TABLE C.1 Description of Case-Control Studies of All Selected Cancers as Related to Exposure to Asbestos
Referencea |
Population |
Number of Casesb |
Ahrens et al. 1991 |
Male laryngeal-cancer cases identified in one hospital in Bremen, Germany, in 1986 with histologic confirmation; male controls with nonneoplastic disease selected from same hospital and matched on age and residence |
100 laryngeal |
Berrino et al. 2003 |
Male cases of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer, less than 55 yr old, diagnosed in six European centers in 1979-1982 with histologic confirmation; controls selected from census lists, electoral rolls, or population registries and matched for sex and age |
215 laryngeal and 100 hypopharyngeal |
Brown et al. 1988 |
White, male laryngeal-cancer cases, 30-79 yr old, diagnosed in 56 hospitals along Gulf Coast of Texas in 1975-1980; controls selected through Texas Department of Health mortality tapes, drivers license records, HCFA-provided Medicare records, and matched on age, vital status, ethnicity, county of residence |
183 laryngeal |
Burch et al. 1981 |
Laryngeal cancer cases diagnosed in southern Ontario in 1977-1979; neighborhood controls matched on sex, age |
204 laryngeal (184 men and 20 women) |
Number of Controlsb |
Relevant Exposures |
Exposure Assessment |
Analysis; Adjustment for Potential Confounders |
100 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire covering lifetime occupational history with exposure checklist |
Unconditional logistic regression; smoking, alcohol consumption, age |
819 |
Asbestos |
Interview with standardized questionnaire assessing jobs held at least 1 year; job titles coded; panel of industrial hygienists and occupational physicians assessed probabilities of exposure to specific agents |
Unconditional logistic regression; study centre, age, tobacco-smoking, consumption of alcohol, SES, dietary variables, other agents; Boffetta et al. (2003) analyzed same study population in terms of occupation and industry |
250 |
Asbestos |
Interview (self-reports or proxy) assessing lifetime occupational and residential histories, lifestyle factors, demographic characteristics; industrial hygienist classified job titles for exposure to specific agents |
Logistic regression; cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption |
204 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational history and lifestyle factors; self-reported agents and occupational epidemiologist classification |
Discordant pairs, RR; smoking |
Referencea |
Population |
Number of Casesb |
Cocco et al. 1994 |
Male gastric cancer cases, 35-74 yr old, diagnosed and histologically confirmed in 1985-1987 in four areas of Italy; population controls randomly selected and matched for gender and age |
640 gastric |
De Stefani et al. 1998 |
Male laryngeal-cancer cases, 30-75 yr old, diagnosed in five hospitals in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1993-1995; cancer controls selected from same hospitals and timeframe |
112 laryngeal |
Demers et al. 1994 |
Colon and rectum cancer cases, 40-84 yr-old white males, diagnosed in 1984-1987 through the Metropolitan Detroit Cancer Surveillance System (SEER); controls selected through RDD |
261 colon and rectum |
Dietz et al. 2004 |
Laryngeal cancer cases diagnosed at the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery university hospitals of Heidelberg and Manheim and town hospitals of Ludwigshafen, Darmstadt and Heilbronn, Germany, in 1998-2000; population controls selected from local registries and matched on sex and age |
257 laryngeal (236 men and 21 women) |
Dumas et al. 2000 |
Male rectal cancer cases, 35-70 yr old, diagnosed in 19 large Montreal-area hospitals in 1979-1985 and histologically confirmed for one of 19 cancer sites; frequency-matched by approximate age, population-based controls also chosen from electoral lists, RDD |
257 rectal |
Number of Controlsb |
Relevant Exposures |
Exposure Assessment |
Analysis; Adjustment for Potential Confounders |
959 |
Asbestos |
Interview assessing work histories (job title and duration); jobs coded and JEM applied for six specific agents |
Logistic regression; age, study area, residence type, migration, family gastric cancer history, quetelet index, total caloric, protein, and vitamin C intake |
509 (for asbestos analysis, 352 excluding subjects with colorectal cancer) |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational histories and exposure to specific agents |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, residence, education, income, tobacco-smoking and type, alcohol consumption |
183 |
Asbestos |
Telephone interview assessing lifetime work, medical, and lifestyle histories; occupations and industries coded and assigned likelihoods of asbestos exposure |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, smoking |
769 (702 men and 67 women) |
|
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational history, tobacco and alcohol use; quantification using job-specific supplementary questionnaires validated for asbestos |
Conditional logistic regression; age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption |
1,295 cancer, 533 population |
Chrysotile; amphiboles |
In-person interviews with specific question on details of each job subject had; analyzed and coded by team of chemists and industrial hygienists (about 300 exposures) on semi-quantitative scale |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, education, respondent status, cigarette-smoking, beer consumption, BMI |
