Some studies examined the inverse relation between nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) risk and dietary fibers in endemic populations. By means of a hospital-based case-control study, we verified whether this association was also present in Italy in connection with various types of dietary fibers. Cases were 198 patients with incident, histologically confirmed, NPC admitted to major teaching and general hospitals during 1992-2008. Controls were 594 patients admitted for acute, nonneoplastic conditions to the same hospital network of cases. Information was elicited using a validated food frequency questionnaire including 78 foods, food groups, or dishes. Odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated for quartiles of intake of different types of fiber after allowance for energy intake and other potential confounding factors. Total fiber intake was inversely related to risk of NPC (OR = 0.58 for the highest vs. the lowest quartile of intake; 95% CI: 0.34-0.96). We found an inverse association for total soluble (OR = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.35-0.96) and total insoluble fiber (OR = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.33-0.95), in particular cellulose (OR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.33-0.96), and lignin (OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.31-0.85). In conclusion, this study suggests that dietary intake of soluble and insoluble fibers is inversely related to NPC risk in a nonendemic southern population.
In order to quantify the risk of pancreatic cancer associated with history of any allergy and specific allergies, to investigate differences in the association with risk according to age, gender, smoking status, or body mass index, and to study the influence of age at onset, we pooled data from 10 case-control studies. In total, there were 3,567 cases and 9,145 controls. Study-specific odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, smoking status, and body mass index. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed by using the Cochran Q statistic. Study-specific odds ratios were pooled by using a random-effects model. The odds ratio for any allergy was 0.79 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.62, 1.00) with heterogeneity among studies (P < 0.001). Heterogeneity was attributable to one study; with that study excluded, the pooled odds ratio was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.84) (Pheterogeneity = 0.23). Hay fever (odds ratio = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.96) and allergy to animals (odds ratio = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.94) were related to lower risk, while there was no statistically significant association with other allergies or asthma. There were no major differences among subgroups defined by age, gender, smoking status, or body mass index. Older age at onset of allergies was slightly more protective than earlier age.
High garlic intake may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. However, evidence of such protection derived mainly from case-control studies. High intake of total allium vegetables may be associated with a risk reduction of colorectal adenomatous polyps.
Read moreAbstract — Aims: To quantify the magnitude of the association between alcohol and oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) by sex, smoking habits, type of alcoholic beverage and other factors. Methods: We combined findings from all case–control and cohort studies published until September 2010 and present in this article the results classified by these factors, using a meta-analytic ap-proach. Summary relative risks (RRs) were obtained using random-effects models; heterogeneity was assessed using the χ2 test. Results: The association between alcohol and OPC risk was similar in men and women, with similar dose–response relationships. No notable differences were found with respect to geographic area and other factors, both for drinking overall and heavy (≥4 drinks/ day) drinking. Among never/non-current smokers, the pooled RRs were 1.32 (95 % confidence interval, CI, 1.05–1.67) for drinking, and 2.54 (95 % CI, 1.80–3.58) for heavy drinking. The corresponding RRs in smokers were 2.92 (95 % CI, 2.31–3.70) and 6.32 (95 % CI, 5.05–7.90). The pooled RRs for any drinking irrespective of smoking were 2.12 (95 % CI, 1.37–3.29) for wine-, 2.43 (95%
Read moreMultidisciplinary experts in the areas of nutrition and health met in Chinchón, Madrid, on November 25-26, 2013 under the auspices of the Fundación para la Investigación Nutricional (Nutrition Research Foundation) and with the collaboration of the Madrid Regional Government's Health Ministry, the International Sweeteners Association and the Carlos III Health Institute CIBER of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition. They analyzed the current status of scientific knowledge on low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) and developed a consensus Decalogue on their use; this constitutes the Chinchón Declaration. Sweeteners, including sugar, represent a subject of undeniable interest and are currently a popular topic, although areas relating to their safety and benefits remain unknown to segments of academia and the general public. The nature of LNCS makes them vulnerable to biased and even contradictory information. They are food additives that are broadly used as sugar substitutes to sweeten foods, medicines and food supplements when non-nutritional or non-caloric alternatives are needed. The Chinchón Decalogue is the outcome of a meeting for reflection and consensus by a group of experts with backgrounds in different scientific disciplines (toxicology, clinical nutrition, community nutrition, physiology, food science, public health, pediatrics, endocrinology and nutrition, nursing, pharmaceutical care and food legislation). The Decalogue includes different aspects of LNCS related to regulation, use, benefits and safety. In general, benefits of LNCS have been traditionally neglected in comparison with the tendency for emphasising unexisting or unproven possible risks. The need to strengthen research on LNCS in Spain was emphasized, as well as the need to educate both professionals and the public.
