Day 256 - 04 Jun 96 - Page 41
1 A. You are right. I am not a physician, and I have not
2 treated such patients, but, from my understanding of the
3 literature from my peers with whom I work in the field,
4 I am not impressed with that idea. But, as I say, that is
5 secondary information from me reading the literature.
6
7 Q. What is the condition (if I may call it that) of the
8 science of diagnosis, early diagnosis of cancers, in the
9 Peoples Republic of China? How good are they at early
10 diagnosis?
11 A. I really cannot answer that question, I think.
12
13 Q. But you see that the point that I am on, I expect? There
14 may be a difficulty about using mortality rates in Peoples
15 Republic of China in 1973 to 1975 for diseases that may
16 have started a long time before that, and then try to
17 compare those rates with, for example, an advanced country
18 like the United States of America?
19 A. No. I think they are really comparable, and they are
20 comparable in this sense: the rates, both in the West and
21 in China are age standardised, so we take into
22 consideration -- we make the correction for the age of
23 onset or age of obvious appearance of the cancer or age of
24 death of the cancer, if you will; and so we are basically
25 comparing people of the same ages, over the entire period
26 from ages 35 to 60, 65.
27
28 So, no, the point to your question regarding early
29 diagnosis, late diagnosis, quality of care and cure, those
30 possible contributions to the mortality rates are
31 absolutely minimal, if any, because we have in fact
32 instituted correction procedures.
33
34 Q. Can I ask you one other thing about, I do not know whether
35 you call it a protocol or what, for this study. Your
36 immediate food or dietary data were obtained in two ways,
37 am I right: by a three-day survey of a selected number of
38 households, or all the households?
39 A. I said a random sample.
40
41 Q. A sample, I thought it was that; a random sample, over
42 three days, of what they ate and in what amounts?
43 A. Right.
44
45 Q. By weight?
46 A. Right.
47
48 Q. Otherwise, the data were compiled in the usual way, by
49 questionnaire?
50 A. Right.
51
52 Q. I do not know, because I have not had time to look, do we
53 find facsimiles of the questionnaire in your big China
54 project book?
55 A. Sorry, I should know this, but I think we do. Let me
56 take a look. I think we stuck it in the back of the book
57 here; I am not really sure. If we do not -- yes, it is.
58 I am sorry. It is here.
59
60 Q. It is here?