Referencea |
Population |
Number of Casesb |
Ekstrom et al. 1999 |
Gastric cancer cases, 40-79 yr old, residing in one of five counties, born in Sweden, and diagnosed in 1989-1995, identified and histologically confirmed by participating clinicians from all hospitals in the study area; controls randomly selected from the population register |
565 gastric |
Elci et al. 2002 |
Male laryngeal-cancer cases diagnosed in Oncology Treatment Center of Social Security Agency Okmeydani Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1979-1984 with histologic confirmation; controls selected from same hospital, timeframe among cases of HD, cancers of skin (nonmelanoma), testis, bone, male breast as well as benign lesions |
940 laryngeal |
Fredriksson et al. 1989 |
Colon cancer cases, 30-75 yr old, identified through the Swedish Cancer Registry among patients diagnosed in 1980-1983; cases resident of the Umea region and alive during the study’s data collection; randomly selected population controls from the National Population Register frequency-matched on age, sex |
329 colon (165 men and 164 women) |
Garabrant et al. 1992 |
English-speaking, white, male cases of colon cancer, 45-70 yr old, diagnosed in 1983-1986, and identified through the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program; neighborhood controls matched on gender and date of birth |
419 colon |
Gerhardsson de Verdier et al. 1992 |
Colorectal-cancer cases identified through local hospitals and Regional Cancer Registry in Stockholm, Sweden in 1986-1988; cases histologically confirmed and subjects limited to those born in Sweden in 1907-1946 and lived half their lives there; population controls randomly selected from Stockholm County population registry |
352 colon (163 men and 189 women); 217 rectal (107 men and 110 women) |
Number of Controlsb |
Relevant Exposures |
Exposure Assessment |
Analysis; Adjustment for Potential Confounders |
1,164 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with professional interviewer; occupational epidemiologists to assess type of exposure and duration from self-reports of exposure and job titles |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, sex |
1,519 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational history, tobacco and alcohol use; industrial hygienist performed JEM exposure assignments |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, smoking, alcohol consumption |
658 (330 men and 328 women) |
Asbestos |
Mailed questionnaire assessing occupational history (job titles); telephone interviews followed if necessary; exposure to high or low grade of asbestos independently coded by two physicians and one hygienist |
Mantel-Haenszel; age, sex, physical activity |
419 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaires assessing past 30 years of occupational exposures, physical activity and weight, medical history, family cancer history, and a modified Semiquantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire |
Conditional logistic regression; family history of large bowel cancer, total caloric intake, carbohydrates, calcium, weight, and physical activity |
512 (236 men and 276 women) |
Asbestos |
Questionnaire administered in person or through mail with follow-up telephone survey; exposure to list of chemicals or employment in specified occupations determined |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, sex, nutritional intake markers, BMI, physical activity, family history of colorectal cancer |
Referencea |
Population |
Number of Casesb |
Goldberg et al. 2001 |
Male cases and controls, 35-70 yr old, diagnosed in 19 large Montreal-area hospitals in 1979-1985 and histologically confirmed for one of 19 cancer sites; frequency-matched by approximate age; population-based controls also chosen from electoral lists and with RDD |
497 colon |
Gustavsson et al. 1998 |
Oral-cavity, oro- and hypopharyngeal-, laryngeal-, and esophageal-cancer cases among all Swedish men, 40-79 yr old, residing in two regions with reporting from departments of oncology and surgery in 1988-1990; controls randomly selected from population registers and matched on age, region |
545 total, including: 138 pharyngeal, 157 laryngeal, 122 esophageal |
Hardell 1981 |
Men from Umea region, 25-85 yr old, diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of colon reported to Swedish Cancer Registry 1978-1979; controls from Umea region assembled for two previous studies were used as referents |
154 colon |
Hillerdal 1980 |
Male gastrointestinal cancer cases diagnosed in Uppsala county in 1968-1972 obtained through the Swedish Cancer Registry with chest x-rays retrieved through the General Health Survey; controls selected 3:1 based on age, sex, and year of x-ray |
386 total (21 esophagus, 148 stomach, 8 small intestine, 108 large intestine, and 101 rectum) |
Hinds et al. 1979 |
White, male laryngeal cancer cases diagnosed in 3 counties of Washington through the Cancer Surveillance System in 1976-1977; neighborhood controls matched on sex, race, age |
47 laryngeal |
Krstev et al. 2005 |
Stomach cancer cases, 21-79 yr old, diagnosed at 22 hospitals and eight endoscopic centers in Warsaw, Poland, in 1994-1996; controls randomly selected from an electronic registry and matched on gender and age |
443 stomach (285 men and 158 women) |
Number of Controlsb |
Relevant Exposures |
Exposure Assessment |
Analysis; Adjustment for Potential Confounders |
1,514 cancer, 533 population |
Asbestos |
