Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Etiology: Chemical and Physical Carcinogenesis pp 201–225Cite as

Epidemiologic Approach to Cancer

  • Chapter

  • 21 Accesses

Part of the book series: Cancer, A Comprehensive Treatise ((C))

Abstract

An agent (or agents) acts on a host to cause disease. All three of the elements of this interaction are only partially understood. Descriptions of these elements are limited by our science and indeed by our vocabulary. In the ideal model one agent acting on one host would cause one disease. In an attempt to approximate this model, we instead say this host will more often develop this disease if exposed to this agent than if not exposed. The agent or environment (i.e., many agents) may then be considered to be causally associated with this disease.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Abramson, J. H., Sacks, M. I., And Cahana, E., 1971, Death certificate data as an indication of the presence of certain common diseases at death, J. Chronic Dis. 24: 417–431.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alderson, M., And Donnan, S., 1978, Hysterectomy rates and their influence upon mortality from carcinoma of the cervix, J. Epidemiol. Community Health 32: 175–177.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Antunes, C. M. F., Stolley, P. D., Rosenshein, N. B., Davies, J. L., Tonascia, J. A., Brown, C., Burnett, L., Rutledge, A., Pokempner, M., And Garcia, R., 1979, Endometrial cancer and estrogen use: Report of a large case-control study, N. Engl. J. Med. 300: 9–13.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, F. W., And Robbins, S. L., 1972, An autopsy study of cancer patients. I. Accuracy of the clinical diagnoses (1955 to 1965) Boston City Hospital, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 221: 1471–1474.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Copeland, K. T., Checkoway, H., Mcmichael, A. J., And Holbrook, R. H., 1977, Bias due to misclassification in the estimation of relative risk, Am. J. Epidemiol. 105: 488–495.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, E. B., Laszlo, J., And Freiman, A., 1979, Classification of cancer patients beyond Tnm, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 242: 2691–2695.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Creech, J. L., JR., And Johnson, M. N., 1974, Angiosarcoma of liver in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride, J. Occup. Med. 16: 150–151.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cutler, S. J., And Young, J. L., JR. (eds.), 1975, Third National Cancer Survey: Incidence Data, Natl. Cancer Inst. Monogr. 41. 150–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Doll, R., And Hill, A. B., 1950, Smoking and carcinoma of the lung: Preliminary report, Br. Med. J. 2: 739–748.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doll, R., And Hill, A. B., 1952, A study of the aetiology of carcinoma of the lung, Br. Med. J. 2: 1271–1286.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doll, R., And Hill, A. B., 1956, Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking: A second report on the mortality of British doctors, Br. Med. J. 2: 1071–1081.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doll, R., And Peto, R., 1976, Mortality in relation to smoking: 20 years’ observations on male British doctors, Br. Med. J. 2: 1525–1536.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dorn, H. F., 1959, Some problems arising in prospective and retrospective studies of the etiology“ of disease, N. Engl. J. Med. 261: 571–579.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, J. E., JR., 1975, Cancer epidemiology in populations of the United States—with emphasis on Hawaii and California—and Japan, Cancer Res. 35: 3240–3245.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Erhardt, C. L., 1958, What is “the cause of death”?, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 168: 161–168.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Feinstein, A. R., 1968, Clinical epidemiology. Iii. The clinical design of statistics in therapy, Ann. Intern. Med. 69: 1287–1312.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feinstein, A. R., And Spitz, H., 1969, The epidemiology of cancer therapy. I. Clinical problems of statistical surveys, Arch. Intern. Med. 123: 171–186.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haenszel, W., And Kurihara, M., 1968, Studies of Japanese migrants. I. Mortality from cancer and other diseases among Japanese in the United States, J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 40: 43–68.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haenszel, W., Kurihara, M., Segi, M., And Lee, R. K. C., 1972, Stomach cancer among Japanese in Hawaii, J Natl. Cancer Inst. 49: 969–988.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, C. W., JR., Falk, H., And Creech, J. L., JR., 1975, Characteristics of cases of angiosarcoma of the liver among vinyl chloride workers in the United States, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 246: 231–236.