. Breast cancer has increased in incidence, with lower mortality figures than those of the first period 1975-1977. Invasive cancer of the cervix remains at very low rates in comparison with many European countries, including Spain. In both sexes colorectal and skin cancer has increased, while the incidence and mortality of stomach cancer continues to fall.     

International differences in body height and weight and their relationship to cancer incidence

The relationship between body size (adult height and weight) and cancer incidence was investigated in an international ecological study of 24 populations. Site-specific and total cancer incidence rates (age standardized) from 1973 to 1977 were correlated with body size data generally obtained between 1954 and 1974. All-sites cancer incidence was highly correlated with height among both men (r = 0.50; p less than or equal to 0.01) and women (r = 0.70; p less than or equal to 0.001). Among men, there were significant correlations between height and cancers of the central nervous system (r = 0.72), prostate (r = 0.66), bladder (r = 0.65), pancreas (r = 0.59), lung (r = 0.47), and colon (r = 0.46). Significant correlations were observed for cancers of the rectum (r = 0.76), pancreas (r = 0.75), ovary (r = 0.73), central nervous system (r = 0.68), breast (r = 0.65), uterine corpus (r = 0.50), and bladder (r = 0.48) in women. Adjustment for weight altered these correlations only minimally. Weight was significantly correlated to all-sites cancer only among women (r = 0.44; p less than 0.05), and site-specific correlations were significant for the same sites as for height, but the magnitude of the correlation coefficients was somewhat diminished. In addition, adjustment for height greatly reduced the correlations with weight. These findings support previously observed associations between height and specific cancers (e.g., breast and colon) and identify several additional cancer sites that may be similarly related.     

Education, socioeconomic status and risk of cancer of the colon and rectum.

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic correlates of cancer of the large bowel differ in various countries and calendar periods and may differ for the colon and rectum. Thus, the relationship between education and social class and risk of cancers of the colon and rectum was considered. METHODS: Combination of two hospital-based case-control studies conducted in six Italian centres between 1985 and 1996. Cases were 3533 patients aged < 79, with histologically confirmed cancer of the colon (n = 2180) or rectum (n = 1353), and controls were 7062 patients admitted to hospital for a wide spectrum of acute, non-neoplastic, non-digestive tract diseases. RESULTS: Compared to individuals with < 7 years of education the multivariate odds ratios (OR) of colon cancer for those with > or = 16 years were 2.45 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.87-3.23) in men and 1.29 (95% CI: 0.88-1.90) in women, with significant trends in risk. No significant association emerged between education and risk of rectal cancer, with OR of 1.18 (95% CI: 0.83-1.70) and 1.01 (95% CI: 0.61-1.67) respectively for men and women in the highest educational category compared to the lowest. Social class was also related to colon cancer risk: the OR were 2.30 (95% CI: 1.82-2.90) in men and 1.33 (95% CI: 1.03-1.73) in women in the highest versus the lowest social class. No association was found between social class and rectal cancer risk, with OR of 1.18 for either men or women in the highest as compared to the lowest social class. No significant heterogeneity was found for the association between education and colon cancer risk in either sex across strata of age at diagnosis, coffee, alcohol and vegetable intake, family history of the disease, and in anatomical subsites within the colon. CONCLUSION: This study, based on a uniquely large dataset, indicates that there are different social class correlates for colon and rectal cancer. Consequently the two sites should not be combined in studies considering lifestyle factors in the aetiology of these neoplasms.     

Wood-dust exposures and cancer of the colon

Previous studies of workers exposed to wood dusts have shown a decreased risk of cancer of the colon in these workers. However, none of these studies adequately controlled for potential confounders, such as physical activity, diet, and family history of colorectal cancer. The purpose of this case-control study was to evaluate the association between exposure to wood dust and risk for colon cancer after adjusting for potential confounders. Four hundred nineteen male cases of adenocarcinoma of the colon, identified from the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program, were individually matched to neighborhood controls based on gender and date of birth. Exposure to wood dust was associated with reduced risk of colon cancer that was partially masked before adjustment for confounders, and was limited to workers with frequent exposures that had begun at least 30 years before diagnosis [unadjusted and adjusted ORs, respectively, to exposures 5+ times a week beginning 30+ years before diagnosis = 0.63 (95% CI 0.36-1.13) and 0.39 (95% CI 0.20-0.77)]. This study provides additional evidence that heavy exposure to wood dusts may be associated with reduced risk of colon cancer in males after adjustment for other known causes of colon cancer.     

Recent trends in mortality rates for four major cancers, by sex and race/ethnicity--United States, 1990-1998

In 1998, 53% of all cancer-related deaths in the United States were associated with four sites: lung/bronchus, colon/rectum, prostate, and female breast. Cancer-related death does not affect racial/ethnic populations similarly. In 1996, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) published cancer incidence and death rates during 1988-1992 in 10 categories of race/ethnicity. To examine trends during 1990-1998 in annual death rates for the four major cancers by sex and race/ethnicity (i.e., blacks, whites, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives [AI/ANs], and Asians/Pacific Islanders [APIs]), CDC analyzed data from the National Center for Health Statistics' National Vital Statistics System. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that, except for lung cancer in women and lung, colorectal, and breast cancer in AI/ANs, trends in death rates from these cancers have generally declined. But the rates remained high for blacks, have not decreased equally among all populations, and have increased in certain instances. Continuing research and prevention efforts are needed to reach high-risk and underserved populations and to understand the reasons for differences in cancer mortality among racial/ethnic populations.     

中国城乡11市县常见恶性肿瘤发病趋势分析

目的 探讨中国恶性肿瘤发病特点及时间趋势.方法 采用中国城乡11个市县肿瘤登记处的1988-2002年资料进行统计与分析,描述恶性肿瘤发病现状,研究其时间趋势与发病特点.结果 11个市县肿瘤登记处覆盖地区15年内新发恶性肿瘤695 050例,粗发病率为215.50/10万,世界标准人口调整发病率为170.97/10万.主要恶性肿瘤发病率排序依次为肺癌、胃癌、肝癌、食管癌、乳腺癌、结肠癌、直肠癌、胰腺癌、膀胱癌、白血病.16种主要恶性肿瘤占全部的85.56%.1988-2002年恶性肿瘤合并的粗发病率呈较快上升趋势.按部位分析,增幅最大的是前列腺癌(185.48%),其次为胆囊癌、乳腺癌、结肠癌等.发病率下降幅度最大的是宫颈癌(17.00%),其次为食管癌、胃癌、鼻咽癌.结论 中国11个市县1988-2002年恶性肿瘤总的粗发病率呈上升趋势,调整年龄因素后变化不明显.胰腺癌、膀胱癌、白血病已进入前10位,成为常见恶性肿瘤.前列腺癌和胆囊癌发病率虽然较低,但是增长幅度最大.     

Relationship of epithelial ovarian cancer to other malignancies within families

The relationship of family history of cancer of the breast, colon/rectum, cervix, endometrium, lung, and thyroid to the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer was investigated in a large population-based case-control study. The data consisted of family histories from 493 epithelial ovarian cancer cases and 2,465 controls aged 20-54 years. After controlling for potential confounders, risk for epithelial ovarian cancer was found to be significantly elevated among women reporting breast cancer and colo/rectal cancer in a first-degree relative. Adjusted odds ratios were 1.5 (95% CI = 1.1-2.1) and 1.9 (95% CI = 1.1-3.3), respectively. None of the remaining four types of cancer was found to be statistically associated with the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. However, when histologic subtypes of epithelial ovarian cancer were considered, a family history of breast cancer was found to be associated with an elevated risk of endometrioid ovarian cancer (odds ratio = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.1-4.7), as was a family history of endometrial cancer (odds ratio = 2.7; 95% CI = 1.0-6.9). The results are considered in the context of other studies of familial patterns of cancer and are compared with published findings concerning the occurrence of multiple primary cancers in the same individual. The findings indicate that further study is warranted regarding possible genetic relationships between epithelial ovarian cancer and cancers arising in other organs.     

Cancer of the colon and rectum in California: trends in incidence by race/ethnicity, stage, and subsite

BACKGROUND: Incidence and mortality from cancer of the colon and rectum have declined in recent years in the United States and California, but reasons for the decline are unknown. METHODS: Age-adjusted site-specific and stage-specific incidence rates were calculated for approximately 9,000 cases of in situ cancer and 120,000 cases of invasive cancer of the colon and rectum diagnosed between 1988 and 1996 among California residents and reported to the California Cancer Registry. Trends in incidence over time were measured using the estimated annual percent change. RESULTS: Among non-Hispanic whites there was a decline in all sites and stages, but the decrease was most pronounced for rates of in situ and regional/distant tumors in the rectum and sigmoid which declined by about 4 to 7% a year. For tumors in the proximal colon, the decrease was statistically significant only for regional/distant tumors which declined about 2% a year. Among blacks, there was an approximately 7% annual decline in the incidence of regional/distant tumors of the rectum in women and a nearly 3% a year decrease in regional/distant tumors of the proximal colon in men. The decline in rates for Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders was smaller and less consistent than for non-Hispanic whites. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm a overall decline in all stages of cancer of the colon and rectum in California, particularly among non-Hispanic white men and women. The decrease was most pronounced for tumors in the rectum and sigmoid colon and may be attributable to screening.     

