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Objectives: We have assessed the effect on the rates of cancers of the kidney and bladder of measures undertaken by the government in 1979-1983 to limit smoking and analgesic abuse in New South Wales (NSW). Sale of phenacetin-containing analgesics, previously available without restriction and regularly taken by 11-13% of women and 4-9% of men in NSW, was prohibited from 1979. The prevalence of current smokers among adult Australian men had fallen from 72% in 1945 to 43% in 1980 and to 28% in 1992. In women the corresponding figures were 26%, 31% and 24%.Methods: Incidence and mortality data from the New South Wales Central Cancer Registry for the period 1972 to 1995 were analyzed, by sex and age, for trends over time. Relative survival was calculated for cases diagnosed in the period 1980-94 and followed until the end of 1996.Results: Significant trends evident from these data were: throughout the period of review a rising incidence of, and to a lesser extent mortality from, renal parenchymal cancer for which relative survival has steadily improved; falling mortality from bladder cancer throughout the period of review, but more rapid after 1985; a reversal of the earlier increasing incidence of, and mortality from, cancer of the renal pelvis; and relative survival for bladder and renal pelvic cancers which was worse in women than men. Changes in registration practice in 1985 and 1993 introduced artifacts into the trends in incidence of bladder cancer.Conclusions: Improvements in the trends of incidence and mortality of cancers of the renal pelvis and bladder in the mid-1980s are interpreted, in the light of registration and clinical practice, to indicate a beneficial effect of regulations which virtually abolished analgesic abuse and, less certainly, a contribution from measures restricting smoking, in New South Wales. However, renal parenchymal cancer continues to increase, although there has been some apparent benefit of earlier detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Because the factors that influence risk of acral melanomas on the soles and palms in White populations are unknown, we investigated these in a multi-center case-control study.Methods: Cases of melanoma of the feet and hands diagnosed from 1987-93 in persons aged over 18 years were ascertained in eastern Australia and western Scotland. There were 275 cases of melanoma on the soles and palms matched to 496 controls (selected from the electoral roll) in Australia, and 36 cases matched to 72 controls (nominated by general practitioners) in Scotland.Results: Acral melanoma was strongly associated with high total body nevus counts (adjusted relative risk [RR] = 6.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.5-15.6), and with nevi on the soles (RR = 7.5, CI = 3.0-18.6). There were also significant positive associations with a penetrative injury of the feet or hands (RR = 5.0, CI = 3.0-8.6) and with heavy exposure to agricultural chemicals (RR = 3.6, CI = 1.5-8.3). Sun-sensitive complexions, cumulative sun exposure and a past history of nonmelanoma skin cancer were also associated with increased risk of acral melanoma. Current cigarette smoking was inversely related to acral melanoma (RR = 0.6, CI = 0.4-0.9).Conclusions: Melanomas of the soles and palms resemble other cutaneous melanomas in their association with sun exposure, but are distinguished from them by their strong positive associations with nevi on the soles, previous penetrative injury, and exposure to agricultural chemicals, and by their inverse association with smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: A case-control-family study of breast cancer in women under the age of 40 was carried out in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, from 1992 to 1995 to determine the risk factors for these women. Subjects included 467 incident cases identified by state cancer registries and 408 population-based controls.Methods: All participants completed a structured risk-factor questionnaire and family pedigree during an in-person interview. Where possible, cancers in first- and second-degree relatives were verified.Results: Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the strongest risk factor for breast cancer was a family history of the disease -- having at least one affected first-degree relative trebled the risk (relative risk [RR] = 3.3, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.9-5.8). Risk increased with height by three percent (standard error [SE] of one percent) per cm, and after adjusting for height, there was evidence for a decreased risk in women weighing 73 kg or more. There was an increased risk of breast cancer after the first full-term birth (RR = 1.8, CI = 1.0-3.5) but this risk fell by 30 percent (SE = 11 percent) with each subsequent livebirth.Conclusions: The effects of other reproductive factors and oral contraceptive use, although not nominally significant, were in accord with published findings from similar studies in young women. This study of Australian women has indicated that some risk factors for breast cancer in women under age 40 differ from those reported for older women either in direction (e.g., weight) or relative importance (e.g., family history). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]