PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study: US tobacco-control efforts prevented nearly 800,000 cancer deaths between 1975 and 2000

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center led the NIH-funded research consortium

2012-03-15
(Press-News.org) SEATTLE – Declines in cigarette smoking among Americans since the mid-1950s – particularly since tobacco-control policies and interventions were implemented after the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health was released in 1964 – prevented nearly 800,000 lung cancer deaths between 1975 and 2000, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Results of the National Cancer Institute-funded study, conducted by a consortium of six research groups in the U.S. and the Netherlands, are published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

For the study, the researchers, part of the NCI's Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network, reconstructed detailed smoking histories for those born between 1890 and 1970, and then estimated lung cancer deaths associated with these smoking histories using mathematical equations. In this way, the researchers were able to estimate the impact of changes in smoking patterns resulting from tobacco-control efforts on deaths from lung cancer between 1975 and 2000.

"This is the first attempt to quantify the impact of changes in smoking behaviors on lung cancer mortality based on detailed reconstruction of cigarette smoking histories," said lead author Suresh H. Moolgavkar, M.D., Ph.D., an epidemiologist, biostatistician and mathematical modeler in the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division. He is an expert in devising formulas, equations and computer programs that simulate and predict biological processes. Such studies contribute to the understanding of cancer risks associated with exposures to toxic chemicals such as cigarette smoke.

Since the mid-'60s, tobacco-control efforts in the U.S. have included restrictions on smoking in public places, increases in cigarette excise taxes, limits on underage access to cigarettes, and efforts to increase public awareness of the hazards of smoking.

In addition to modeling the impact of actual tobacco control efforts on lung cancer mortality rates, the researchers also estimated lung cancer deaths between 1975 and 2000 under two opposite scenarios: If all U.S. cigarette smokers had successfully quit smoking in the wake of the 1964 Surgeon General's report and no one else started smoking, an estimated 2.5 million people would have not died from lung cancer (1.6 million men and 883,000 women would not have been diagnosed with the disease). In the absence of tobacco control programs and policies, if smoking behaviors had not changed after the Surgeon General's report, an additional 552,000 men and 243,000 women would have died of lung cancer.

"These findings provide a compelling illustration of the devastating impact of tobacco use in our nation and the enormous benefits of reducing rates of smoking," said Robert Croyle, Ph.D., director of the NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. "Although great strides have been made, we cannot relax our efforts. The prevention and cessation of tobacco use continue to be vital priorities for the medical, scientific and public health communities." ###

In addition to the Hutchinson Center, other members of the research consortium included Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands; Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Calverton, Md.; Rice University and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; Massachussetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Mass.; and Yale University in New Haven, Conn.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study Shows Chemotherapy Combination Effective for Mesothelioma Patients

2012-03-15
Individuals suffering from Mesothelioma know all too well the aggressive nature of the disease. Fortunately, a new clinical trial shows positive results for some patients taking a particular type of chemotherapy combination. What is Mesothelioma? Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that afflicts the meothelium or thin membrane that covers a person's lungs, heart and other vital organs. The cancer is most commonly caused by the inhalation of microscopic asbestos fibers. Asbestos fibers were first used by U.S. manufacturers and builders in the late 19th century ...

Mystery human fossils put spotlight on China

Mystery human fossils put spotlight on China
2012-03-15
Fossils from two caves in south-west China have revealed a previously unknown Stone Age people and give a rare glimpse of a recent stage of human evolution with startling implications for the early peopling of Asia. The fossils are of a people with a highly unusual mix of archaic and modern anatomical features and are the youngest of their kind ever found in mainland East Asia. Dated to just 14,500 to 11,500 years old, these people would have shared the landscape with modern-looking people at a time when China's earliest farming cultures were beginning, says an international ...