In-person interviews with specific question on detail of each job subject had; analyzed and coded by team of chemists and industrial hygienists (about 300 exposures) on semi-quantitative scale |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, respondent status, ethnicity, non-occupational factors (such as cigarette-smoking, alcohol consumption) |
641 |
Asbestos |
Interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifestyle and environmental factors; occupational hygienist assigned exposure intensity, probability to 17 specific occupational exposures |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, region, alcohol consumption, tobacco-smoking |
541 |
Asbestos |
Responses to mailed questionnaire on work history, chemical exposures, and lifestyle factors interpreted to determine ever-never status for asbestos exposure. |
Mantel-Haenszel analysis stratified on age and urban vs rural residence |
1,158 |
Asbestos |
Evidence of pleural plaques on chest x-rays regarded as indirect proof of asbestos exposure |
Standardized incidence ratio (observed/ expected) |
47 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview (or next-of-kin for deceased) with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational history and lifestyle factors |
Matched pairs, RR |
479 (313 men and 166 women) |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessed lifetime occupational history and exposure to numerous specific agents |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, education, smoking, lifetime number of jobs held |
Referencea |
Population |
Number of Casesb |
Luce et al. 2000 |
Cases of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer identified from the Cancer Registry of New Caledonia in 1993-1995 among residents living there at least 5 years and 18 years old; population controls selected from electoral rolls and matched on sex and age |
23 larynx (20 men and 3 women); 5 hypopharynx |
Marchand et al. 2000 |
Male cases of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer diagnosed in 15 hospitals in six cities in France in 1989-1991; hospital, cancer controls selected |
315 laryngeal 206 hypopharyngeal |
Merletti et al. 1991 |
Male oral- and oropharyngeal cancer cases, 26-92 yr old, diagnosed in Turin, Italy, in 1982- 1984; controls selected randomly from resident files, stratified by age, sex |
86 oral cavity or oropharyngeal (12 specifically oropharyngeal) |
Muscat and Wynder 1992 |
White, male laryngeal cancer cases diagnosed and histologcally confirmed at eight hospitals in New York, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in 1985-1990; hospital controls randomly selected and matched on hospital, age, and year of interview |
194 laryngeal |
Neugut et al. 1991 |
Colorectal cancer cases among males, 35-84 yr old, undergoing colonoscopy in three NYC medical centers in 1986-1988; colonoscopy controls free of invasive colon carcinomas, inflammatory bowel disease, or colon polyps |
51 colorectal |
Number of Controlsb |
Relevant Exposures |
Exposure Assessment |
Analysis; Adjustment for Potential Confounders |
305 total (matched also to 228 lung cancer cases, etc.) |
Pö, a whitewash containing tremolite asbestos |
In-person (or next-of-kin for deceased) interview with standardized questionnaire assessed lifetime occupational and lifestyle history and residence in whitewashed houses |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, ethnicity, smoking, alcohol |
305 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational history, tobacco and alcohol use; JEM exposure assignments |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, smoking, alcohol consumption; Goldberg et al. (1997) analyzed same study population in terms of occupation and industry, while Menvielle et al. (2004) analyzed the occupational information from an SES perspective |
373 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational history; job titles coded; industrial hygienists applied JEM to determine exposures to 13 agents |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, education, birthplace, tobacco-smoking, alcohol consumption |
184 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview assessed occupational history and exposure to specific agents; occupation and exposure linkage system applied to determine exposure probability and intensity |
Multiple logistic regression; age, education, smoking, alcohol, quetelet index |
195 |
Asbestos |
Telephone interview or mailed questionnaire assessed self-reported exposure to asbestos with occupational history used as verification |
Multiple logistic regression; age |
Referencea |
Population |
Number of Casesb |
Olsen and Sabroe 1984 |
Laryngeal cancer cases, less than 75 yr old, diagnosed in 1980-1982 through five department of oncology in Denmark; population controls matched 4:1 through municipal registries and matched on sex, age |
326 laryngeal (276 men and 50 women) |
Parent et al. 1998 |
Male cases and controls, 35-70 yr old, diagnosed in 19 large Montreal-area hospitals in 1979-1985 and histologically confirmed for one of 19 cancer sites; frequency-matched by approximate age; population-based controls also chosen from electoral lists and with RDD |
250 stomach |
Parent et al. 2000 |
Male cases and controls, 35-70 yr old, diagnosed in 19 large Montreal-area hospitals in 1979-1985 and histologically confirmed for one of 19 cancer sites; frequency-matched by approximate age; population- based controls also chosen from electoral lists and with RDD |
