Prospective cohort study of risk factors for primary liver cancer in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

Abstract

We investigated risk factors for primary liver cancer among a cohort of 36,133 residents in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, originally established to examine the association between exposure to atomic bomb radiation and disease. A mail survey to study the late effects of atomic bomb radiation was conducted among the cohort between 1978 and 1981. During the subsequent follow-up period (average 8.61 years), 242 cases of primary liver cancer were identified through population-based tumor registries in the two cities. The relative risk (RR) of liver cancer was 2.23 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.53-3.23] for tobacco smokers compared with those who had never smoked. Alcohol use was slightly positively associated with the risk of liver cancer, and men who had quit drinking had an RR of 2.33 (95% CI = 1.34-4.07) compared with those who never drank. Among alcohol drinkers, an inverse relation between years of abstinence and the rate of liver cancer was found, possibly attributable to a confounding effect of preclinical disease. The use of female hormone preparations was modestly associated with the risk of liver cancer (RR = 1.29; 95% CI = 0.59-2.84). Other risk factors included a self-reported history of radiation therapy (RR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.31-2.43).