Lung cancer among Chinese women

A case-control study involving interviews with 672 female lung cancer patients and 735 population-based controls was conducted to investigate the high rates of lung cancer, notably adenocarcinoma, among women in Shanghai. Cigarette smoking was a strong risk factor, but accounted for only about one-fourth of all newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer. Most patients, particularly with adenocarcinoma, were life-long non-smokers. The risks of lung cancer were higher among women reporting tuberculosis and other pre-existing lung diseases. Hormonal factors were suggested by an increased risk associated with late menopause and by a gradient in the risk of adenocarcinoma with decreasing menstrual cycle length, with a 3-fold excess among women who had shorter cycles. Perhaps most intriguing were associations found between lung cancer and measures of exposure to cooking oil vapors. Risks increased with the numbers of meals cooked by either stir frying, deep frying or boiling; with the frequency of smokiness during cooking; and with the frequency of eye irritation during cooking. Use of rapeseed oil, whose volatiles following high-temperature cooking may be mutagenic, was also reported more often by the cancer patients. The findings thus confirm that factors other than smoking are responsible for the high risk of lung cancer among Chinese women and provide clues for further research, including the assessment of cooking practices.

Decreased risk of lung cancer in the cotton textile industry of Shanghai

The relationship between lung cancer risk and work in the cotton textile industry was investigated in a large population-based case-control study in urban Shanghai, where the industry is a major employer of men and women. Personal interviews obtained occupational, smoking, and other information from 1405 newly diagnosed lung cancer cases and 1495 controls. A significantly low risk of lung cancer was associated with cotton textile employment [odds ratio (OR) = 0.7,95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.6-0.9]. In men, the decreased risk was observed among both smokers (OR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.5-1.1) and nonsmokers (OR = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.1-1.0). In women, the risk was also decreased regardless of smoking status (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.4-1.6 among smokers; OR = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.6-1.2 among nonsmokers). In both sexes, the reductions in risk tended to be greater for lung cancer cell types other than adenocarcinoma. Low risks were found regardless of occupations within the cotton textile industry; the OR for workers in textile processing who potentially had greater dust exposure was 0.8 (95% CI = 0.6-1.2), whereas the OR for those in other industry jobs was 0.7 (95% CI = 0.4-1.0). There was little difference in risk according to self-reported exposure to textile dust, and no clear trend with duration of employment or dust exposure. Reasons for the reduced risk of lung cancer in cotton textile workers without a dose response are unclear, although several methodological explanations were considered. The findings, however, appear consistent with prior epidemiological studies and are interesting in light of speculation about tumor-inhibitory factors, such as bacterial endotoxins, that are found in dusts from cotton and other fiber crops.

Chloramphenicol use and childhood leukaemia in Shanghai

A population-based case-control interview study of 309 childhood leukaemia cases and 618 age and sex matched controls showed a significant dose-response relation between chloramphenicol and risk of both acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) and acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia (ANLL), treatment for more than 10 days being associated with risks of 11.0 and 12.0, respectively. A significant risk of ANLL was also observed with the use of syntomycin, a drug pharmacologically related to chloramphenicol. The risks remained high when analyses were limited to either first or latest use of these antibiotics more than 2 years before diagnosis. Although the association may have non-causal explanations, the results warrant cautious prescribing patterns and further investigations into the leukaemogenic potential of chloramphenicol.

Lung cancer and prior tuberculosis infection in Shanghai

In a population-based case-control study of lung cancer in Shanghai involving interviews during 1984-86 with 1,405 cancer patients and 1,495 controls, a significant 50% elevation in the risk of lung cancer, adjusted for cigarette smoking, was observed among persons who had a history of tuberculosis. Among those diagnosed with tuberculosis within the past 20 years, the risk exceeded 2.5-fold. In males the lung cancers tended to occur on the same side as the previous tuberculosis infection. For both sexes, the effect of recent tuberculosis was most apparent for adenocarcinoma and peripheral tumours. No relationship was found between lung cancer risk and the type of tuberculosis therapy, including use of isoniazid. The findings suggest that tuberculosis may predispose to lung cancer, with the association most apparent among recent survivors of the infection.

Lung cancer in women living in the Pacific Basin area

We compared recent incidence rates for lung cancer in females among several regions in the Pacific Basin, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Miyagi, Hawaii, and Los Angeles, by ethnic group using data from the population-based registry in each area. The rates were high among whites and Hawaiians, intermediate in Chinese, and low in Japanese regardless of area. The risk of lung cancer among females who smoke relative to that in female nonsmokers varied from 1 ethnic group to another as did the proportion of smokers in the populations studied. Most of the interethnic differences in lung cancer incidence rates could be explained by differences in smoking patterns. The estimated annual incidence rate for lung cancer in females after subtraction of the proportion of the incidence due to smoking was 7.5/100,000 population in every ethnic group except the Chinese (15-20/100,000 population). Most of the residual incidences of lung cancer were adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Controlled release effect of insecticide microcapsules and their results in common household insect pest control

Since 1978 we have prepared microencapsulated insecticides by complex coacervation and interfacial polymerization for household insect pest control, fenthion being the main core element. A series of tests have been conducted against mosquitoes (Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus), cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) and bedbugs (Cimex lectularius), and the results indicate that microencapsulation can prolong persistent effects by 2-12 times, enhance safety and subdue offensive odour. Furthermore, the production cost is comparatively low.

Cancer mortality in Shanghai during the period 1963-77

In Shanghai a population-based Cancer Registry has been in operation since 1963 covering the urban area, with total population of about 5.6 million. In this report methods of collecting cancer deaths and population data are described in detail, and cancer mortality data for the period 1963-77 presented. The main fatal cancers were those of stomach, lung, liver, oesophagus and colon-rectum; among females, in addition there were cancers of uterus and breast. During the 15-year period a rapid increase in cancer-mortality rate was seen for lung, colon-rectum, pancreas in both sexes, and for bladder in males. A notable decrease in mortality rate for cancer of the uterus (mainly for cancer of cervix uteri) occurred.

Incidence of childhood leukemia in shanghai

Data of the Shanghai Tumor Registry were examined for incidence rates of leukemia among children, ages 0-14 years. Between 1972 and 1978, leukemia developed in 344 children; 175 (52%) had acute lymphocytic leukemia. The incidence rates were 4.5 per 100,000 boys and 3.3 per 100,000 girls. The incidence of leukemia peaked between 2 and 7 years of age.