- Email: [email protected]
Occupational Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Cancer Registry-Based Study
0022-534 7/89/1414-1030$02.00/0
Vol. 141, April Printed in U.S.A.
THE JOURNAL OF UROLOGY
Copyright © 1989 by The Williams & Wilkins Co.
ABSTRACTS BENIGN AND MALIGNAN T NEOPLASMS OF THE PROST ATE Prediagnostic Serum Hormones and the Risk of Prostate Cancer A. NOMURA, L. K. HEILBRUN, G. N. STEMMERMANN AND H. L. JUDD, Japan-Hawaii Cancer Study, Kuakini Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Cancer Res., 48: 3515-3517, 1988 Serum samples were obtained from 6860 men during their study examination from 1971 to 1975. After a surveillance period of about 14 years, 98 incident cases of prostate cancer were identified. Their stored sera and that of 98 matched controls from the study population were tested for the following: testosterone, dihydrotestoster one, estrone, estradiol, and sex hormone globulin. There was a suggestion that serum dihydrotestoster one levels were lower and the testosterone/ dihydrotestoster one ratios were higher in the prostate cancer cases compared with their controls. However, none of these associations or that of the other hormones was strongly significant. Further work is needed to clarify the relationship between sex hormones and prostate cancer risk. Retrospective Cohort Mortality Study of Roman Catholic Priests S.D. KAPLAN,
SRI International, Menlo Park, California
Prev. Med., 17: 335-343, 1988 In order to test the hypothesis that Roman Catholic priests are at low risk for prostatic cancer because of their celibacy, a cohort of 10,026 men who were active or retired diocesan (parish) Roman Catholic priests in the United States on January 1, 1949 were followed until death, leaving the priesthood, or January 1, 1978. The overall standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 103 and the SMR for cancer of the prostate was 81. Other interesting findings include increased SMRs for cancer of the larynx (14 7), cirrhosis of the liver (14 7), and diabetes (182) and decreased SMRs for lung cancer (59), emphysema (26), and suicide (13).
observed for farmers, mechanics, sheet metal workers, separating machine operators, and for men employed in several manufacturing industries. These findings are discussed in the context of previous studies, and suggestions for future research are provided. Editorial Comment: Patients frequently ask what they can do to prevent prostatic cancer. To answer this important question more must be learned about the etiology of the second most common malignancy in men. In the past factors that have been implicated include endocrine function, sexual behavior, occupational exposure and diet. Although some investigations have implicated either high or low androgen levels in the etiology of prostatic cancer, the careful study of Nomura and associates failed to reveal a significant association between plasma androgens or estrogens and the late development of prostatic cancer. Prior studies of celibate men have suggested that they also had either a higher or lower frequency of prostatic cancer. Kaplan studied 10,000 Roman Catholic priests and found a relative trend toward lower rates of prostatic cancer. Despite the large number of patients in this study the findings did not reach statistical significance. However, based upon this study it would be hard to believe that celibacy leads to a higher risk of prostatic cancer. Brownson and associates investigated other occupational risks associated with prostatic cancer and found an increased relative risk for farmers, mechanics, sheet metal workers, separating machine operators and men employed in several manufacturing industries. They suggested that the increased risk in farmers may be associated with exposure to agricultural chemicals, and that the risk in repair workers may be related to exposure to automobile exhaust fumes and possibly cadmium. This study confirms the work of several others demonstrating a higher risk of prostatic cancer in farmers and mechanics. This information was new to me. Patrick C. Walsh, M.D. Prostate Cancer: Comparison of Transrectal US and Digital Rectal Examination for Screening
F. Occupational Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Cancer Registry-Based Study R. DAVIS AND J. R. BAGBY, R. C. BROWNSON, J. C. JR., Bureau of Cancer Epidemiology and Control, Missouri Department of Health, Columbia, and Division of Environmental Health and Epdemiology, Missouri Department of Health, Jefferson City, Missouri CHANG, J.
J. Occup. Med., 30: 523-526, 1988 Previous studies have suggested that certain occupational groups may be at increased risk for prostate cancer. A cancer registry-based case-control study was conducted to investigate possible associations between various occupations and the risk of prostate cancer among 1,239 case subjects and 3, 717 agematched control subjects. Elevated relative risk estimates were
P.
s.
c.
METTLIN, T. TORP-PEDERSEN , J. LITTRUP, McHuGH, J. M. GRAY, G. H. KuMASAKA AND R. D. McLEARY, Departments of Radiology, Urology and Pathology, LEE,
T. A.
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Department of Radiology, New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and Department of Cancer Control and Epidemiology, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, New York Radiology, 168: 389-394, 1988 The authors examined 784 self-referred men over age 60 years to compare clinical usefulness of transrectal ultrasound (US) and digital rectal examination in a screening program for prostate cancer. Biopsy was performed in 77 cases, 83% (64 of 77) for abnormalities detected with transrectal US and 38% (29 of 77) because of findings at digital examination. Twenty-two cancers were detected, 20 with transrectal US and ten at digital examination. Overall detection rate for prostate cancer with
Vol. 141, April Printed in U.S.A.
THE JOURNAL OF UROLOGY
Copyright © 1989 by The Williams & Wilkins Co.
ABSTRACTS BENIGN AND MALIGNAN T NEOPLASMS OF THE PROST ATE Prediagnostic Serum Hormones and the Risk of Prostate Cancer A. NOMURA, L. K. HEILBRUN, G. N. STEMMERMANN AND H. L. JUDD, Japan-Hawaii Cancer Study, Kuakini Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Cancer Res., 48: 3515-3517, 1988 Serum samples were obtained from 6860 men during their study examination from 1971 to 1975. After a surveillance period of about 14 years, 98 incident cases of prostate cancer were identified. Their stored sera and that of 98 matched controls from the study population were tested for the following: testosterone, dihydrotestoster one, estrone, estradiol, and sex hormone globulin. There was a suggestion that serum dihydrotestoster one levels were lower and the testosterone/ dihydrotestoster one ratios were higher in the prostate cancer cases compared with their controls. However, none of these associations or that of the other hormones was strongly significant. Further work is needed to clarify the relationship between sex hormones and prostate cancer risk. Retrospective Cohort Mortality Study of Roman Catholic Priests S.D. KAPLAN,
SRI International, Menlo Park, California
Prev. Med., 17: 335-343, 1988 In order to test the hypothesis that Roman Catholic priests are at low risk for prostatic cancer because of their celibacy, a cohort of 10,026 men who were active or retired diocesan (parish) Roman Catholic priests in the United States on January 1, 1949 were followed until death, leaving the priesthood, or January 1, 1978. The overall standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 103 and the SMR for cancer of the prostate was 81. Other interesting findings include increased SMRs for cancer of the larynx (14 7), cirrhosis of the liver (14 7), and diabetes (182) and decreased SMRs for lung cancer (59), emphysema (26), and suicide (13).
observed for farmers, mechanics, sheet metal workers, separating machine operators, and for men employed in several manufacturing industries. These findings are discussed in the context of previous studies, and suggestions for future research are provided. Editorial Comment: Patients frequently ask what they can do to prevent prostatic cancer. To answer this important question more must be learned about the etiology of the second most common malignancy in men. In the past factors that have been implicated include endocrine function, sexual behavior, occupational exposure and diet. Although some investigations have implicated either high or low androgen levels in the etiology of prostatic cancer, the careful study of Nomura and associates failed to reveal a significant association between plasma androgens or estrogens and the late development of prostatic cancer. Prior studies of celibate men have suggested that they also had either a higher or lower frequency of prostatic cancer. Kaplan studied 10,000 Roman Catholic priests and found a relative trend toward lower rates of prostatic cancer. Despite the large number of patients in this study the findings did not reach statistical significance. However, based upon this study it would be hard to believe that celibacy leads to a higher risk of prostatic cancer. Brownson and associates investigated other occupational risks associated with prostatic cancer and found an increased relative risk for farmers, mechanics, sheet metal workers, separating machine operators and men employed in several manufacturing industries. They suggested that the increased risk in farmers may be associated with exposure to agricultural chemicals, and that the risk in repair workers may be related to exposure to automobile exhaust fumes and possibly cadmium. This study confirms the work of several others demonstrating a higher risk of prostatic cancer in farmers and mechanics. This information was new to me. Patrick C. Walsh, M.D. Prostate Cancer: Comparison of Transrectal US and Digital Rectal Examination for Screening
F. Occupational Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Cancer Registry-Based Study R. DAVIS AND J. R. BAGBY, R. C. BROWNSON, J. C. JR., Bureau of Cancer Epidemiology and Control, Missouri Department of Health, Columbia, and Division of Environmental Health and Epdemiology, Missouri Department of Health, Jefferson City, Missouri CHANG, J.
J. Occup. Med., 30: 523-526, 1988 Previous studies have suggested that certain occupational groups may be at increased risk for prostate cancer. A cancer registry-based case-control study was conducted to investigate possible associations between various occupations and the risk of prostate cancer among 1,239 case subjects and 3, 717 agematched control subjects. Elevated relative risk estimates were
P.
s.
c.
METTLIN, T. TORP-PEDERSEN , J. LITTRUP, McHuGH, J. M. GRAY, G. H. KuMASAKA AND R. D. McLEARY, Departments of Radiology, Urology and Pathology, LEE,
T. A.
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Department of Radiology, New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and Department of Cancer Control and Epidemiology, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, New York Radiology, 168: 389-394, 1988 The authors examined 784 self-referred men over age 60 years to compare clinical usefulness of transrectal ultrasound (US) and digital rectal examination in a screening program for prostate cancer. Biopsy was performed in 77 cases, 83% (64 of 77) for abnormalities detected with transrectal US and 38% (29 of 77) because of findings at digital examination. Twenty-two cancers were detected, 20 with transrectal US and ten at digital examination. Overall detection rate for prostate cancer with