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horwitz, R. I., And Feinstein, A. R., 1978, Alternative analytic methods for case-control studies of estrogens and endometrial cancer, N. Engl. J. Med. 299: 1089–1094.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim, M. A. (ed.), 1979, The case-control study: Consensus and controversy, J. Chronic Dis. 32:1–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inman, W. H. W., 1979, Comment, J. Chronic Dis. 32: 89–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janerich, D. T., Glebatis, D., Flink, E., And Hoff, M. B., 1979, Case-control studies on the effect of sex steroids on women and their offspring, J. Chronic Dis. 32: 83–88.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liavag, I., Harbitz, T. B., And Haugen, O. A., 1972, Latent carcinoma of the prostate, Recent Results Cancer Res. 39: 131–137.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, J. L., And Gardner, J. W., 1977, The rising frequency of hysterectomy: Its effect on uterine cancer rates, Am. J. EpidemioL 105: 439–443.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mack, T. M., Pike, M. C., Henderson, B. E., Pfeffer, R. I., Gerkins, V. R., Arthur, M., And Brown, S. E., 1976, Estrogens and endometrial cancer in a retirement community, N. Engl. J. Med 294: 1262–1267.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mcmichael, A. J., 1976, Standardized mortality ratios and the “healthy worker effect”: Scratching beneath the surface, J. Occup. Med. 18: 165–168.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mantel, N., And Haenszel, W., 1959, Statistical aspects of the analysis of data from retrospective studies of disease, J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 22: 719–748.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Penner, D. W., 1973, Quality control and quality evaluation in histopathology and cytology, Pathol. Annu. 8: 1–19.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Percy, C., And Dolman, A., 1978, Comparison of the coding of death certificates related to cancer in seven countries, Public Health Rep. 93: 335–350.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sackett, D. L., 1979, Bias in analytic research, J. Chronic Dis. 32: 51–63.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sartwell, P. E., 1974, Retrospective studies: A review for the clinician, Ann. Intern. Med. 81:381–386.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, S., 1979, Discussion, J. Chronic Dis. 32: 47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sissons, H. A., 1975, Agreement and disagreement between pathologists in histological diagnosis, Postgrad. Med. J. 51: 685–689.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. C., Prentice, R., Thompson, D. J., And Herrmann, W. L., 1975, Association of exogenous estrogen and endometrial carcinoma, N. Engl. J. Med. 293: 1164–1167.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stemmermann, G. N., 1977, Gastric cancer in the Hawaii Japanese, Gann 68: 525–535.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taeuber, C., 1978, Census, in: International Encyclopedia of Statistics ( W. H. Kruskal and J. M. Tanur, eds.), pp. 41–46, The Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vessey, M. P., 1979, Discussion, J. Chronic Dis. 32: 46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, A. M., And Jick, H., 1979, Temporal and regional variation in hysterectomy rates in the United States, 1970–1975, Am. J. Epidemiol. 110: 41–46.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walter, S. D., 1977, Determination of significant relative risks and optimal sampling procedures in prospective and retrospective comparative studies of various sizes, Am. J. Epidemiol. 105: 387–397.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waterhouse, J., Muir, C., Correa, P., And Powell, J., (eds.), 1976, Cancer Incidence in Five Continents, Iarc Scientific Publication 15, Lyon, France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, N. S., Szekely, D. R., English, D. R., And Schweid, A. I., 1979, Endometrial cancer in relation to patterns of menopausal estrogen use, J. Am. Med Assoc. 242: 261–264.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • White, K. L., Williams, T. F., And Greenberg, B. G., 1961, The ecology of medical care, N. Engl. J. Med. 265: 885–892.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Young, J. L., JR., Asire, A. J., And Pollack, E. S. (eds.), 1978, Seer Program: Cancer Incidence and Mortality in the United States 1973–1976, Dhew Publication No. (Nih) 78–1837, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelnik, M., 1964, Errors in the 1960 census enumeration of native whites, J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 59: 437–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziel, H. K., And Finkle, W. D., 1975, Increased risk of endometrial carcinoma among users of conjugated estrogens, N. Engl. J. Med. 293: 1167–1170.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Selected General References