Reducing drug overdose for ex-prisoners -- the view from outside the prison gates

2012-03-15
Prison inmates frequently have a strong history of drug use and misuse, especially during the time prior to incarceration, and drugs often are the driving force behind the offense itself. New research, published in BioMed Central's newly launched open access journal Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, shows that ex-offenders struggle to remain drug free after release from prison and identifies factors that can help them succeed. Interviews with former inmates show that they themselves recognize that returning to former living environments (former friends and an easy ...

Social networking shortcut to finding medical experts

2012-03-15
It can be difficult for someone outside of a specialist field to identify subject experts and the ever increasing amount of available data can be bewildering. New research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal, Journal of Biomedical Semantics, describes a method of social network analysis, similar to finding friends on Facebook, able to sift through scientific literature and news articles to identify opinion leaders and media experts. Pharmaceutical companies and public health programs rely on opinion leaders to clarify and condense research into a format ...

'Personalized immune' mouse offers new tool for studying autoimmune diseases

2012-03-15
New York, NY (March 14, 2012) — Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists have developed a way to recreate an individual's immune system in a mouse. The "personalized immune mouse" offers researchers an unprecedented tool for individualized analysis of abnormalities that contribute to type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, starting at the onset of disease. The findings were published today in the online edition of Science Translational Medicine. The mouse model could also have clinical applications, such as predicting how a particular patient might ...

Study finds expensive procedure no more effective than medical therapy to prevent strokes

2012-03-15
CLEVELAND -- A catheter procedure that closes a hole in patients' hearts was no more effective than medical therapy in preventing recurrent strokes, according to a new study published in the March 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. In the CLOSURE I trial, clinical researchers compared a catheter procedure plus medical therapy with medications alone to prevent new strokes or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) in patients between 18 and 60 years old with an unexplained ("cryptogenic") stroke or TIA and a patent foremen ovale (PFO) – a hole between the heart's ...

Researchers identify unexpected player in intestinal immunity

Researchers identify unexpected player in intestinal immunity
2012-03-15
VIDEO: Using two-photon imaging, the researchers were able to see dendritic cells, shown in green, in the intestine of a living mouse. Click here for more information. With every meal, immune cells in the intestine stand like sentries at a citadel, turning away harmful bacteria but allowing vitamins and nutrients to pass. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the cells that chaperone food antigens, or proteins, in the ...

Mortgage Settlement Allotment to Struggling WI Homeowners: Too Little too Late?

2012-03-15
Of the $25 billion federal settlement funds for mortgage foreclosure abuses, Wisconsin will receive $140 million. The settlement money is being paid by J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Co, Citigroup and Ally (formerly GMAC), and is intended to help homeowners having difficulty making their mortgage payments and individuals who were the victims of improper foreclosures. According to Assistant Attorney General Holly Pomraning in a recent TheNorthwestern.com article, Wisconsin's share of the settlement will be divided and distributed as follows: - ...

CDC study shows outbreaks linked to imported foods increasing

2012-03-15
Foodborne disease outbreaks caused by imported food appeared to rise in 2009 and 2010, and nearly half of the outbreaks implicated foods imported from areas which previously had not been associated with outbreaks, according to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, presented today at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta. "It's too early to say if the recent numbers represent a trend, but CDC officials are analyzing information from 2011 and will continue to monitor for these outbreaks in the future," said Hannah ...

Influenza 'histone mimic' suppresses antiviral response

2012-03-15
A team of researchers led by scientists at The Rockefeller University has identified a novel mechanism by which influenza interferes with antiviral host response. The finding, reported in this week's issue of the journal Nature, shows that the immunosuppressive NS1 protein of the influenza A virus hijacks key regulators of antiviral gene function by mimicking a core component of gene regulating machinery. The results they describe have major implications for our understanding of the biology of seasonal influenza virus and its pathogenesis. This research also suggests a ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

Mission accomplished for the “T2T” Hong Kong Bauhinia Genome Project

[Press-News.org] Study: US tobacco-control efforts prevented nearly 800,000 cancer deaths between 1975 and 2000
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center led the NIH-funded research consortium