A case-control study was carried out on 145 male lung-cancer patients
diagnosed at autopsy and 178 controls, in order to investigate the rel
ationship between asbestos exposure and the cell type of pulmonary car
cinoma. Adenocarcinomas (AD) were individually matched with other cell
types and with controls. The relative risk (RR) of developing AD in r
elation with lung asbestos body (AB) content as the exposure indicator
was calculated by using logistic-regression analysis for matched sets
. Two cutoff levels, 1,000 and 10,000 asbestos bodies per gram dry wei
ght (AB/gdw), were used in the analysis. In addition, AB counts were t
reated as a continuous variable (log AB + I). A significant associatio
n was found between AD and asbestos exposure, using levers and logarit
hmic transformation. However, an association of asbestos exposure with
cell types other than AD could not be ruled out. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss,
Inc.