Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Cigarette smoking and primary liver cancer: a population-based case–control study in US men

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Cancer Causes & Control Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Using the case–control data from the Selected Cancers Study, the authors assessed whether cigarette smoking increases the risk of primary liver cancer in the US.

Methods

Cases were men who were pathologically diagnosed with primary liver cancer during 1984–1988, were 31–59 years old, and lived in the areas covered by eight US cancer registries (n = 168). Controls were men without a history of primary liver cancer who were selected by random-digit telephone dialing (n = 1910).

Results

Relative to non-smokers, the risks of liver cancer were 1.85 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05–3.25) and 1.49 (95% CI, 0.83–2.68) for former and current smokers, respectively. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) estimates were 0.96, 1.43, 1.80, and 1.87 for smoking for less than 15, 15–24, 25–34 and 35 or more years, respectively (p for trend = 0.039). The OR estimates were 1.41 (95% CI, 0.74–2.68), 1.67 (95% CI, 0.93–2.98), and 1.83 (95% CI, 0.89–3.76) for less than 1, 1–2, and 2 or more packs smoked per day (p for trend = 0.068).

Conclusions

Cigarette smoking may be a factor that contributes somewhat to the occurrence of primary liver cancer among men in the United States, a country with low risk of liver cancer.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. London W, McGlynn K (1996) Liver cancer In: Schottenfeld D, Fraumeni J Jr (eds) Cancer epidemiology and prevention. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 772–793

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bosch FX, Ribes J (2000) Epidemiology of liver cancer in Europe. Can J Gastroenterol 14:621–630

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bosch FX, Ribes J, Cleries R, Diaz M (2005) Epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma. Clin Liver Dis 9:191–211, v

    Google Scholar 

  4. Stuver S, Trichopoulos D (2002) Cancer of the liver and biliary tract. In: Adami H, Hunter D, Trichopoulos D (eds) Textbook of cancer epidemiology. Oxford University Press, Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  5. Jee SH, Ohrr H, Sull JW, Samet JM (2004) Cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, hepatitis B, and risk for hepatocellular carcinoma in Korea. J Natl Cancer Inst 96:1851–1856

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Yun YH, Jung KW, Bae JM et al (2005) Cigarette smoking and cancer incidence risk in adult men: National Health Insurance Corporation Study. Cancer Detect Prev 29:15–24

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Mizoue T, Tokui N, Nishisaka K et al (2000) Prospective study on the relation of cigarette smoking with cancer of the liver and stomach in an endemic region. Int J Epidemiol 29:232–237

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wang LY, You SL, Lu SN et al (2003) Risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and habits of alcohol drinking, betel quid chewing and cigarette smoking: a cohort of 2416 HBsAg-seropositive and 9421 HBsAg-seronegative male residents in Taiwan. Cancer Causes Control 14:241–250

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Goodman MT, Moriwaki H, Vaeth M, Akiba S, Hayabuchi H, Mabuchi K (1995) Prospective cohort study of risk factors for primary liver cancer in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Epidemiology 6:36–41

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hirayama T (1989) A large-scale cohort study on risk factors for primary liver cancer, with special reference to the role of cigarette smoking. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 23(Suppl):S114–S117

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Tanaka K, Hirohata T, Fukuda K, Shibata A, Tsukuma H, Hiyama T (1995) Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma among Japanese women. Cancer Causes Control 6:91–98

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Chen CJ, Liang KY, Chang AS et al (1991) Effects of hepatitis B virus, alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking and familial tendency on hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology 13:398–406

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Tsukuma H, Hiyama T, Oshima A et al (1990) A case–control study of hepatocellular carcinoma in Osaka, Japan. Int J Cancer 45:231–236

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Tanaka K, Hirohata T, Takeshita S (1988) Blood transfusion, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking in causation of hepatocellular carcinoma: a case–control study in Fukuoka, Japan. Jpn J Cancer Res 79:1075–1082

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Mukaiya M, Nishi M, Miyake H, Hirata K (1998) Chronic liver diseases for the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: a case–control study in Japan. Etiologic association of alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and the development of chronic liver diseases. Hepatogastroenterology 45:2328–2332

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Mori M, Hara M, Wada I et al (2000) Prospective study of hepatitis B and C viral infections, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and other factors associated with hepatocellular carcinoma risk in Japan. Am J Epidemiol 151:131–139

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Pyong SJ, Tsukuma H, Hiyama T (1994) Case–control study of hepatocellular carcinoma among Koreans living in Osaka, Japan. Jpn J Cancer Res 85:674–679

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Tanaka K, Hirohata T, Takeshita S et al (1992) Hepatitis B virus, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma: a case–control study in Fukuoka, Japan. Int J Cancer 51:509–514

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Choi SY, Kahyo H (1991) Effect of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption in the aetiology of cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx. Int J Epidemiol 20:878–885

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Shibata A, Fukuda K, Toshima H, Tashiro H, Hirohata T (1990) The role of cigarette smoking and drinking in the development of liver cancer: 28 years of observations on male cohort members in a farming and fishing area. Cancer Detect Prev 14:617–23

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Kiyosawa K, Imai H, Sodeyama T et al (1989) Comparison of anamnestic history, alcohol intake and smoking, nutritional status, and liver dysfunction between thorotrast patients who developed primary liver cancer and those who did not. Environ Res 49:166–72

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Lu SN, Lin TM, Chen CJ et al (1988) A case–control study of primary hepatocellular carcinoma in Taiwan. Cancer 62:2051–2055

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Austin H, Delzell E, Grufferman S et al (1986) A case–control study of hepatocellular carcinoma and the hepatitis B virus, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption. Cancer Res 46:962–966

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Stemhagen A, Slade J, Altman R, Bill J (1983) Occupational risk factors and liver cancer. A retrospective case–control study of primary liver cancer in New Jersey. Am J Epidemiol 117:443–454

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Yu MC, Mack T, Hanisch R, Peters RL, Henderson BE, Pike MC (1983) Hepatitis, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and hepatocellular carcinoma in Los Angeles. Cancer Res 43:6077–6079

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Yu H, Harris RE, Kabat GC, Wynder EL (1988) Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and primary liver cancer: a case–control study in the USA. Int J Cancer 42:325–328

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Hsing AW, McLaughlin JK, Hrubec Z, Blot WJ, Fraumeni JF, Jr (1990) Cigarette smoking and liver cancer among US veterans. Cancer Causes Control 1:217–221

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Yu MC, Tong MJ, Govindarajan S, Henderson BE (1991) Nonviral risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in a low-risk population, the non-Asians of Los Angeles County, California. J Natl Cancer Inst 83:1820–1826

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Birth control pills, cigarettes, alcohol linked to liver cancer. Oncology (Williston Park) (1992) 6:101

  30. Yuan JM, Govindarajan S, Arakawa K, Yu MC (2004) Synergism of alcohol, diabetes, and viral hepatitis on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in blacks and whites in the U.S. Cancer 101:1009–1017

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Marrero JA, Fontana RJ, Fu S, Conjeevaram HS, Su GL, Lok AS (2005) Alcohol, tobacco and obesity are synergistic risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma. J Hepatol 42:218–224

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. The Selected Cancers Cooperative Study Group (1990) The association of selected cancers with service in the US military in Vietnam. III. Hodgkin’s disease, nasal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and primary liver cancer. Arch Intern Med 150:2495–2505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Hosmer D, Jr, Lemeshow S (1989) Applied logistic regression. Jihn Wiley & Sons, New York

    Google Scholar 

  34. Trichopoulos D, MacMahon B, Sparros L, Merikas G (1980) Smoking and hepatitis B-negative primary hepatocellular carcinoma. J Natl Cancer Inst 65:111–114

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Kuper H, Tzonou A, Kaklamani E et al (2000) Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and their interaction in the causation of hepatocellular carcinoma. Int J Cancer 85:498–502

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Lee PN, Sanders E (2004) Does increased cigarette consumption nullify any reduction in lung cancer risk associated with low-tar filter cigarettes? Inhal Toxicol 16:817–833

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Marugame T, Sobue T, Nakayama T et al (2004) Filter cigarette smoking and lung cancer risk a hospital-based case–control study in Japan. Br J Cancer 90:646–651

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Launoy G, Milan C, Faivre J, Pienkowski P, Gignoux M (2000) Tobacco type and risk of squamous cell cancer of the oesophagus in males: a French multicentre case–control study. Int J Epidemiol 29:36–42

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans (2004). Tobacco smoke and involuntary smoking. IARC Monogr Eval Carcinog Risks Hum 83:1–1438

    Google Scholar 

  40. Baron J, Rohan T (1996) Tobacco. In: Schottenfeld D, Fraumeni J Jr (eds) Cancer epidemiology and prevention. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 269–289

    Google Scholar 

  41. Hecht SS, Chen CB, Ohmori T, Hoffmann D (1980) Comparative carcinogenicity in F344 rats of the tobacco-specific nitrosamines, N′-nitrosonornicotine and 4-(N-methyl-N-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone. Cancer Res 40:298–302

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Mori Y, Koide A, Kobayashi Y, Furukawa F, Hirose M, Nishikawa A (2003) Effects of cigarette smoke and a heterocyclic amine, MeIQx on cytochrome P-450, mutagenic activation of various carcinogens and glucuronidation in rat liver. Mutagenesis 18:87–93

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Petridou E, Chapuis-Cellier C, Roukas K, Lan SJ, Tzonou A, Trichopoulos D (1993) Tobacco smoking and other factors in relation to serum alpha-1-antitrypsin. Hum Biol 65:425–432

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Lellouch J, Claude JR, Thevenin M (1979) [Smoking and serum alpha 1-antitrypsin in 1296 healthy men (author’s transl)]. Clin Chim Acta 95:337–345

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Sparos L, Tountas Y, Chapuis-Cellier C, Theodoropoulos G, Trichopoulos D (1984) Alpha 1-antitrypsin levels and phenotypes and hepatitis B serology in liver cancer. Br J Cancer 49:567–570

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Fargion S, Klasen EC, Lalatta F, Sangalli G, Tommasini M, Fiorelli G (1981) Alpha 1-antitrypsin in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and chronic active hepatitis. Clin Genet 19:134–139

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Yu MW, Yang SY, Chiu YH, Chiang YC, Liaw YF, Chen CJ (1999) A p53 genetic polymorphism as a modulator of hepatocellular carcinoma risk in relation to chronic liver disease, familial tendency, and cigarette smoking in hepatitis B carriers. Hepatology 29:697–702

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Yu MW, Chen CJ, Luo JC, Brandt-Rauf PW, Carney WP, Santella RM (1994) Correlations of chronic hepatitis B virus infection and cigarette smoking with elevated expression of neu oncoprotein in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Res 54:5106–5110

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Military Cancer Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Building 1, Suite A-109, Washington, DC, 20307-5001, USA

    Kangmin Zhu, Cynthia Moriarty, Lee S. Caplan & Robert S. Levine

Authors
  1. Kangmin Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cynthia Moriarty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lee S. Caplan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Robert S. Levine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kangmin Zhu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zhu, K., Moriarty, C., Caplan, L.S. et al. Cigarette smoking and primary liver cancer: a population-based case–control study in US men. Cancer Causes Control 18, 315–321 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-006-0105-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-006-0105-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation