Prediction model created for blacks.

• Position: Lung Cancer

Lung cancer risk prediction models are enhanced by taking into account risk factors by race and by measuring DNA repair capacity, according to research teams led by epidemiologists at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, in two complementary papers.

In the first study to focus on African-Americans, researchers found unique results based on increased exposure to certain risks. Based upon these findings, a specific model was developed to refine further the predictability of lung cancer in this population, according to lead author Carol Etzel, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology.

"African-Americans have similar risk factors for lung cancer as Caucasians, but the risk tends to be higher, and there is a stronger association with occupational exposures, such as wood dust and asbestos, than we have previously observed for whites," explains Etzel. "Additionally, we determined the risks associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are substantially higher than those noted in Caucasian subjects." COPDs, such as emphysema, raise a person's risk for lung cancer.

More than 85% of all lung cancers occur in current or former smokers and are the cause of more deaths than any other cancer, killing more than 160,000 Americans annually and millions more worldwide. According to the American Cancer Society, Atlanta...