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Read moreBackground Folate, also known as vitamin B9, is a water soluble vitamin and is found naturally in green leafy vegetables, cereals, legumes and fruits. There are suggestions of an inverse association between folate intake with the risk of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancers (OPC), but most of the studies are limited in sample size with only few reporting information on the source of dietary folate. Alcohol consumption, one of the main causes of OPC, perturbs the folate metabolism by reducing folate absorption …
Read moree11571 Background: The evidence supporting the use of trastuzumab (T) in metastatic setting comes from studies that included (almost) only patients who never received prior T. We investigated the effectiveness of T as first line therapy for metastatic breast cancer (mBC) in women already treated with T in the adjuvant setting. Methods: Using record linkage of 4 admistrative healthcare databases of Lombardy, Italy, we identified 2046 women treated with T for early BC in 2006-2009, 96 of whom developed a metastasis and were retreated with T in first line for mBC (treatment group). We compared overall survival (OS) of these women with that of 197 women treated with T in first line for mBC, who were treated with therapies other than T for early disease (control group). We computed Kaplan-Meier 2-year OS, and used a proportional hazard model to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of death of the intervention group as compared to the control group. Results: Two-year OS was 60.0% in the treatment group and 59.5% in the control group. The HR of death of the treatment group compared to the control group, adjusted by age and metastatic site, was 0.80 (95% Confidence Interval 0.50-1.28). Conclusions: Given the unavailability of data from randomized clinical trials, our data provide suggestive evidence that the outcome of women receiving first line T treatment for mBC after T-failure in adjuvant setting is comparable to that of women not exposed to T for early BC.
Read moreGeneric products are not responsible for the high rate of discontinuation from antihypertensive drug therapy. Assuming therapeutic equivalence, clinical implication is of prescribing generic drug therapies.
Read moreAims and background This report provides up-to-date data and statistics for cancer mortality in Italy in 2008, and predicts the figures and rates for selected cancer sites for 2012. Methods Cancer death certifications (for 30 sites) and resident population estimates in 2008 stratified by sex and age were obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) database (WHOSIS). Mortality rates were age-standardized on the world standard population. Results Cancer deaths registered in Italy in 2008 were 172,783 (97,773 men and 75,010 women), corresponding to age-standardized death rates of 144.1/100,000 men and 84.3/100,000 women. The projected cancer deaths in 2012 are 178,000 (100,000 men, 78,000 women) and the corresponding rates 132,5/100,000 men and 80.5/100,000 women. The favorable trend in lung cancer mortality among men was confirmed, with rates of 37.7/100,000 in 2008 (all ages) and 33.3 for 2012. Other tobacco-related cancers also declined in men but not in women, including pancreatic cancer, whose rates tended to level off over the last 3 years. The fall in female cancer mortality rates continues to be led by favorable trends in breast cancer (16.1/100,000 in 2007 and 15.2 in 2012), intestinal cancer, stomach cancer and uterine cancer. However, the female lung cancer mortality was still rising with 7743 deaths in 2008 (9.5/100,000), and lung cancer is predicted to become the second cause of female cancer mortality by 2012 (8,500 deaths, 9.8/100,000). Conclusions Reduced tobacco and alcohol consumption are largely responsible for the favorable trends in cancer mortality in men. Advances in treatment and management accounted for the reduced mortality from colorectal cancer, breast cancer, leukemias and a few other cancers, as well as improved diagnosis for colorectal, cervical and breast cancer. The rising epidemic of tobacco-related deaths in women indicates the need for targeted tobacco-control strategies.
Read moreGovernment tobacco control policies are positively related to the individual-level tobacco policy of having an in-home smoking ban.
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