Eric Engels

MD MPH

NCI

Senior investigator

PLCO (Learn more about this study)

PLCO-138

Mar 19, 2015

Validation study of associations of medical conditions with subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Some medical conditions may affect risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) by affecting the immune system or through other unknown mechanisms, and these effects likely vary across histologically defined NHL subtypes. In a recent analysis of the SEER-Medicare dataset, we observed inverse associations between hypertension and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), chronic bronchitis and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and stroke and several NHL subtypes; and a positive association between diabetes and DLBCL (unpublished data). These associations are partly based on the assessment of claims data. We request PLCO data to validate our findings using an independent dataset. We propose a cohort analysis in which we will assess associations of these medical conditions, reported on the baseline questionnaire, with subsequent risk of developing specified NHL subtypes. We will also evaluate emphysema as a risk factor, since it is closely related to chronic bronchitis as a type of COPD. NHL subtypes (DLBCL, CLL, and several other common subtypes) will be defined using ICD-O morphology codes. We will utilize Cox regression for the statistical analyses. We anticipate that these results, whether or not they confirm our SEER-Medicare analyses, will be included in the published article along with those data, and that these results will help inform an etiologic understanding of NHL.