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Biomedical subjects

B J Stone

Publications and source records attributed to B J Stone.

65 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Respiratory cancer among copper smelter workers: recent mortality statistics.

A survey of mortality among copper smelter workers in the western United States revealed that a respiratory cancer excess previously observed during the period 1938 through 1963 continued from 1964 through 1977. When analyzed in relation to smelter employment prior to 1964, the recent increase in respiratory cancer was linked to work in plant areas where airborne arsenic concentrations were elevated and to a cumulative arsenic exposure index, although some excess risk was also associated with long-term employment in jobs with limited exposures to arsenic. The arsenic-related excess remained after adjustment for work in areas of the plant with elevated concentrations of sulphur dioxide, which was not found to have an independent influence upon cancer risk. Increased rates for nonmalignant respiratory disease were also observed, but were not significantly associated with arsenic exposure.

Age Factors↗

Thyroid cancer in Connecticut, 1935-1975: an analysis by cell type.

Incidence data from the Connecticut Tumor Registry for the years 1935-1975 were examined for changing patterns in the rates of thyroid cancer and its four major cell types. Both males and females exhibited a 5-fold increase in age-adjusted thyroid cancer rates over the 41 years, with a nearly constant female:male ratio of 3:1. Papillary and follicular carcinomas were the cell types responsible for the upward trend. Birth cohort analysis revealed cohort effects, especially for females with papillary carcinoma. Age-specific incidence curves for the cohorts born after 1910 showed progressive increases in slope until the 1960 cohort, when the slope decreased. This pattern coincides with the widespread use of radiation therapy for benign conditions of the head and neck among children and adolescents from the early 1920s to the late 1950s. Fitting a logistic model to these data produced relative risks for successive birth cohorts which were consistent with the effects of radiation exposure.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Geographic correlates of pancreas cancer in the United States.

Age-adjusted death rates for pancreas cancer during 1950--69 were correlated by sex and race with demographic and industrial data for the 3,056 counties of the contiguous United States. Only a small fraction of the county-to-county variation in mortality was explained by these variables, in contrast to their strong correlation with other common neoplasms. The only geographic cluster occurred in an area encompassing parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Throughout the country, however, the rates for pancreas cancer were higher in urban areas, especially in males, and in counties with many residents of Scandinavian and East European (particularly Russian) descent. No associations were found with socioeconomic, industrial, or alcohol-consumption indices. The mortality patterns for pancreas and lung cancers were highly correlated in males, suggesting the influence of tobacco consumption on both tumors. In females, pancreas cancer was significantly correlated with diabetes mellitus, consistent with other evidence linking these two diseases.

Adult↗

Geographic patterns of industry in the United States. An aid to the study of occupational disease.

The geographic location of 18 major manufacturing industries within the United States is illustrated by a series of computer-generated county maps. The metal and machinery industries, the two largest employers, an the transportation and rubber industries are concentrated in the northeastern quadrant of the United States, while most counties with textile, apparel, tobacco, and furniture manufacturing are in the South. Other industries had different patterns. The counties where industry was concentrated tended to be more urban and to have higher levels of income and education. The maps and associated demographic data on industrial counties may prove a useful adjunct to county maps illustrating mortality patterns for cancer and other diseases. Despite obvious limitations, the visual patterns and correlation analyses may help to generate and formulate hypothese concerning occupationally induced diease.

Geography↗

Cancer mortality in U.S. counties with petroleum industries.

A survey of cancer mortality from 1950 to 1969 was conducted in U.S. counties where the petroleum industry is most heavily concentrated. Male residents of these counties experienced significantly higher rates for cancers of the lung, the nasal cavity and sinuses, and the skin (including malignant melanoma) compared to male residents of counties with similar demographic characteristics. Further study is needed to determine whether these patterns result from exposure to chemical carcinogens, including polycyclic hydrocarbons, involved in the manufacturing of petroleum.

Environmental Exposure↗

Geographic patterns of breast cancer in the United States.

To seek explanations for the geographic variation of breast cancer across the continental United States, we calculated the correlations between mortality rates for premenopausal and postmenopausal women and demographic data for the 3,056 U.S. counties. The northern predominance of this tumor was primarily among postmenopausal women, whereas mortality among premenopausal women was distributed almost uniformly across the country. Socioeconomic status (particularly income), German ethnicity, and colon cancer mortality were strong indicators of the rates for postmenopausal women, but only partly explained the northern excess and latitudinal gradient. In contrast, fertility patterns and ovarian cancer mortality were more closely linked to breast cancer among premenopausal women. The geographic peculiarities of this tumor in older women suggest extrinsic risk factors that remain to be identified, whereas the patterns for younger women point to the primary role of reproductive and genetic determinants.

Adult↗

A death certificate analysis of nasal cancer among furniture workers in North Carolina.

A case-control study of nasal cancer, based on death certificate statements on occupation in North Carolina counties with furniture-manufacturing industries, revealed a 4-fold excess risk linked to this occupation. Although woodworking exposures have been associated with nasal adenocarcinomas in several areas of the world, this is the first report of such a relationship in the United States.

Aged↗

Geographic patterns of large bowel cancer in the United States.

Age-adjusted rates of mortality from colon and rectal cancer during 1950-69 were correlated by sex and race (white and nonwhite) with demographic data for the 3,056 counties of the contiguous United States. Mortality was consistently elevated in counties with large populations, higher income and education levels, and high percentages of residents of Irish, German, or Czechoslovak descent. The urban, socioeconomic, and, ethnic factors were each linked to large bowel cancer, but they only partly explained the predominance of this tumor in the Northern United States. A survey was made of the limited data available on dietary habits by region and on alcohol sales by county, but the concomitant variation with bowel cancer mortality rates was not impressive.

Adult↗

Multiple myeloma and occupation in Sweden.

The occurrence of multiple myeloma by occupational and industrial category was systematically assessed using the Swedish Cancer-Environment Registry, which links cancer incidence (1961-1979) with occupational data from the 1960 census. Incidence of multiple myeloma was significantly increased for a number of occupational groups such as farmers, smelter and metallurgy workers, and miners-quarrymen-rock blasters. Although caution must be applied in drawing causal inferences, this national linked-registry analysis may provide clues to the environmental determinants of multiple myeloma.

Humans↗