A population-based case-control study on social factors and risk of testicular germ cell tumours

Objectives Incidence rates for testicular cancer have risen over the last few decades. Findings of an association between the risk of testicular cancer and social factors are controversial. The association of testicular cancer and different indicators of social factors were examined in this study.<p></p> Design Case–control study.<p></p> Setting Population-based multicentre study in four German regions (city states Bremen and Hamburg, the Saarland region and the city of Essen).<p></p> Participants The study included 797 control participants and 266 participants newly diagnosed with testicular cancer of which 167 cases were classified as seminoma and 99 as non-seminoma. The age of study participants ranged from 15 to 69 years.<p></p> Methods Social position was classified by educational attainment level, posteducational training, occupational sectors according to Erikson-Goldthorpe-Portocarrero (EGP) and the socioeconomic status (SES) on the basis of the International SocioEconomic Index of occupational status (ISEI). ORs and corresponding 95% CIs (95% CIs) were calculated for the whole study sample and for seminoma and non-seminoma separately.<p></p> Results Testicular cancer risk was modestly increased among participants with an apprenticeship (OR=1.7 (95% CI 1.0 to 2.8)) or a university degree (OR=1.6 (95% CI 0.9 to 2.8)) relative to those whose education was limited to school. Analysis of occupational sectors revealed an excess risk for farmers and farm-related occupations. No clear trend was observed for the analyses according to the ISEI-scale.<p></p> Conclusions Social factors based on occupational measures were not a risk factor for testicular cancer in this study. The elevated risk in farmers and farm-related occupations warrants further research including analysis of occupational exposures.<p></p&gt

Alcohol drinking may increase risk of breast cancer in men: a European population-based case-control study

Objective: It has been estimated that alcohol drinking increases the risk of breast cancer in women by approximately 7% for each increment of 10 g alcohol per day. However, the few studies conducted on breast cancer among men have failed to detect an association with quantitative measures of alcohol drinking, even if the alcohol intake is generally higher in men than in women. On the other hand, increased risks of male breast cancer were inconsistently reported in alcoholics or patients with liver cirrhosis. We have investigated the role of alcohol drinking in male breast cancer using data collected in a population-based case-control study on seven rare cancers, conducted in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. Methods: The cases were 74 histologically verified male breast cancer patients aged 35-70 years. The controls (n = 1432) selected from population registers, and frequency-matched to the cases by age group and geographic area. To check for consistency, a separate analysis was conducted using as controls the patients with a rare cancer other than the breast recruited simultaneously in the European study (n = 519 men). Results: Based on population controls, the risk of developing breast cancer in men increased by 16% (95% CI: 7-26%) per 10, g alcohol/day (p < 0.001). An odds ratio of 5.89 (95% CI: 2.21-15.69) was observed for alcohol intake greater than 90 g per day, as compared with light consumers (< 15 g per day). Similar associations were observed when other rare cancers patients were used as controls. Conclusion: We found that the relative risk of breast cancer in men is comparable to that in women for alcohol intakes below 60 g per day. It continues to increase at high consumption levels not usually studied in women

Europaeische Verbundstudie zu arbeitsplatzbedingten Erkrankungen (EVA). Arbeitsplatzbedingte Risikofaktoren seltener Krebsformen unbekannter Ursache Abschlussbericht zu den nationalen Teilen der Fall-Kontroll-Studie

SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F00B517+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Bonn (Germany)DEGerman