title: Smoking and colorectal cancer risk: data from the Melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study and brief review of literature.
abstract: Lifetime smoking data were obtained from 715 colorectal cancer cases and 727 age/sex matched community controls as one part of a large, comprehensive, population-based study of colorectal cancer aetiology and survival in Melbourne, Australia, The Melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study. Statistically significant associations were found for those males smoking handrolled cigarettes and for cigar-/pipe-smoking males with colon cancer. Review of 18 previous case control studies of colorectal cancer showed an elevated risk for cigar-smoking black males in one study, a statistically non-significant increased risk for current smokers in one of 3 cohort studies and a statistically significant elevation of risk for smokers in 2 of 3 studies of adenomatous large-bowel polyps. Although at present there is insufficient evidence to link smoking with large-bowel cancer, the possibility that ingested tobacco is in some way carcinogenic for the colorectal mucosa may be worth further study.
authors.affiliation: University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kune
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kune
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vitetta
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Watson
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001315:Australia; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014026:Nicotiana