American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on January 4, 2007
American Journal of Epidemiology 2007 165(6):652-659; doi:10.1093/aje/kwk044
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ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS |
Cigarette Smoking, Familial Hematopoietic Cancer, Hair Dye Use, and Risk of t(14;18)-defined Subtypes of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
1 Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL
2 The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
3 Munroe Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
4 Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
5 Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Reprint requests to Dr. Brian C.-H. Chiu, Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 680 North Lake Shore Drive, Suite 1102, Chicago, IL 60611-4402 (e-mail: bchiu{at}northwestern.edu).
Received for publication March 27, 2006. Accepted for publication July 28, 2006.
Some evidence suggests that smoking, a family history of hematopoietic cancer, and use of hair dyes are associated with t(14;18)-defined subsets of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in men. To further evaluate these associations and to expand them to women, the authors determined t(14;18)(q32;q21) status by fluorescence in situ hybridization in 172 of 175 tumor blocks from a population-based case-control study conducted in Nebraska during 1983–1986. Exposures in 65 t(14;18)-positive cases and 107 t(14;18)-negative cases were compared with those among 1,432 controls. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using polytomous logistic regression. Among men, smoking was not associated with risk of t(14;18)-positive or -negative NHL. Among women who had ever smoked cigarettes, there was an association with risk of t(14;18)-negative NHL (odds ratio (OR) = 1.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 3.3) but not t(14;18)-positive NHL (p-difference = 0.01). The risks for t(14;18)-negative NHL among women increased with longer duration (>30 years: OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.1, 4.1) and early initiation (age 
20 years: OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1, 4.4) of smoking. A family history of hematopoietic cancer was associated with a twofold higher risk for both t(14;18)-defined NHL subtypes among men and women. Hair dye use was not associated with either subtype. These findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the small sample.
chromosome aberrations; hair dyes; hematologic neoplasms; lymphoma, non-Hodgkin; risk factors; smoking
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; FISH, fluorescence in situ hybridization; NHL, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; OR, odds ratio