Annette Stemhagen

Histologic types and hormone receptors in breast cancer in men: a population-based study in 282 United States men

Histologic slides from 282 incident cases of breast cancer in men, that were identified in 10 population-based cancer registries in the United States, were reviewed by a single pathologist. Breast cancer more often presented in the noninvasive stage in men (10.8 percent of all cases) than would be expected among women. All noninvasive carcinomas were of the ductal type. Of invasive carcinomas, compared with women, men had smaller proportions of lobular and mucinous types and larger proportions of ductal and papillary types and Pagets disease. No case of tubular or medullary carcinoma was seen. The breast in men is composed only of ducts and normally contains no lobules, and the histologic types of breast carcinomas that predominate in men are likely of ductal origin. Estrogen and progesterone receptors were present in 86.7 percent and 76.3 percent of invasive carcinomas, respectively, which are higher proportions than would be expected among women. Also, unlike findings in women, receptor content was not associated with patient age at diagnosis.

Oral and pharyngeal cancer and occupation: A case-control study

We studied the relation between occupation and oral and pharyngeal cancer with a population-based case-control study conducted in four areas of the United States. The study group included 1,114 incident male and female cases and 1,268 frequency-matched controls. After adjustment for age, race, smoking, alcohol, and study location, an analysis of lifetime occupational histories revealed a small number of noteworthy associations. Risk was increased among male carpet installers (23 cases, 4 controls), with an adjusted odds ratio of 7.7 [95% confidence interval (CI)=2.4−24.91, and tended to rise with longer duration of employment. A decreased risk was found among male and female textile mill workers (odds ratio 0.48, 95% CI=0.27−0.88). Previously reported increases in oral cancer risks among printing workers, electrical and electronics workers, and workers other than carpet installers who were possibly exposed to formaldehyde were not found in this study. For several employment groups, including male machinists, primary metal industry workers, petroleum industry workers, painters, furniture and fixture industry workers, woodworking machine operators, and workers with inferred exposure to fossil fuel combustion, odds ratios were approximately 2.0 for cancers of pharyngeal sites. (Epidemiology 1992;3:300–309)

The Relation of Socioeconomic Status to Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer

We assessed the relation between socioeconomic status and risk or oropharyngeal cancer in a population-based interview study of 762 male cases and 837 male controls in tour areas of the United States. Three primary indicators of socioeconomic status were evaluated: education, occupational status, and percentage of potential working life spent in employment. With adjustment for the effects of established risk factors, such as use of tobacco products, alcohol consumption, and poor dentition, a relatively low percentage of years worked was also a risk factor. Educational attainment and occupational status were not independently related to risk of oropharyngeal cancer. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that behaviors that lead to social instability, and/or social instability itself, are linked to an increased risk of oral and pharyngeal cancers

Ionizing radiation and breast cancer in men (United States)

The purposes of this study were to determine whether exposure of the vestigial male breast to ionizing radiation is associated with an increase in risk of breast cancer and, if so, to determine whether the apparent effects on risk in men are similar to those reported for women. A population-based case-control study of breast cancer in men was conducted in 10 geographic areas of the United States. Information on possible prior exposure to ionizing radiation, and on other potential risk factors for breast cancer, was obtained from personal interviews of 227 cases and 300 controls who were recruited from October 1983 to September 1986. Evidence from this study that ionizing radiation can cause breast cancer in men includes: a modest trend of increasing risk with frequency of chest X-rays; an increase in risk in men with three or more radiographic examinations, especially if received prior to 1963; and an increase in risk in men who received X-ray treatments to the chest and adjacent body areas. Risk was increased only from 20 to 35 years after initial exposure from either radiographic examinations or X-ray treatments, and declined after three to four decades since last exposure, suggesting a wave of increased risk of finite duration following exposure. The doses of radiation received could not be estimated precisely, but those from diagnostic procedures were likely similar to those received by prepubertal females in prior studies, and the results of those and the present investigation are compatible. The carcinogenic effects of ionizing radiation may be similar in the male and prepubertal female breast.

The relationship between diet and breast cancer in men (United States)

Objectives: The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationship between food and beverage consumption and the development of breast cancer in men.Methods: Possible relationships of dietary factors to risk of breast cancer in men were assessed in a case-control study conducted between 1983 and 1986. Cases (N=220) were ascertained from ten population-based cancer registries. Controls (N=291) were selected by random-digit dialing (<age 65) and from Health Care Financing Administration Medicare beneficiary lists (≥age 65).Results: No trends in risk were observed with increasing intakes of specific foods, except for an increase in risk with citrus fruits. No increase in risk with increasing amounts of specific fats, vitamins, or minerals or with amounts of protein, fiber, carbohydrate, starches, nitrites, or alcohol consumed was observed, except for an increase in risk with dietary vitamin C consumption. A decreasing trend in risk with dietary niacin and with coffee and an increasing trend in risk with tea consumption were observed. No associations were found with use of any dietary supplements, including vitamin C.Conclusions: The observed associations are not consistent with findings from studies of breast cancer in women and probably do not represent causal relationships. Dietary factors are unlikely to be strong determinants of breast cancer in men.

Smoking and lung cancer: risk as a function of cigarette tar content.

The hypothesis of reduction in lung cancer risk associated with the adoption of low-tar cigarettes was examined in a subset of subjects from a population-based, case-control study of incident primary lung cancer among New Jersey white men. Risk was related to time-weighted average tar levels of cigarettes smoked in 1973-1980. Unadjusted estimates of risk were significantly low for the lowest tar (less than 14 mg/cig) smokers [odds ratio = 0.53 (0.29,0.97)] compared with the highest (21.1-28 mg/cig). However, adjustment by age and total pack-years rendered the risk reduction insignificant. Of note was the finding that cases who smoked low-tar cigarettes compensated for reducing tar by increasing the number of cigarettes they smoked by almost half a pack per day from the years 1963-1972 to 1973-1980, while in the same period controls and high-tar cigarette smoking cases did not increase the numbers smoked.