[Lung cancer as an index of tobacco exposure: association with non-lung cancer mortality].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the possible role of tobacco smoke in non-lung cancer (excluding stomach cancer) using changes in lung cancer mortality rates as a proxy for tobacco exposure. METHODS: A time series analysis of cancer mortality was performed to evaluate the possible association between changes in mortality rates for lung cancer and for non-lung, non-stomach cancer (NLNS) from 1970 to 2003 in Spanish males. To avoid problems with autocorrelation, Prais-Winsten regression was applied. RESULTS: Changes in NLNS cancer death rates showed a parallel trend with lung cancer death rates in the study period, with an adjusted slope of 1.07, 95% CI of 0.98-1.17, and R2 of 0.97. CONCLUSION: Variation in NLNS cancer death rates can be accurately modelled as a function of changes in lung cancer death rates for the study period, suggesting a possible association between tobacco exposure and NLNS cancers.