Abstract
Bronchial cancer is a disease of high and increasing annual incidence in Hong Kong, especially in women, whose age-specific death rates from this cause are amongst the highest in the world. A case-control study of the relationship of bronchial cancer with smoking was carried out during 1976--77, taking particular note of the histological type of the tumour. Two hundred and eight male and 189 female patients were interviewed, covering about half the total number of cases of bronchial cancer registered as dead from the disease in Hong Kong during the period of the survey. The association with smoking was more evident in males than in females, and in squamous and small-cell types, as a group, than in adenocarcinoma. Forty-four per cent of the women with bronchial cancer were non-smokers, their predominant tumour being adenocarcinoma, and in them on association could be detected with place of residence or occupation. There was no strong evidence of an association with the use of kerosene or gas for cooking; 23 did not use kerosene. The cause of the cancer in these non-smoking women remains unknown.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chan, W., Colbourne, M., Fung, S. et al. Bronchial cancer in Hong Kong 1976-1977. Br J Cancer 39, 182–192 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1979.29
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1979.29
This article is cited by
-
Systematic review with meta-analysis of the epidemiological evidence in the 1900s relating smoking to lung cancer
BMC Cancer (2012)
-
Smoking-adjusted Lung Cancer Incidence Among Asian-Americans (United States)
Cancer Causes & Control (2005)
-
Effect of tobacco smoking on various histological types of lung cancer
Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology (1992)