Study
PLCO
(Learn more about this study)
Project ID
2012-0051
Initial CDAS Request Approval
May 16, 2012
Title
Measures of tobacco use and nicotine dependency and tobacco-related cancer risk in the PLCO
Summary
Cigarette smoking has been known to cause cancer for more than fifty years. Yet, a number of changes in the tobacco epidemic have occurred over this period, including changes in smoking behavior and in the design and composition of cigarettes. In results from several studies, the risks associated with smoking appear to have strengthened for bladder and lung cancer (1-3). Yet, whether associations between tobacco smoking and other cancer types have changed is unclear. Therefore, it is important to confirm these provocative results and extend them to other cancer sites. We propose to use smoking data collected on PLCO's baseline questionnaire to assess the association between tobacco use and each individual smoking-associated cancer. PLCO provides rich smoking data. In addition to information on cigarettes per day, smoking duration, pipe and cigar use, data on the SQX survey will be of great benefit to the field. For example, data from SQX will allow for the investigation of menthol cigarettes. In the U.S., 36% of all smokers and the vast majority (84%) of African-American smokers smoke mentholated cigarettes (4). Although it has been proposed that smokers of menthol cigarettes may be exposed to a greater total dose of carcinogens in tobacco smoke (5, 6), results from the few existing studies have been mixed and largely limited to lung cancer (7-9). We propose to examine menthol and other parameters of tobacco use (e.g., light cigarette use, secondhand smoke exposure) with cancer risk in PLCO. Further, we will use SQX data to supplement the baseline questionnaire for a more complete picture of the trajectory of smoking and its relationship to lung cancer as well as nicotine dependency. This data will also help us characterize the features of light and intermittent smokers (LITS), and assess the association between LITS and lung cancer risk.
Aims
The aims of this proposal will assess associations between tobacco use and cancer risk; and, more specifically, associations between menthol cigarette use, light and intermittent cigarette use, features of nicotine dependency, and secondhand smoke exposure with subsequent cancer risk. Specific Aim 1: To assess the association between measures of tobacco use at baseline (e.g., smoking status, pack-years smoked, time since quitting, pipe use, and cigar use) and risk of smoking-associated cancers (i.e., oral cavity, oropharynx, nasopharynx, hypopharynx, esophagus, stomach, colorectum, liver, pancreas, nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, larynx, lung, cervix, ovary, bladder, kidney, ureter, and myeloid leukemia). Specific Aim 2: To assess the association between smoking parameters by SQX with subsequent incidence of smoking-associated cancers. In particular, we propose to examine menthol cigarette use, light cigarette use, and secondhand smoke exposure with cancer. Specific Aim 3: To examine the characteristics, trajectory, and nicotine dependence of light and intermittent smokers (LITS) and assess the association between LITS and lung cancer. Specific Aim 4: To examine the relationship of time to first cigarette (TTFC) in relation to lung cancer risk using the SQX.
Collaborators
Christian Abnet (DCEG)
Neil Caporaso (DCEG)
Fangyi Gu (DCEG)
Neal Freedman (DCEG)
Patricia Hartge (DCEG)
Carolyn Reyes-Guzman (DCEG)
