81

cancer increased as intakes of total vitamin

A and carotene declined but did not vary

with intake of preformed vitamin A. When the subjects were stratified by ethnic group, Hispanic or non-Hispanic (anglo)

white, significant effects of vitamin A consumption were limited to the Anglos. In the Anglos, the protective effects of total vitamin A and carotene consumption were present in males and females, but varied strongly with cigarette smoking habits.

In Anglo smokers, significant increases in the odds ratios with declining intake were observed in former but not in current smokers. Among the former smokers, significant ef-

fects of total vitamin A and carotene con- sumption were present only in those who

had stopped smoking for 6 to 15 yr. Limi- tation of the protective effect of vitamin

A and carotene consumption to past smokers has important implications for the design of clinical trials and for cancer control strategies.

Cigarette Smoking and Lung Cancer in

"Hispanic" ~lites and Other ~lites in New Mexico. Humble, C.G., Samet, J.M., Pathak, D.R., Skipper, B.J. Department of Medicine, New

Mexico Tumor Registry, Albuquerque, NM 87131, U.S.A. Am. J. Public Health 75: 145-148, 1985.

A population-based case-control study of lung cancer was performed in New Mexico to explain the differing patterns of lung cancer occurrence in the state's "Hispanic:'

Whites and other Whites. From 1980 through 1982, interviews were completed with 521

cases and 769 controls. In the male con- trols, the prevalence of current and pre- vious cigarette usage was similar in the two ethnic groups, but Hispanics smoked fewer cigarettes daily. In the female con- trols, a lower percentage of Hispanics had ever smoked and their usual consumption was less than that of other White women.

Older Hispanic female smokers had used hand-rolled cigarettes for an average of 8.8 years, whereas other White women of the same age had used this type for less than

one-half year. Both stratified and multiple logistic analysis showed comparable risks of

lung cancer in Hispanic White and other White smokers. There was no evidence of interaction between ethnicity and cigarette smoking. These analyses imply that the differences in lung cancer incidence between

New Mexico's Hispanic Whites and other Whites are largely explained by the patterns

of cigarette smoking of these two groups.

Recent Trends in Incidence Rates of Pleural

Mes0thelioma in British Columbia. Morrison, H.I., Band, P.R., Gallagher, R.

et al. Non-Communicable Disease Division,

Department of National Health and Welfare, Tun-

ney's Pasture, Ottawa, Ont. KIA @L2, Canada.

Can. Med. Assoc. J. 131: 1069-1071, 1984. A total of 64 cases of pleural mesotheli-

oma were reported in British Columbia between 1973 and 1980, 54 in males and i0 in females. There was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the incidence among males. The overall inciden- ce rates were 4.9 and 0.9 per million person- years for males and females respectively. The age distribution of the cases was roughly ex- ponential up to age 70 years. Almost all of the cases were clustered in Cowichan Valley, Capital and Greater Vancouver counties, where there was a high level of shipbuilding activity 30 to 40 years ago. The increased incidence in males may be related to this activity, which

involved exposure to asbestos.

Cancer Incidence by Living Area, Social Class and Occupation. Teppo, L. Finnish Cancer Registry, Liisankatu 21 B, SF-00170 Helsinki, Finl~nd. Scand. J.

Work Environ Health I0: 361-366, 1984. The variation in the incidence of cancer

between geographic areas and socio-economic classes is outlined. In many instances the dif- ferences in the incidence can be attributed to differences in life-style factors such as smo-

king, diet, sexual habits, and the reproductive history of women. The role of smoking as an explanator of the variation in the risk of lung cancer between occupational groups is em-

phasized.

Familial Mesothelioma: Revi~v and Family Study. Lynch, H.T., Katz, D., Markvicka, S.E. Depart- ment of Preventive Medicine/Public Health, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NB 68178, U.S.A. Cancer Genet. Cytogenet. 15:

25-35, 1985. To date, with few exceptions, primary at-

tention to the etiology of malignant mesothe- lioma has been focused on environmental factors. However, several reports of familial aggrega- tions of mesothelioma strongly support the supposition that host factors, in concert with environmental exposure, particularly asbestos, may contribute etiologically to an as yet un- ]mown fraction of occurrences of this disease. llowever, in evaluation of familial mesothelioma, it is important to consider the possibility of household exposure to asbestos. We report a family in which two brothers with prolonged oc- cupational asbestos exposure manifested malig- nant pleural mesotheliomas of similar histology.

Smoking and Health. Steinfeld, J.L. Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912, U.S.A. West J. Med. 141:

978-883, 1984. Although cigarette smoking is the number

one public health problem in the United States, physicians have failed to take the lead either

in convincing youngsters not to begin smoking