Evaluate the collective function of references cited together in a given text segment.
Classify their combined role into one of the following categories: 'method', 'background', or 'result'.

Text:With the exception of a previously published analysis of the first of our two pooled studies (10); other investigations have associated parity with decreases in risk of colon and rectal cancer combined (6, 8, 21), or colon cancer alone (3, 15, 19-21, 27) but not rectal cancer.
Category: