Excerpt from Division of Cancer Etiology, Vol. 3: 1985 Annual Report; October 1, 1984-September 30, 1985 The Epidemiology and Biostatistics (E&B) Program is the focus in the Institute for epidemiologic and biostatistical research in cancer etiology. The Program is responsible for intramural, collaborative, and grant-supported investigations into the distribution, causes, natural history, and means of preventing cancer. The epidemiologic approach is comprehensive and covers the gamut of environmental and host determinants of cancer. The Program also conducts and supports the development of new methodologic approaches in epidemiology and biostatistics, multidisciplinary investigations that combine epidemiologic and laboratory methods, and biostatistical and mathematical research that permits a better understanding of carcinogenic mechanisms and quantitative cancer risk assessment. Dr. Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr. continued to direct the Program as the Associate Director for Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Dr. William J. Blot was appointed this year as Chief of the Biostatistics Branch, which now includes the Analytical Studies Section (Chief, Dr. Blot) which was transferred from the Environmental Epidemiology Branch. In addition, an Epidemiologic Methods Section (Chief, Dr. Mitchell Gail) was created in the Biostatistics Branch along with an Information Resource Management Section (Chief, Mr. Michael Stump). The other components of the Program are the Environmental Epidemiology Branch (Chief, Dr. Robert N. Hoover), the Clinical Epidemiology Branch (Dr. Robert W. Miller), the Radiation Epidemiology Branch (Dr. John D. Boice, Jr.) and the Extramural Programs Branch (Chief, Dr. John A. Cooper). Thus, as a result of reorganization over the past two years, there are now four intramural branches and one extramural branch in the E&B Program. The Branch Chiefs have summarized in their annual reports the research activities taking place this year. In this report, the general orientation, summary highlights, and future direction of the E&B Program are briefly described. Intramural Research Continued emphasis was given this year to case-control and cohort studies aimed at evaluating key hypotheses in cancer etiology. Case-control studies of selected cancers have been undertaken when high-risk communities are identified on the cancer maps or when major testable hypotheses and special resources become available. Whenever possible, laboratory procedures are incorporated in the epidemiologic studies to better clarify exposures, pre-clinical responses, and mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Tobacco: Cigarette smoking is known to account for a substantial proportion of human cancer, and its effects on lung cancer were evaluated by a large-scale case-control study in several European cities. The size of this study made it possible to clarify the modification of risk due to changing smoking habits. It was found that cessation of smoking lowers lung cancer risk, but the reduction was proportionally greater for short-term vs. long-term smokers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.