Demographic characteristics of patients with laryngeal cancer and their socioeconomic status.

PURPOSE: To define demographic characteristics of patients with laryngeal cancer in central Serbia, and to investigate possible relationships between their socioeconomical status and the appearance of laryngeal cancer. METHODS: 100 patients (cases) with histologically verified laryngeal cancer were investigated. The control group consisted of 100 patients (controls) having no cancer. A questionnaire was filled in by both cases and controls and comparison between the groups was carried out by individual matching of demographic characteristics and socioeconomical status. RESULTS: 91% of the cases and controls were male (mean age 60 years). Most of the cases had lower educational level and poorer socioeconomical status compared to controls, whilst no difference was found between the 2 groups concerning their living in urban or rural environment. CONCLUSION: It was not possible to correlate urban environment (air pollution) as risk factor. People of lower educational level and poor socioeconomical status had increased risk of getting laryngeal cancer.

Malignant tumors in family members of colorectal cancer patients.

A case-control study comprised 286 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and the same number of hospital controls individually matched by age, sex and place of residence. Both CRC and other malignant tumors were more frequent among first and second degree relatives of cases as compared to controls. The odds ratio (and 95% confidence interval) for CRC was 6.67 (2.34-19.01) and for cancers of other sites 1.6 (0.97-2.62).

[Epidemiologic-anamnestic study of stomach cancer in relation to nutrition]. / Epidemiolosko-anamnesticka studija raka zeluca u odnosu na ishranu.

Correlation between the disease and nutritional habits was evaluated in this epidemiologic-anamnestic study. It included 80 patients with the confirmed diagnosis of stomach cancer and the same number of controls selected from five hospitals in Belgrade. Both groups were matched by the sex, age and living place. McNemar's test was used for testing differences in exposure to the hypothetic factors. Based on the analysis of various food intake frequency it could be concluded that nutrition of patients with stomach cancer was, in comparison with the one taken by the control group, poorer in animal proteins, vegetables and citrus fruits, and rich in cereals processed in the form of various pastas and sweets, delicatessen, canned food as well as fruit rich in unsaturated fatty acids (nuts).

[Mortality in gastric cancer in Yugoslavia 1969-1983]. / Smrtnost od raka zeluca u Jugoslaviji od 1969. do 1983. godine.

From 1969 to 1983, 3658 death cases of stomach cancer in Yugoslavia were recorded, the standardized mortality rate being 15.9 per 100,000. In the same period, the highest mortality rates were noticed in Slovenia--23.5% and in Croatia and Macedonia--21.5% in each republic. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina followed with 21.5 deaths from stomach cancer per 100,000 in each republic. Montenegro has the lowest mortality rate--5.7%. During 15 years, there was a marked decrease of the stomach cancer mortality for both sexes in Yugoslavia; the equation of the linear trend were y = 24.9-0.23x for males and y = 12.3-0.6x for females. According to the WHO statistical data on the stomach cancer mortality, Yugoslavia occupies the middle place among the countries with high and low risks of cancer.