Showing papers by "American Cancer Society published in 1980"

Latency of asbestos disease among insulation workers in the United States and Canada

Abstract: Two thousand two hundred seventy-one deaths were recorded among 17,800 asbestos insulation workers observed from January 1, 1967-December 31, 1976. There was little increase in cancer deaths or of asbestosis in less than 15-19 years from onset of employment. In general, though, the period of clinical latency was 2-4 decades or more and there were important differences among the several asbestos-associated diseases. Lung cancer peaked at about 30-35 years from onset and asbestosis at 40-45 years. Each tended to decline in incidence afterwards. Pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma reached their highest incidence later than lung cancer, but the incidence did not decline. In studies of effects of asbestos exposure, it appears advantageous to observe for at least 35-40 years or more from onset of exposure and to analyze the experience in duration-from-onset categories. If this is not possible, only the very limited early effects will be identified and the full import of the exposure may not be appreciated.

Mortality Among California Seventh-Day Adventists for Selected Cancer Sites

Abstract: In previous reports concerning cancer among Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA), comparisons were made only with the general population. This report compared California SDA to a sample of non-SDA who were demographically similar to SDA. The study consisted of 17 years of follow-up (1960--76) on 22,940 white California SDA and 13 years of follow-up (1960--72) on 112,725 white California non-SDA. Both groups completed the same base-line questionnaire in 1960. Deaths were ascertained by annual contacts with each study member and by computer-assisted record linkage with the California State death certificate file. Results indicated that, with the exception of colon-rectal cancer and smoking-related cancers, the difference in risk of fatal cancer between SDA and non-SDA was substantially reduced when SDA were compared with a more socioeconomically similar population. The persistence of the low risk for colon-rectal cancer can probably be attributed to some aspect of the diet or life-style of the SDA.

Immunologic reactivity and prognosis in breast cancer

Abstract: The relationship of immune reactivity to the stage of disease and to prognosis within stages was studied in 202 women with breast cancer. Patients were staged according to the following system: those with primary operable breast cancer were classified according to the presence or absence of regional lymph node metastases; those with advanced breast cancer were classified according to the predominant site of metastases: (1) those with skin, soft tissue, or nodal metastases, (2) those with bone metastases, and (3) those with visceral organ metastases. A significant linear trend of decreasing DNCB reactivity was seen with increasing extent of disease (P < 0.01). The results of other tests of immune reactivity, including intradermal skin tests with microbial antigens, and, in patients with advanced breast cancer only, absolute lymphocyte counts, lymphocyte proliferative responses to mitogens and microbial antigens, serum immunoglobulin levels, and T and B-cell counts, did not change significantly with increasing extent of disease. No significant difference in recurrence distributions was seen when all primary operable breast cancer patients with positive and negative DNCB responses were compared. However, when the presence or absence of lymph node involvement was taken into account, a trend to earlier recurrence for DNCB-positive patients was seen (P = 0.03). When the survival distributions for all DNCB-positive and-negative patients were compared, the DNCB-positive patients showed a significantly longer survival (P < 0.01). However, when the survival distributions for DNCB-positive and-negative patients with either primary operable or advanced breast cancer were compared separately, significant differences were not seen. Other tests of immune function, including intradermal skin tests with microbial antigens, absolute lymphocyte counts, and lymphocyte responses to mitogens in vitro, were not useful in distinguishing prognostically favorable groups among patients with advanced disease. Advanced breast cancer patients who were given an adequate trial of combination chemotherapy showed no difference in response rate or survival when DNCB-positive and-negative patients were compared. We conclude that, although DNCB reactivity is progressively impaired in patients with increasing tumor burden and correlates with survival in breast cancer patients in general, in our experience such tests do not provide prognostically important information above that given by careful clinical and pathologic staging.