  • Clarke, E. A., And Anderson, T. W., 1979, Does screening by “Pap” smears help prevent cervical cancer? A case-control study, Lancet 2: 1–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guzick, D. S., 1978, Efficacy of screening for cervical cancer: A review, Am. J. Public Health 68: 125–134.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johannesson, G., Geirsson, G., And Day, N., 1978, The effect of mass screening in Iceland, 1965–74, on the incidence and mortality of cervical carcinoma, Int. J. Cancer 21: 418–425.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, A. B., Lindsay, J., And Hill, G. B., 1976, Mortality from cancer of the uterus in Canada and its relationship to screening for cancer of the cervix, Int. J. Cancer 17: 602–612.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bailar, J. C., Iii, 1976, Mammography: A contrary view, Ann. Intern. Med. 84: 77–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, S., 1977, Evidence on screening for breast cancer from a randomized trial, Cancer 39: 2772–2782.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, R. E., 1980, Mammography in 1980: An historical perspective and present state of the art, Clin. Bull. 10: 3–12.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, G. D., Dales, L. G., And Ury, H. K., 1979, Mortality in middle-aged smokers and nonsmokers, N. Engl. J. Med. 300: 213–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammond, E. C., And Horn, D., 1958, Smoking and death rates—Report on forty-four months of follow-up of 187,783 men. II. Death rates by cause, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 166: 1294–1308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogot, E., And Murray, J. L., 1980, Smoking and causes of death among U.S. veterans: 16 years of observation, Public Health Rep. 95: 213–222.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wynder, E. L., And Graham, E. A., 1950, Tobacco smoking as a possible etiologic factor in bronchiogenic carcinoma: A study of six hundred and eighty-four proved cases, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 143: 329–336.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Court Brown, W. M., And Doll, R., 1965, Mortality from cancer and other causes after radiotherapy for ankylosing spondylitis, Br. Med. J. 2: 1327–1332.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martland, H. S., 1929, Occupational poisoning in manufacture of luminous watch dials: General review of hazard caused by ingestion of luminous paint, with especial reference to the New Jersey cases, J. Am. Med. Assoc. 92: 466–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martland, H. S., 1931, The occurrence of malignancy in radioactive persons: A general review of data gathered in the study of the radium dial painters, with special reference to the occurrence of osteogenic sarcoma and the inter-relationship of certain blood diseases, Am. J. Cancer 15:2435–2516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Refetoff, S., Harrison, J., Karanfilski, B. T., Kaplan, E. L., DE Groot, L. J., And Bekerman, C., 1975, Continuing occurrence of thyroid carcinoma after irradiation to the neck in infancy and childhood, N. Engl. J. Med. 292: 171–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharpe, W. D., 1978, The New Jersey radium dial painters: An occupational carcinogenesis, Bull. Hist. Med. 52: 560–570.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Socolow, E. L., Hashizume, A., Neriishi, S., And Niitani, R., 1963, Thyroid carcinoma in man after exposure to ionizing radiation: A summary of the findings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, N. Engl. J. Med. 268: 406–410.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, E. S., And Couves, C. M., 1977, Radiation-induced carcinoma of the lung—The St. Lawrence tragedy, J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 74: 495–498.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baumgarten, M., And Oseasohn, R., 1980, Studies on occupational health: A critique, J. Occup. Med. 22: 171–176.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Enterline, P. E., 1964, The estimation of expected rates in occupational disease epidemiology, Public Health Rep. 79: 973–978.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, G. M., And Enterline, P. E., 1979, A method for verifying the completeness of cohorts used in occupational mortality studies, J. Occup. Med. 21: 665–670.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, J., And Sabroe, S., 1979, Researching occupational mortality: The problem of comparison, Scand. J. Soc. Med. 7: 1–6.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fraumeni, J. F., JR. (ed.), 1975, Persons at High Risk of Cancer: An Approach to Cancer Etiology and Control, Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilienfeld, A. M., Pedersen, E., And Dowd, J. E., 1967, Cancer Epidemiology: Methods of Study, The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilienfeld, A. M., Levin, M. L., And Kessler, I. I., 1972, Cancer in the United States, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maclennan, R., Muir, C., Steinitz, R., And Winkler, A., 1978, Cancer Registration and Its Techniques, Iarc Scientific Publication 21, Lyon, France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macmahon, B., Pugh, T. F. And Ipsen, J., 1960, Epidemiologic Methods, Little, Brown, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, T. J., Mckay, F. W., Hoover, R., Blot, W. J., And Fraumeni, J. F., JR., 1976, Atlas of Cancer Mortality for U.S. Counties: 1950–1969, Dhew Publication No. (NI H) 75–780, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas System Cancer Center, M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, Houston, Texas, USA

    Vincent F. Guinee

Authors
  1. Vincent F. Guinee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomic and Research Pathology, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, University of Texas System Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA

    Frederick F. Becker

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1982 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Guinee, V.F. (1982). Epidemiologic Approach to Cancer. In: Becker, F.F. (eds) Etiology: Chemical and Physical Carcinogenesis. Cancer, A Comprehensive Treatise. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6598-7_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6598-7_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-6600-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-6598-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation