A large medical center's oncology program reported an increased number of cases of pancreatic cancer during a certain month. The hospital's epidemiologist decided to research the problem. Tumor registry records were searched to identify all cases of pancreatic cancer during a five-year period; cancer patients were matched with patients treated for other diseases during the same five-year period. All subjects in the study were questioned about lifestyle factors including alcohol, tea, and coffee consumption. In addition there were 200 male cancer patients and 300 patients with others diseases other than cancer. The resulting data are as follows:
DATA
Cancer Patients Other Patients
Men Women Men Women
LIFESTYLE VARIABLE
Alcohol 185 120 270 260
Tea Drinking 140 110 230 225
Coffee Drinking 190 140 270 240
i). What study design is this?
ii). Is this study design experimental or observational?
iii). List two advantages of this type of study design.
iv). List two disadvantages of this type of this study design.
v). Calculate and interpret the appropriate statistical measure of risk associated with alcohol drinking in this study for men.