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Multiple myeloma among Blacks and Whites in the United States: role of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages

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Abstract

In the United States, the incidence rates of multiple myeloma inBlacks are more than twice those in Whites, but the etiology of this canceris poorly understood. A population-based case-control interview study of 571subjects (365 White, 206 Black) with multiple myeloma and 2,122 controls(1,155 White, 967 Black) living in three areas of the United States (Georgia,Michigan, New Jersey) offered the opportunity to investigate the relationshipwith smoking and alcohol drinking and to evaluate whether these factors mightcontribute to the excess risk of multiple myeloma in Blacks. For Blacks andWhites of either gender, there were no significantly elevated risksassociated with ever use of cigarettes or alcoholic beverages and noconsistent patterns with either intensity or duration of use. These datasupport previous studies indicating that smoking and drinking are not relatedcausally to the risk of multiple myeloma, and thus cannot account for theracial disparity in incidence rates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA

    Linda Morris Brown, Linda M. Pottern, Debra T. Silverman, Richard B. Hayes & Robert Hoover

  2. Office of Disease Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA

    Linda M. Pottern

  3. New Jersey State Department of Health, Trenton, USA

    Janet B. Schoenberg

  4. Michigan Cancer Foundation, Detroit, USA

    Ann G. Schwartz & G. Marie Swanson

  5. MCP Hahnemann School of Medicine, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Pittsburgh, USA

    Ann G. Schwartz

  6. Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA

    Raymond S. Greenberg & Jonathan M. Liff

  7. Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA

    Raymond S. Greenberg

  8. Cancer Center, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, USA

    G. Marie Swanson

Authors
  1. Linda Morris Brown
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  2. Linda M. Pottern
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  3. Debra T. Silverman
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  4. Janet B. Schoenberg
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  5. Ann G. Schwartz
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  6. Raymond S. Greenberg
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  7. Richard B. Hayes
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  8. Jonathan M. Liff
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  9. G. Marie Swanson
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  10. Robert Hoover
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Brown, L.M., Pottern, L.M., Silverman, D.T. et al. Multiple myeloma among Blacks and Whites in the United States: role of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Cancer Causes Control 8, 610–614 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018498414298

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018498414298

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