National Case-Control Study of Kaposi\u27s Sarcoma and Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia in Homosexual Men: Part 1. Epidemiologic Results

To identify risk factors for the occurrence of Kaposi\u27s sarcoma and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in homosexual men, we conducted a case-control study in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Fifty patients (cases) (39 with Kaposi\u27s sarcoma, 8 with pneumocystis pneumonia, and 3 with both) and 120 matched homosexual male controls (from sexually transmitted disease clinics and private medical practices) participated in the study. The variable most strongly associated with illness was a larger number of male sex partners per year (median, 61 for patients; 27 and 25 for clinic and private practice controls, respectively). Compared with controls, cases were also more likely to have been exposed to feces during sex, have had syphilis and non-B hepatitis, have been treated for enteric parasites, and have used various illicit substances. Certain aspects of a lifestyle shared by a subgroup of the male homosexual population are associated with an increased risk of Kaposi\u27s sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia

Co-carcinogenesis: Human Papillomaviruses, Coal Tar Derivatives, and Squamous Cell Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancers among women worldwide. Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) play a major role in the etiology of CC, with several lines of epidemiologic and experimental evidence supporting a role for non-viral (co-carcinogens) and host genetic factors in controlling the risk for progression to neoplasia among HPV-infected individuals. The role of co-carcinogens in the development of CC is significant in the developing world where poor sanitation and other socio-economic conditions increase the infectious cancer burden. Here, we discuss how exposure to environmental factors such as coal tar derivatives from cigarette smoking, tar-based sanitary products, and inhaled smoke from biomass-burning stoves, could activate host pathways involved in development of HPV-associated squamous cell cancers in resource-limited settings. Understanding interactions between these pathways with certain oncogenic HPV genotypes may guide implementation of strategies for control and treatment of HPV-associated cancers that develop in populations at high risk of exposure to various co-carcinogens

Health hazards of nitrite inhalants /

Proceedings of a meeting held in Rockville, Md. on March 31, 1987.Includes bibliographies.Mode of access: Internet

Sex of Interviewer, Place of Interview, and Responses of Homosexual Men to Sensitive Questions

Effects of sex of interviewer and place of interview on the responses of 57 AIDS patients and 145 other homosexual men were studied. Data on sensitive topics were collected by five male and three female medical officers at places convenient to respondents. Male physicians recorded fellatio more frequently, but female physicians recorded younger ages of initiating homosexual activities and more frequent use of certain recreational drugs. These differences apparently were due to different patterns of sexual contact and drug use in four cities. Patients with AIDS tended to be interviewed in hospitals and doctors\u27 offices, other men tended to be interviewed in hotel rooms, and patients tended to be different from other men. After adjustments were made for confounding, sex of interviewer and place of interview seemed to have little influence on the answers obtained