title: Common immune-related risk factors and incident non-Hodgkin lymphoma: the multiethnic cohort.
abstract: Severe immune dysfunction is an established risk factor of lymphoma, but the role of moderate alterations of immunity is not clear and prospective investigations are needed. We examined several immune-related disorders and medications in relation to non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the Multiethnic Cohort. Over 215,000 subjects of African American, Caucasian, Japanese American, Latino and Native Hawaiian ancestry aged 45-75 years completed a questionnaire, including information on medical history, in 1993-1996. After exclusions, we performed Cox regression among 193,050 cohort members including 939 incident NHL cases while adjusting for sex, age, ethnicity, education, body mass index and alcohol intake. Self-reported diabetes was not associated with NHL overall, but was positively associated with risk among Japanese Americans [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.55; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10-2.17]. Participants with a history of blood transfusion were at increased risk with HR = 1.39 (95% CI: 1.06-1.84) in men and HR = 1.22 (95% CI: 0.94-1.58) in women, especially for the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma subtype. History of asthma or other allergies was associated with elevated risk only among Latinos (HR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.07-2.00) who also showed a significant relation between current use of antihistamines and NHL (HR = 1.80; 95% CI: 1.09-2.97). Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was not associated with NHL. Our findings from this large prospective study support a moderate risk for NHL related to blood transfusions, current long-term antihistamine use and diabetes, but the associations were limited to certain ethnic groups and require further replications.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Erber
authors.forename: Unhee
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Gertraud
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maskarinec
authors.forename: Laurence N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Kolonel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006633:Histamine Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology*; D015994:Incidence; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
chemical_list: D006633:Histamine Antagonists