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African
Americans have unique Lung Cancer risks from
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Newswise — Scientists at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
have developed a risk prediction assessment
for lung cancer specifically for African
Americans that suggests a greater risk from
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
according to a report published in the
September issue of Cancer Prevention
Research, a journal of the American
Association for Cancer Research.
Etzel and colleagues analyzed data from 491 African
Americans with lung cancer and 497 African
Americans without lung cancer to identify
risk factors for the disease. They then
compared these risk factors with a
previously established risk prediction model
for whites.
What was unique to African Americans was the risk
associated with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease. African American men with
a prior history of chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease had a more than sixfold
increased risk of lung cancer, similar to
that seen with smoking.
This is approximately two-fold higher than the risk
typically seen from chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease among whites.
“The one size fits all risk prediction clearly does not
work,” said Carol Etzel, Ph.D., assistant
professor of epidemiology at the University
of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
As with whites, smoking was a significant risk factor for
lung cancer. Current smokers had a more than
sixfold increased risk of lung cancer, and
former smokers had a more than threefold
increased risk.
This decreased risk was confined to those who had quit
smoking more than ten years prior to
diagnosis; these patients had a 58 percent
decreased risk compared with patients who
had quit within the previous ten years.
Researchers also found that hay fever, previously shown to
be protective among whites, was also
protective among African Americans.
Specifically, African Americans with hay fever were 44
percent less likely to develop lung cancer,
a rate that had been previously seen among
whites.
African American males have a higher risk of lung cancer
incidence at 110.6 per 100,000 compared with
81 per 100,000 among white males.
Mortality is also higher among African American men at 95.8
per 100,000 compared with 72.6 among whites.
Lung cancer incidence and mortality rates
among women are comparable.
Etzel said the risk prediction model detailed in Cancer
Prevention Research is part of an ongoing
project to establish risk models among
different ethnic groups; a model for
Hispanics is currently under development.
“What we hope is that a doctor can use these models to
encourage their patients to take steps to
prevent lung cancer. Even if they are never
smokers, they can be at risk,” said Etzel.
The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research
is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in
1907, AACR is the world’s oldest and largest
professional organization dedicated to
advancing cancer research.
The membership includes more than 28,000 basic,
translational and clinical researchers;
health care professionals; and cancer
survivors and advocates in the United States
and 80 other countries.
AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the
cancer community to accelerate progress in
the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
cancer through high-quality scientific and
educational programs. It funds innovative,
meritorious research grants.
The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000
participants who share the latest
discoveries and developments in the field.
Special conferences throughout the year
present novel data across a wide variety of
topics in cancer research, treatment and
patient care.
AACR publishes five major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer
Research; Clinical Cancer Research;
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular
Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology,
Biomarkers & Prevention. Its most recent
publication and its sixth major journal,
Cancer Prevention Research, is dedicated
exclusively to cancer prevention, from
preclinical research to clinical trials.
The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors
and their families, patient advocates,
physicians and scientists. CR provides a
forum for sharing essential, evidence-based
information and perspectives on progress in
cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.
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