99 esophageal (63 squamous-cell carcinoma, 23 adenocarcinomas, and 13 uncertain morphology) |
Shettigara and Morgan 1975 |
Male cases of laryngeal cancer diagnosed at Toronto General Hospital and resident of metropolitan Toronto in 1974; neighborhood controls matched on sex and age |
43 laryngeal |
Spiegelman and Wegman 1985 |
Cases of colon and rectal cancer and cancer controls selected from sample of Third National Cancer Survey of incident cancers in seven US metropolitan areas and two states in 1969-1971; digestive and occupationally associated cancers (respiratory, urinary, bone, skin, buccal, pharyngeal, leukemia) excluded from controls |
370 colon (218 men and 152 women); 175 rectal (119 men and 56 women); 8 large intestine (6 men and 2 women) |
Stell and McGill 1973 |
Male laryngeal cancer cases diagnosed consecutively in one Liverpool hospital; hospital controls matched on age |
100 laryngeal |
Number of Controlsb |
Relevant Exposures |
Exposure Assessment |
Analysis; Adjustment for Potential Confounders |
1,134 (971 men and 163 women) |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational and lifestyle histories, exposure to specific agents |
Logistic regression; age, tobacco, alcohol consumption, sex |
2,289 cancer, 533 population |
Chrysotile asbestos, amphibole asbestos |
In-person interviews with specific question on detail of each job subject had; analyzed, coded by team of chemists and industrial hygienists (about 300 exposures) on semi-quantitative scale |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, respondent status, birthplace, education, cigarette-smoking |
2,299 cancer, 533 population |
Asbestos |
In-person interviews with specific question on detail of each job subject had; analyzed, coded by team of chemists and industrial hygienists (about 300 exposures) on semi-quantitative scale |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, respondent status, birthplace, educational level, beer consumption, spirits consumption, β-carotene index, cigarette-smoking (length, pattern) |
43 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing age at first exposure and duration of exposure to asbestos and other agents |
Discordant pairs |
1,861 total (626 men and 1,245 women) |
Asbestos |
Interviews conducted on primary, secondary occupations, industries, duration; exposure assignment according to NIOSH National Occupational Hazard Survey protocol |
Logistic regression; age, race, marital status, region, income group, educational level, body mass, nutritional scores |
100 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with questionnaire assessing occupational history |
Chi-square |
Referencea |
Population |
Number of Casesb |
Vineis et al. 1993 |
Colon cancer cases diagnosed in 1990-1991 at the Main Hospital of Torino, Italy; controls selected from a 10% sample of patients with nontraumatic conditions in 1989-1990 |
131 colon (74 men and 57 women) |
Wortley et al. 1992 |
Laryngeal cancer cases, 20-74 yr old, identified through the Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (SEER participant) in Seattle of western Washington residents in 1983-1987; controls selected through RDD and matched on age and sex |
235 laryngeal |
Zagraniski et al. 1986 |
White, male cases of laryngeal cancer diagnosed in two New Haven hospitals in 1975-1980; white, male general surgery controls |
87 laryngeal |
Zheng et al. 1992a |
Oral- and pharyngeal-cancer cases, 20-75 yr old, identified through population-based cancer registry as newly diagnosed in 1988-1990; controls randomly selected from Shanghai Resident Registry, matched on age, sex |
204 oral or pharyngeal (115 men and 89 women) |
Zheng et al. 1992b |
Laryngeal cancer cases, 20-75 yr old, identified through population-based cancer registry as newly diagnosed in 1988-1990; controls randomly selected from Shanghai Resident Registry, matched on age, sex |
201 laryngeal (177 men and 24 women) |
NOTE: BMI = body mass index; HCFA = Health Care Financing Administration; HD = Hodgkin’s disease; JEM = job exposure matrix; NIOSH = National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; OR = odds ratio; RDD = random-digit dialing; SES = socio-economic status. aFull citations can be found in the reference list for Chapter 6. bNumber of cases and controls with information necessary for analysis (as used in this report’s meta-analyses and reported in tables in Appendix E) may have been less. |
Number of Controlsb |
Relevant Exposures |
Exposure Assessment |
Analysis; Adjustment for Potential Confounders |
463 (254 men and 209 women) |
Jobs with potential exposure to asbestos |
Self-reported job titles coded and selected as exposed for: stone cutter, mechanic or pipes and boilers, pipefitter, steamfitter, boilermaker, mechanic at heating company, and pipe installer |
Mantel-Haenszel OR; age |
547 |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational history; industrial hygienists performed JEM exposure assignments |
Multiple logistic regression; smoking, drinking, age, education |
153 |
Asbestos work |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifetime occupational history and lifestyle factors |
Condition logistic regression; tobacco, alcohol consumption |
414 (269 men and 145 women) |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifestyle factors and occupational exposures |
Chi-squared test |
414 (269 men and 145 women) |
Asbestos |
In-person interview with standardized questionnaire assessing lifestyle factors |
Unconditional logistic regression; age, smoking, education |