Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) risk factors
Bernstein L, Ross RK. Prior medication use and health history
as risk factors for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: preliminary results from a case-control study
in Los Angeles County.Cancer Res. 1992 Oct 1;52(19
Suppl):5510s-5515s.PMID: 1394165 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
To determine whether non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is related to prior medication use or health history, a population-based case-control study was conducted. A total of 619 male and female residents of Los Angeles County who were diagnosed with NHL between January 1, 1979, and June 30, 1982, were compared to individually age-, race-, and sex-matched neighborhood controls with regard to history of use of 49 different medications, 47 chronic and infectious diseases or other conditions, 15 types of immunizations, and 15 specific allergic reactions. Based on preliminary analyses, long-term regular use of aspirin and other pain relievers and greater than or equal to 2 mo of treatment with penicillin and other antibiotics were associated with significantly increased risk of NHL. Other drugs associated with greater risk of NHL were use of digitalis and estrogen replacement therapy by women, use of corticosteroids, and greater than or equal to 2 mo of use of tranquilizers. NHL was strongly associated with a prior history of cancer. Cases more frequently reported histories of kidney infections and anemia than did controls; a history of eczema appeared to be protective against NHL. Women who had been immunized against polio by injectable vaccine were at significantly lower risk of NHL than women who had not received this immunization. Among men, cholera immunization and allergy to nuts and berries were significantly protective. Subjects who had received a yellow fever immunization also had lower NHL risk. Further analyses of these data will attempt to establish the relative importance of these potential risk factors and to determine whether any are markers of early symptoms of NHL.
SH, Weisenburger DD, Babbitt PA, Saal RC, Vaught JB, Cantor KP, Blair A.
A case-control study of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic
acid (2,4-D) in eastern Nebraska.Epidemiology. 1990
Sep;1(5):349-56.PMID: 2078610 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
To evaluate the role of the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in the development of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), we conducted a population-based, case-control study in 66 counties in eastern Nebraska. Telephone interviews were conducted with 201 white men diagnosed with NHL between July 1, 1983, and June 30, 1986, and with 725 controls. There was a 50% excess of NHL among men who mixed or applied 2,4-D (odds ratio [OR] = 1.5; 95% confidence interval = 0.9, 2.5). The risk of NHL increased with the average frequency of use to over threefold for those exposed 20 or more days per year (p for trend = 0.051). Adjusting for use of organophosphate insecticides lowered the risk estimate for frequent users (OR = 1.8), but adjustment for fungicide use increased the risk estimate (OR = 4.5). Simultaneous adjustment for organophosphates and fungicides yielded an OR of 3.1 for farmers who mixed or applied 2,4-D more than 20 days per year. Risk also increased with degree of exposure, as indicated by application method and time spent in contaminated clothing, but not with the number of years of 2,4-D use or failure to use protective equipment. Although other pesticides, especially organophosphate insecticides, may be related to NHL, the risk associated with 2,4-D does not appear to be explained completely by these other exposures.