Nitrate in public water supplies and the risk of colon and rectum cancers

BACKGROUND: Nitrate is a widespread contaminant of drinking water, but its potential health effects are unclear. In the body, nitrate is reduced to nitrite, which can react with amines and amides by nitrosation to form N-nitroso compounds, known animal carcinogens. N-nitroso compound formation is inhibited by certain nutrients, such as vitamin C, and increased by meat intake. METHODS: We investigated the association of nitrate in public water supplies with incident colon and rectum cancers in a case-control study conducted in Iowa from 1986 to 1989. Nitrate levels in Iowa towns were linked to the participants' water source histories. We focused our analyses on the period from 1960 onward, during which nitrate measurements were more frequent, and we restricted analyses to those persons with public water supplies that had nitrate data (actual or imputed) for greater than 70% of this time period (376 colon cancer cases, 338 rectum cancer cases, and 1244 controls). RESULTS: There were negligible overall associations of colon or rectum cancers with measures of nitrate in public water supplies, including average nitrate and the number of years with elevated average nitrate levels. For more than 10 years with average nitrate greater than 5 mg/L, the odds ratio (OR) for colon cancer was 1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.9-1.6) and for rectum the OR was 1.1 (CI = 0.7-1.5). However, nitrate exposure (>10 years with average nitrate >5 mg/L) was associated with increased colon cancer risk among subgroups with low vitamin C intake (OR = 2.0; CI = 1.2-3.3) and high meat intake (OR = 2.2; CI = 1.4-3.6). These patterns were not observed for rectum cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses suggest that any increased risk of colon cancer associated with nitrate in public water supplies might occur only among susceptible subpopulations.     

恶性肿瘤发病率的时间趋势分析方法

目的 介绍恶性肿瘤发病率或死亡率的时间趋势分析方法。方法 利用上海市肿瘤登记处积累的1991～1999年的登记资料为例,分析了上海市区常见肿瘤发病率的变化趋势。首先是计算粗率、标化率和变化百分比(PC);并通过配合标化率的线性回归模型,估计发病率的年度变化百分比(APC);同时分析各部位肿瘤发病率变化在全部上升或下降的肿瘤趋势改变中的贡献,即年度变化贡献率,及其统计学检验方法。结果 9年间上海市区男性主要恶性肿瘤中食管癌和胃癌发病率呈现下降趋势,而结肠癌、直肠癌、胆囊癌、胰腺癌、前列腺癌、膀胱癌、肾癌、白血病发病率上升;女性肿瘤中也是食管癌和胃癌发病率下降,而结肠癌、直肠癌、肺癌、乳腺癌、胆囊癌、子宫内膜癌、卵巢癌、膀胱癌、肾癌发病率上升;男女性这些变化都达到了统计学意义(P<0.05或P<0.01)。其他部位有较小的趋势变化,没有统计学意义。男性癌症中,以胃癌和食管癌下降显著,APC和贡献率分别为-2.99％(加权估计值,下同)和-65.72％、-2.90％和-17.07％;上升显著的是前列腺癌(2.30％和21.46％)、结肠癌(2.94％和18.62％)和直肠癌(3.11％和15.09％)。女性肿瘤中,同样以胃癌和食管癌下降显著,APC和贡献率分别为-6.05％和-39.55％、-1.08％和-35.19％;上升显著的是乳腺癌(2.81％和28     

Comparative epidemiology of cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate and breast in Shanghai, China versus the United States

Incidence rates of cancers of the colon, rectum, female breast, and prostate were compared among native Chinese (Shanghai), Chinese-American, and American populations. Americans had fourfold higher age-adjusted rates of colon cancer, and twofold higher rates of rectal cancer than Chinese, which is consistent with elevated per capita intake of fat and lower intake of cereals and vegetables in the US. Incidence rates of colon and rectal cancers in Chinese-Americans were nearly equal to the American rates, suggesting that the risk for tumour development in the lower intestinal tract is rapidly increased with transition to the US diet. Rates of prostate cancer and postmenopausal breast cancer were 26-fold and tenfold higher in Americans than in Chinese, whereas the rates for Chinese-Americans were intermediate. Environmental factors such as dietary fat apparently had a more gradual effect in promoting cancers of the breast and prostate relative to their influence on neoplasms of the lower intestinal tract.     

