Is cigarette smoking a risk factor for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or multiple myeloma? Results from the Lutheran Brotherhood Cohort Study.
Among 17,633 U.S. white male insurance policy holders whose use of tobacco was characterized in a 1966 self-administered questionnaire, there were 49 deaths from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 21 from multiple myeloma (MM) during a 20-year follow-up. Men who had ever smoked cigarettes had an elevated mortality from NHL (RR = 2.1; CI = 0.9-4.9), with risk almost four-fold greater among the heaviest smokers (RR = 3.8; CI = 1.4-10.1) compared with those who used no tobacco. In contrast, risk of MM was only slightly elevated among those who had ever smoked cigarettes (RR = 1.3; CI = 0.4-3.9) and without evidence of a dose-response trend. Since this is the first cohort study suggesting a link between cigarette smoking and NHL and findings from case-control studies have been inconsistent, additional clarification should be sought from larger incidence-based cohort investigations.
Linet
M S
MS
Epidemiology & Biostatistics Program, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD 20892.
McLaughlin
J K
JK
Hsing
A W
AW
Wacholder
S
S
Co Chien
H T
HT
Schuman
L M
LM
Bjelke
E
E
Blot
W J
WJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology