Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology
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Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. · Apr 1997
Arylamine N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) and 2 (NAT2) polymorphisms in susceptibility to bladder cancer: the influence of smoking.
Aromatic amines are involved in the etiology of bladder cancer. These compounds are acetylated by N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) and 2 (NAT2), and epidemiological studies have shown that the slow NAT2 acetylator phenotype is associated with increased risk of bladder cancer and may be associated with decreased risk of colorectal cancer. By using PCR-RFLP analyses to identify three known slow acetylator alleles (M1, M2, and M3) and the wild-type, or fast, allele, the NAT2 genotypes were determined. ⋯ The NAT1 and GSTM1 genotypes were not associated with increased risk of bladder cancer among smokers. Analyses of genetic combinations of NAT1/NAT2 as potential risk factors for bladder cancer seem to indicate that the normal NAT1/fast NAT2 genotype may be a protective genotype compared with the other genotype combinations. Analyses of genetic combinations of NAT2/GSTM1 did not reveal any combination of NAT2 and GSTM1 genotypes associated with increased bladder cancer risk.
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Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. · Apr 1997
Racial disparity in the incidence and case-fatality of colorectal cancer: analysis of 329 United States counties.
In the United States, blacks have higher death rates from colon cancer than whites, and the survival disparity may be due in part to differences in screening programs and acute medical care in counties with a high concentration of blacks. We studied 148,947 Medicare beneficiaries with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer in 1989-1991 who resided in the 329 most populous counties in the United States to determine the relationship of race and county racial composition to cancer incidence and survival. Counties were divided into quartiles based on proportion of blacks in the population, and aggregate incidence and 2-year case-fatality rates were compared within and between quartiles. ⋯ When counties were grouped into three different geographic areas, racial disparity in survival was observed in all regions. The variability between groups of counties in colon cancer incidence and mortality for both white and black patients may suggest differences at the county level in screening and treatment. However, consistent racial disparity within county quartiles may reflect persistent deficiencies in access to and quality of care for black patients.