Anthony P. Polednak

Trends in cancer incidence in Connecticut, 1935-1991.

Background. This study used data from the population‐based Connecticut Tumor Registry, a unique resource for examining secular trends in cancer incidence rates since 1935.

Estimating the prevalence of cancer in the United States

Few reports have estimated the prevalence of persons in the U.S. ever diagnosed with invasive cancer.

Trends in prostate carcinoma incidence in Connecticut (1988–1994) by age and race

Large increases in prostate carcinoma incidence rates from 1988 to 1992, followed by sharp declines, in several U.S. cancer registries have been attributed to the impact of screening. Trends may vary by age, racial and/or ethnic group, and geography.

Breast cancer and oral contraceptive use: A case-control study☆

The effect of oral contraceptive (OC) use was examined among parous breast cancer cases diagnosed at less than or equal to 45 years of age, and in two different general population control groups of parous women. The primary analysis compared 278 cases with 520 controls. In the secondary analysis, a subgroup of 190 cases were compared with 190 controls from another reference group. In both analyses, ever use of OC, duration of OC use, and OC use prior to first pregnancy showed no significant association with breast cancer risk. Also in both analyses, in women with prior benign breast disease OC use increased the risk of breast cancer, although this finding was statistically significant only in the larger group used in the primary analysis.

Seasonal patterns in the diagnosis of malignant melanoma of skin and eye in upstate New York.

Seasonal patterns in diagnosis were examined for 2403 melanomas of the skin and 238 melanomas of the eye diagnosed among residents of upsatate New York State in 1975 to 1979 and reported to the population‐based New York State Cancer Registry. The previously reported summer peak in diagnosis of melanoma of the lower extremity in females was confirmed and shown to hold for melanomas diagnosed at both early and late clinical stages; increased recognition of earlier stage melanomas in summer months is an unlikely explanation for this peak. For skin melanomas at other anatomic sites, seasonal patterns by sex and clinical stage at diagnosis were more complex. A previously unreported seasonal pattern was evident for trunk melanomas in males, with a March–April peak. Significant seasonal variations in diagnosis of melanomas of the eye were evident for both males and females, but the seasonal patterns differed between the sexes. Possible explanations for these findings on skin and eye melanomas were discussed with reference to psychosocial and hormonal factors as well as ultraviolet stimulation.

Family history, oral contraceptive usage, and breast cancer

When breast cancer patients were grouped according to their family history of breast cancer striking differences were found in age distribution. Thus, the proportion of cases <45 years of age was grandmother > aunt > mother > FH‐negative > sister. A similar FH‐related sequence was observed in regard to current OC usage among breast cancer patients <45 years of age. It also appeared that current oral contraceptive (OC) usage increased the risk of invasive breast cancer among grandmother‐ or aunt‐positive women while decreasing the risk among FH‐negative women. There are important practical and conceptual reasons for further studies of the influence of interactions between age, OC usage and family history on the stepwise development of breast cancer.