Ten-year survival of patients with cancer of the digestive tract in Umbria, Italy

Survival statistics of 4135 incident cases of digestive system cancers in the Umbria region of Italy are reported. The original data are derived from an ad hoc survey carried out in the period 1978--1982. Observed and relative rates at 1, 5 and 10 years are presented separately by sex and age (< 60 and 60 years). In both sexes there are very short survival rates for liver, bile duct and pancreas cancers, whereas about 50% of colon and rectum cancer patients survived at five years. About 20% stomach cancer patients survived at the same time. In males the survival rate for oesophagus cancer is close to 10%. The rates at ten years confirm the trend. Comparisons between sexes show that there is no significant differences in age at first diagnosis. Survival values are higher in females only for rectum cancers. In both sexes, for stomach, colon and rectum sites younger patients had a significantly longer survival than older ones.     

Tea consumption and cancer risk.

The relationship between tea consumption and cancer risk has been analyzed using data from an integrated series of case-control studies conducted in northern Italy between 1983 and 1990. The dataset included 119 histologically confirmed cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, 294 of the esophagus, 564 of the stomach, 673 of the colon, 406 of the rectum, 258 of the liver, 41 of the gallbladder, 303 of the pancreas, 149 of the larynx, 2,860 of the breast, 567 of the endometrium, 742 of the ovary, 107 of the prostate, 365 of the bladder, 147 of the kidney, 120 of the thyroid, and a total of 6,147 controls admitted to hospital for acute nonneoplastic conditions unrelated to long-term dietary modifications. Multivariate relative risks (RR) for tea consumption were derived after allowance for age, sex, area of residence, education, smoking, and coffee consumption. All the estimates for tea consumption were close to unity, the highest values being 1.4 for rectum, gallbladder, and endometrium. There was no association with cancers of the oral cavity (RR = 0.6), esophagus (RR = 1.0), stomach (RR = 1.0), bladder (RR = 0.8), kidney (RR = 1.1), prostate (RR = 0.9), or any other site considered. Although in northern Italy tea was consumed daily by only a limited proportion of the population, this integrated series of studies offers further reassuring evidence on the relationship between tea and cancer risk.     

Cancer risks associated with 10 inorganic dusts: results from a case-control study in Montreal

A multicancer site, multifactor case-control study was undertaken to generate hypotheses about possible occupational carcinogens. Probing interviews were carried out with eligible cases, comprising all incident cases of 20 types of cancer who were male, aged 35-70 years, and a resident in Montreal. The interview was designed to obtain detailed lifetime job histories and information on potential confounders. Each job history was reviewed by a team of chemists and industrial hygienists who translated it into a history of occupational exposures. These occupational exposures were then analyzed as potential risk factors in relation to the sites of cancer included; 3,726 cases were interviewed. For each site of cancer analyzed, controls were selected from among the other sites in the study. This report concerns the associations between the 12 main types of cancer in our series and 10 inorganic dusts that are found mainly in construction and metal industries. All site-exposure combinations were investigated. After intensive control for confounding, nonadenocarcinoma (NAC) of the lung was associated with long duration-high level exposure to silica (odds ratio [OR] = 1.4), excavation dust (OR = 1.9), concrete dust (OR = 2.5), abrasives dust (OR = 1.4), and alumina (OR = 1.5). It was difficult to disentangle the relative effects of those substances, and confounding among them was a distinct possibility. Although residual confounding by some uncontrolled factors may explain the elevated ORs, the results were compatible with the hypothesis of a nonspecific relation between NAC of the lung and respirable inorganic dusts as a class. Other associations that remained suggestive after in-depth analysis were silica and stomach cancer (OR = 1.2) and concrete dust and lymphoma (OR = 2.9).     

Changes in Spanish surname cancer rates relative to other whites, Denver area, 1969-71 to 1979-81.

Cancer incidence rates for persons of Spanish surname and other Whites in the Denver, Colorado area were derived for two time periods, 1969-71 and 1979-81. The substantial deficits in total cancers for Spanish surname males and females relative to other Whites in 1969-71 diminished considerably for all age groups by 1979-81. The major determinants of this pattern were the rapidly rising Spanish surname rates for cancer of the colon and rectum, lung cancer, kidney cancer, female breast and uterine cancers, and male prostate, bladder, and hematopoietic cancers. There was a convergence of Spanish surname rates toward the other White rates for nearly all sites, regardless of whether other Whites showed increasing, decreasing, or stable rates. Notable exceptions occurred for cervical cancer, which dropped more slowly among persons of Spanish surname than among other Whites, and Spanish surname female stomach cancer rates which rose during the 1970s in contrast to a decrease among other Whites. The overall pattern is consistent with acculturation of persons of Spanish surname towards the majority's lifestyle, suggesting the value of more detailed studies of specific cancer determinants in the Spanish surname population.