[Hospital epidemiology--a comparative case control study of breast and cervical cancers]

To promote the comprehensive measure of cancer prevention for future, a hospital-based epidemiological study on a large scale has started at the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital. As the first step of this study by using a common questionnaire, a simultaneous case-control study on the two cancers involving 175 cases with breast cancer, 56 cases with cervical cancer and 231 controls was conducted in 1988. Body weight was positively related to breast cancer only in older (50-69) patients. Young age at first birth (less than or equal to 23) increased the risk of cervical cancer (OR = 4.1). Active and passive smoking increased the risk of cervical cancer (OR = 2.6, 2.3) but only passive smoking increased the risk of older breast cancer (OR = 2.0). Frequent intakes of green vegetables and carrot decreased the risk of younger (30-49) breast cancer (OR = 0.5, 0.5) and cervical cancer (OR = 0.3, 0.5). Some other factors with positive and negative effects on these two cancers were identified in this case-control analysis.