Diet and inflammation have been suggested to be important risk factors for colorectal cancer (CRC). In the present study, we examined the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and the risk of CRC in a multi-centre case-control study conducted between 1992 and 1996 in Italy. The study included 1225 incident colon cancer cases, 728 incident rectal cancer cases and 4154 controls hospitalised for acute non-neoplastic diseases. The DII was computed based on dietary intake assessed using a validated seventy-eight-item FFQ that included assessment of alcohol intake. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the OR adjusted for age, sex, study centre, education, BMI, alcohol drinking, physical activity and family history of CRC. Energy intake was adjusted using the residual method. Subjects with higher DII scores (i.e. with a more pro-inflammatory diet) had a higher risk of CRC, with the DII being used both as a continuous variable (OR(continuous) 1.13, 95 % CI 1.09, 1.18) and as a categorical variable (OR(quintile 5 v. 1) 1.55, 95 % CI 1.29, 1.85; P for trend < 0.0001). Similar results were observed when the analyses were carried out separately for colon and rectal cancer cases. These results indicate that a pro-inflammatory diet is associated with an increased risk of CRC.

Elderly (age ≥75 years) patients with AF in both Japan and the UK are at similarly high risk of stroke and death, with OAC still underused in both populations. Ethnicity was not independently associated with the risk of stroke, regardless of OAC use or non-use.

Abstract Neoplasms continue to dominate globally as one of the major sources of human disease and death. From a biological, clinical, and public health point of view, it is important to differentiate between a malignant and benign neoplasm. There are multiple causes of cancer and understanding the attributable risk factors for each cancer is important. This chapter covers the role of cellular and molecular mechanisms as well as the experimental and epidemiological approaches as determinants of select, common cancers. Promising approaches focused on prevention of the known causes, reducing its consequences, and notably in resource-constrained settings are highlighted.

Although therapeutic advancements have made Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) a largely curable disease, trends in HL mortality have been variable across countries. To provide updated information on HL mortality in the Americas, overall and 20-44 years age-standardized (world population) mortality rates from HL were derived for the 12 Latin American countries providing valid data to the World Health Organization database and with more than two million of inhabitants. For comparative purpose, data for the United States and Canada were also presented. Trends in mortality over the 1997 to 2008 period are based on joinpoint regression analysis. Declines in HL mortality were registered in all Latin American countries except in Venezuela. In most recent years, HL mortality had fallen to about 0.3/100,000 men and 0.2/100,000 women in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala, that is, to values similar to North America. Despite some declines, rates remained high in Cuba (1/100,000 men and 0.7/100,000 women), Costa Rica and Mexico as well as in Venezuela (between 0.5 and 0.6/100,000 men and between 0.3 and 0.5/100,000 women). In young adults, trends were more favorable in all Latin American countries except Cuba, whose rates remained exceedingly high (0.8/100,000 men and 0.6/100,000 women). Thus, appreciable declines in HL mortality were observed in most Latin America over the last decade, and several major countries reached values comparable to North America. Substantial excess mortality was still observed in Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico and Venezuela, calling for urgent interventions to improve HL management in these countries.

This study provides a general model for the description and interpretation of the variation in breast cancer mortality in Europe, based in three main patterns.

High intakes of fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer at several sites. Evidence has been derived mainly from case-control studies. We reviewed the relationship between consumption of vegetables and fruit and the risk of several common cancers in a network of Italian and Swiss case-control studies including over 10,000 cases of fourteen different cancers and about 17,000 controls. Data were suggestive of a protective role of vegetable intake on the risk of several common epithelial cancers. OR for the highest compared with the lowest levels of consumption ranged from 0.2 (larynx, oral cavity and pharynx) to 0.9 (prostate). Inverse associations were found for both raw and cooked vegetables, although for upper digestive tract cancers the former were somewhat stronger. Similar inverse associations were found for cruciferous vegetables. Frequent consumption of allium vegetables was also associated with reduced risk of several cancers. Fruit was a favourable correlate of the risk of several cancers, particularly of the upper digestive tract, with associations generally weaker than those reported for vegetables. A reduced risk of cancers of the digestive tract and larynx was found for high consumption of citrus fruit. Suggestive protections against several forms of cancer, mainly digestive tract cancers, were found for high consumption of apples and tomatoes. High intakes of fibres, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins were inversely related to various forms of cancer. In conclusion, data from our series of case-control studies suggested a favourable role of high intakes of fruit and vegetables in the risk of many common cancers, particularly of the digestive tract. This adds evidence to the indication that aspects of the Mediterranean diet may have a favourable impact not only on CVD, but also on several common (epithelial) cancers, particularly of the digestive tract.

BACKGROUND Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a specific reproductive health risk for women. METHODS Searches were performed in Medline and other databases. The selection criteria were high-quality studies and studies relevant to clinical reproductive medicine. Summaries were presented and discussed by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Workshop Group. RESULTS VTE is a multifactorial disease with a baseline annual incidence around 50 per 100 000 at 25 years and 120 per 100 000 at age 50. Its major complication is pulmonary embolism, causing death in 1-2% of patients. Higher VTE risk is associated with an inherited thrombophilia in men and women. Changes in the coagulation system and in the risk of clinical VTE in women also occur during pregnancy, with the use of reproductive hormones and as a consequence of ovarian stimulation when hyperstimulation syndrome and conception occur together. In pregnancy, the risk of VTE is increased ~5-fold, while the use of combined hormonal contraception (CHC) doubles the risk and this relative risk is higher with the more recent pills containing desogestrel, gestodene and drospirenone when compared with those with levonorgestrel. Similarly, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases the VTE risk 2- to 4-fold. There is a synergistic effect between thrombophilia and the various reproductive risks. Prevention of VTE during pregnancy should be offered to women with specific risk factors. In women who are at high risk, CHC and HRT should be avoided. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians managing pregnancy or treating women for infertility or prescribing CHC and HRT should be aware of the increased risks of VTE and the need to take a careful medical history to identify additional co-existing risks, and should be able to diagnose VTE and know how to approach its prevention.

Inappropriate measures of exposure, including inadequate consideration of latency in the analysis of chronic effects of air pollution, may lead to overestimation of the impact of air pollution on health effects. A relatively simple way to check the plausibility of results on chronic effects of air pollution would be to report in parallel the smoking-associated risks.