2,971 publications from this institution
A controlled clinical trial was conducted in Milan, Italy to analyze the effects of methylxanthine (MTX) and alcohol abstention on signs and symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease. A total of 192 women with a clinical and thermographic diagnosis of fibrocystic breast disease were randomly assigned to four groups on the basis of two-by-two factorial design: (1) abstention from MTX-containing beverages, (2) abstention from alcohol, (3) abstention from MTX and alcohol, and (4) no dietary advice. Of these, 162 (84.4%) were followed up at approximately 6 months. No statistically or clinically significant effect of a MTX- or alcohol-free diet was observed on signs and symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease. On the basis of the results of the present and previous randomized controlled studies, it thus appears possible to exclude that abstention from coffee and other MTX-containing beverages can substantially reduce signs and symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease within a few months.
Studies conducted in different areas of North America and Europe showed a 5-10% decline in the incidence of breast cancer following reductions up to 70% in menopause hormone therapy (HT) use after 2002. The observation that the decline was larger in (or limited to) women aged > or =50 years weighs in favour of an effect of reduced HT use on breast cancer incidence. However, changes in screening are also likely to play a role in the decreasing incidence of breast cancer observed in several countries. In particular, the technical improvements and the increased effectiveness of breast cancer screening and detection during the 1990s led to a decreased number of pre-clinical cases found by screening in subsequent years. Further, disentangling the effects of HT use and screening is difficult, as women who stop using HT may also undergo mammography screening less frequently. Thus, the reasons of the falls in incidence remain open to discussion.
The relationship between family history of selected neoplasms in first-degree relatives and the risk of pancreatic, liver, and gallbladder cancer was investigated using data from a case-control study conducted in northern Italy on 320 histologically confirmed incident cases of liver cancer, 58 of gallbladder cancer, 362 of pancreatic cancer, and 1408 controls admitted to the hospital for acute, nonneoplastic, nondigestive tract disorders. Significant associations were observed between family history of hepatocellular carcinoma and primary liver cancer [relative risk (RR) = 2.4; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3 to 4.4], between family history of pancreatic cancer and pancreatic cancer (RR = 3.0; 95% CI, 1.4 to 6.6), and between family history of gallbladder cancer and gallbladder cancer (RR = 13.9; 95% CI, 1.2 to 163.9). The elevated risk of liver cancer associated with family history was not materially modified by adjustment for tobacco, alcohol, and personal history of cirrhosis and hepatitis (RR = 2.9; 95% CI, 1.5 to 5.3). Similarly, the risk for pancreatic cancer did not appreciably change after allowance for tobacco, alcohol, dietary factors, and medical history of diabetes and pancreatitis (RR = 2.8; 95% CI, 1.3 to 6.3). This pattern of risk would support the existence of a genetic component in the familial aggregation of liver and pancreatic cancer. In terms of population attributable risk, approximately 3% of the newly diagnosed liver and pancreatic cancers would be related to this familial component.
