Question

An investigator wants to assess whether smoking is a risk factor for bladder cancer. Electronic medical records at a city hospital will be used to identify one hundred patients with pancreatic cancer. Two hundred patients who are similar but free of bladder cancer will also be selected. Each participant’s medical record will be analyzed for smoking history. Which of the following is not true about this study?

A. It is not useful when several potentially harmful exposures are under consideration.

B. It is cost- and time-efficient for studying rare diseases.

C. It is efficient when studying diseases with a long latency period.

D. It is not possible to estimate incidence because participants are selected on the basis of their outcome status.

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

An investigator wants to assess whether smoking is a risk factor for bladder cancer. Electronic medical records at a city hospital will be used to identify one hundred patients with pancreatic cancer. Two hundred patients who are similar but free of bladder cancer will also be selected. Each participant’s medical record will be analyzed for smoking history. Which of the following is not true about this study?

B. It is cost- and time-efficient for studying rare diseases.