Aim. The aim of our study was to assess whether selected single nucleotide polymorphisms of CYP1A1 and 2E1, GSTM1, GSTT1, and SULT1A1 influence susceptibility towards HCC, considering their interaction with cigarette smoking. Methods. We recruited HCC cases and controls among patients admitted to the hospital "Agostino Gemelli," from January 2005 until July 2010. Odds ratios (OR) of HCC were derived from unconditional multiple logistic regression. Gene-gene and gene-smoking interaction were quantified by computing the attributable proportion (AP) due to biological interaction. Results. The presence of any CYP2E1 (*) 5B variant allele (OR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.06-0.71) and CYP2E1 (*) 6 variant allele (OR: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.01-0.33) was inversely related to HCC. There was a borderline increased risk among carriers of combined CYP1A1 (*) 2A and SULT1A1 variant alleles (OR: 1.67; 95% CI: 0.97-3.24). A significant biological interaction was observed between GSTT1 and smoking (AP = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.001-0.815), with an OR of 3.13 (95% CI: 1.69-5.82), and borderline significant interaction was observed for SULT1A1 and smoking (AP = 0.36; 95% CI: -0.021-0.747), with an OR of 3.05 (95% CI: 1.73-5.40). Conclusion. CYP2E1 (*) 5B and CYP2E1 (*) 6 polymorphisms have a favourable effect on the development of HCC, while polymorphisms of GSTT1 and SULT1A1 might play role in increasing the susceptibility among smokers.

Differences in HNC aetiology according to age group may exist. The lower AF of cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking in young adults may be due to the reduced length of exposure due to the lower age. Other characteristics, such as those that are inherited, may play a more important role in HNC in young adults compared with older adults.

It has been suggested that alcohol intake increases sunburn severity, a major risk factor for cutaneous melanoma (CM). Several epidemiological studies have investigated the relationship between alcohol consumption and CM, but the evidence is inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to quantify this relationship better, using a meta-analytical approach. The dose-risk relationship was also modelled through a class of flexible nonlinear meta-regression random effects models. The present meta-analysis included 16 studies (14 case-control and two cohort investigations) with a total of 6251 cases of CM. The pooled relative risk (RR) for any alcohol drinking compared with no/occasional drinking was 1·20 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·06-1·37]. The risk estimate was similar in case-control (RR 1·20, 95% CI 1·01-1·44) and cohort studies (RR 1·26, 95% CI 1·19-1·35). The pooled RR was 1·10 (95% CI 0·96-1·26) for light alcohol drinking (≤ 1 drink per day) and 1·18 (95% CI 1·01-1·40) for moderate-to-heavy drinking. The pooled RR from 10 studies adjusting for sun exposure was 1·15 (95% CI 0·94-1·41), while the RR from six unadjusted studies was 1·27 (95% CI 1·20-1·35). No evidence of publication bias was detected. This meta-analysis of published data reveals that alcohol consumption is positively associated with the risk of CM. However, caution in interpreting these results is required, as residual confounding by sun exposure cannot be ruled out.

The aim of this study was to interpret long-term trends in cancer mortality. We analyzed age, period of death, and cohort of birth effects for 18 major cancer sites and all neoplasms combined in the European Union and 16 European countries over the period 1970-2009 using data from the WHO mortality database. We used a log-linear Poisson model with a likelihood penalizing function to solve the identifiability problem. The present comprehensive analysis confirms the appreciable declines of cancer mortality since the late 1980s in most European countries. For several major sites, the declines were appreciably greater for cohort effects than for period ones. This reflects - besides the inherent characteristics of the model used - a major impact of tobacco smoking on total cancer mortality, particularly in men, as the role of tobacco in mortality of subsequent generations is largely - although not totally - a cohort effect. For neoplasms largely affected by improvements in management and therapy (e.g. testis, Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, but also breast and colorectal cancer), a favorable period effect is evident. However, there is also a cohort effect as the advancements have been generally greater in younger generations. For several cancer sites, there were considerable differences in cohort and period effects across Europe, and particularly high age-specific estimates were observed in eastern countries.

The present study provides further support of a role of diabetes in bladder cancer aetiology, although some residual confounding by tobacco, body mass index, or other unmeasured covariates may partly explain the association observed.

In Central and Western Europe, cancer mortality is declining at slower rates as compared with rates in the rest of the world. More than a generation has now passed since the end of nonmarket economies in Central and Eastern Europe. It is time for this area of the continent to close the gap in cancer incidence and mortality rates between it and Western Europe and other high-income areas of the world.

After fewer than 3 years from the opening of the first Italian e-cigarette shop, more than 45 million Italians have heard about e-cigarettes, 3.5 million have tried e-cigaretts, and more than 600,000 Italians regularly use e-cigarettes. Three out of 4 e-cigarette users reported to have favorably modified their smoking habit; however, 90% of users did not quit smoking as a consequence of starting vaping e-cigarettes. Almost 900,000 Italian never-smokers, particularly young never-smokers, have tried this new and potentially addictive product at least once.

No abstract