Habra MA, et al. - Via a hospital-based case-control study at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center on 432 patients with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC, a rare malignancy with unclear risk factors), the researchers investigated the relationship of ACC risk with exposure to selected environmental factors, with a focus on cigarette smoking. individuals involved were randomized into cases and controls (n=1,204). Younger mean age was noted in cases with the majority of cases as female and non-Hispanic white, in comparison to the controls. A considerable elevation in the risk of ACC among male cigarette smokers with an adjusted odds ratios=1.8 was noted as compared to female smokers. An increased risk of ACC and in both men and women with a positive family history of cancer was also ascertained, whereas alcohol consumption was linked to diminished risk in men but not women. Therefore, in susceptible individuals, analyzing these risk factors and their underlying mechanisms could help prevent ACC and eventually recognize new therapeutic options for ACC.