Publications

Colorectal cancer and hormone replacement therapy: a review of epidemiological studies

Mortality rates for colorectal cancer in many developed countries have declined in women more than in men. Possible explanations of the sex differentials in colorectal cancer mainly, but not only, refer to different exposure to exogenous hormones. This paper aims to review the available epidemiological evidence on this issue. Seven cohort studies reported information on HRT use and colorectal cancer risk, with relative risks (RRs) around or below unity, and significant inverse association was found in two of them. Of 12 case-control studies, five reported significant risk reductions among ever-users of HRT, while two investigations showed moderate, non-significant inverse associations and none showed a significant increased risk. Two recent meta-analysis showed a 20% reduction in the risk of colon cancer among current users. Overall, the studies reviewed support the existence of an inverse association between colorectal cancer and HRT. Although these epidemiological observations are consistent, surveillance bias may account for part of the association.

Nutrient intake according to education, smoking, and alcohol in Italian women

The control group of a hospital-based case-control study on breast cancer was used to assess the relationships between education, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and intake of selected macro- and micronutrients in Italian women. The study subjects were 2,588 women admitted to a network of hospitals in various Italian regions for nonneoplastic, acute diseases unrelated to long-term changes in the diet. Although relatively few differences were observed, less educated subjects consumed more linoleic acid and polyunsaturated fats than did more educated women. Smoking habits were associated with the largest differences in selected antioxidant vitamins. Significant differences were observed for beta-carotene and vitamin C intake, with an 11% higher intake of beta-carotene and a 12% higher intake of vitamin C in ex-smokers than in current smokers. Heavier alcohol drinkers tended to consume more retinol and iron but less beta-carotene than did moderate or nondrinkers. Thus the differences in macro- and micronutrient intake were generally moderate across categories of education, smoking, and alcohol consumption in this data set of Italian women. Nonetheless, they confirm the importance of allowing for these variables in analyzing the relationship between nutritional factors and disease risk.

Sociodemographic Determinants of Prevalence and Incidence of <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> Infection in Portuguese Adults

The prevalence of infection among adults is still very high in Portugal, suggesting that stomach cancer rates will remain high over the next few decades.

Supplementary Table 1 from Intake of Proton-Pump Inhibitors and Gastric Cancer within the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project

&lt;p&gt;Supplementary Table 1: Main characteristics of the studies included in the analysis.&lt;/p&gt;

Cancer mortality in the elderly in 11 countries worldwide, 1970–2015

(A) Southern blot analysis to examine IgH gene configuration with an IgH-specific probe

Genomic DNA was prepared and digested with EcoRI from splenic cells of LMP1/CD40 mice that developed neoplasias (34, 142, 176, 197, 230, 247, 365, and 221), one young LMP1/CD40 mouse (900; 3 mo of age), as well as a control mouse (905). The sequence analysis of the amplified IgH genes is shown in Fig. S6. (B) Representative histological analyses of diseased LMP1/CD40 mice and age matched control mice. (1) HE-stained normal spleen. (2) HE-stained spleen representative for diseased LMP1/CD40 mice, showing prominent nodular tumor infiltrates. (3) Lymphoma infiltrate within the spleen of a representative diseased LMP1/CD40 mouse. B cells were visualized by immunohistochemistry using an antibody specific for B220. (4) Higher magnification of section described in 3. (5) Dispersed reactive T cells within the lymphoma infiltrate were detected by an anti-CD3–specific antibody. A representative highly magnified section is shown. Bars: (1 and 2) 400 μm; (3) 100 μm; (4, 5, and inset) 25 μm. (C) Flow cytometric analysis of splenic cells for the expression of IgM and IgD. The gates were set according to the age-matched controls. For the diseased LMP1/CD40 mice, a shift toward one or two main populations could be observed, as shown for three representative samples. Fig. S6 is available at .<b>Copyright information:</b>Taken from "Constitutive CD40 signaling in B cells selectively activates the noncanonical NF-κB pathway and promotes lymphomagenesis"The Journal of Experimental Medicine 2008;205(6):1317-1329.Published online 9 Jun 2008PMCID:PMC2413030.

A pooled analysis of case-control studies of thyroid cancer¶ III. Oral contraceptives, menopausal replacement therapy and other female hormones

Food groups and colorectal cancer risk

Most studies of diet and colorectal cancer have considered nutrients and micronutrients, but the role of foods or food groups remains open to debate. To elucidate the issue, we examined data from a case-control study conducted between 1992 and 1997 in the Swiss canton of Vaud. Cases were 223 patients (142 men, 81 women) with incident, histologically confirmed colon (n= 119) or rectal (n= 104) cancer (median age 63 years), linked with the Cancer Registry of the Swiss Canton of Vaud, and controls were 491 subjects (211 men, 280 women, median age 58 years) admitted to the same university hospital for a wide spectrum of acute non-neoplastic conditions unrelated to long-term modifications of diet. Odds ratios (OR) were obtained after allowance for age, sex, education, smoking, alcohol, body mass index, physical activity and total energy intake. Significant associations were observed for refined grain (OR = 1.32 for an increase of one serving per day), and red meat (OR = 1.54), pork and processed meat (OR = 1.27), alcohol (OR = 1.28), and significant protections for whole grain (OR = 0.85), raw (OR = 0.85) and cooked vegetables (OR = 0.69), citrus (OR = 0.86) and other fruits (OR = 0.85), and for coffee (OR = 0.73). Garlic was also protective (OR = 0.32 for the highest tertile of intake). These findings in a central European population support the hypothesis that a diet rich in refined grains and red meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer; they, therefore, support the recommendation to substitute whole grains for refined grain, to limit meat intake, and to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.

Diabetes Mellitus and the Risk of Prostate Cancer in Italy

SFigure5 from Cyclic Fasting–Mimicking Diet Plus Bortezomib and Rituximab Is an Effective Treatment for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

&lt;p&gt;SFigure5&lt;/p&gt;

Differences in dietary intake with smoking, alcohol, and education

Differences in the frequency of consumption of 30 selected foods and in the estimated intake of total calories and selected nutrients in relation to alcohol drinking, tobacco smoking, and education were described using information obtained from 1,774 controls of a case-control study of digestive tract cancers conducted in northern Italy. Heavy alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, and lower level of education were associated with a diet poorer in several aspects, including lower consumption of fresh fruit and green vegetables and higher intake of specific indicator foods, such as sausages and canned meat. For instance, the mean number of portions of fresh fruit per week was 10.5 among male nondrinkers vs. 9.0 among heavy drinkers, 10.4 among male nonsmokers vs. 8.1 among heavy smokers, and 8.8 in less educated individuals vs. 10.7 among those more educated. Consequently, intake of beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, and calcium tended to be inversely related to alcohol and tobacco and directly related to education. Most associations were stronger in males, for whom alcohol consumption was also more common in less educated individuals. Calorie intake was directly related to alcohol consumption, largely reflecting calories provided by alcohol itself. However, alcohol drinking was also directly related to fat consumption. In both sexes, there was a strong positive correlation between cigarette smoking and coffee drinking. These results provide quantitative documentation that alcohol drinking, tobacco smoking, and education, three of the major determinants of cancer risks, were also correlates of dietary patterns and, hence, may exert an important confounding or modifying effect on the diet and cancer relationship.

Cruciferous vegetables and cancer risk in a network of case–control studies

Nonmelanomatous Skin Cancer Following Cervical, Vaginal, and Vulvar Neoplasms: Etiologic Association

SFigure6 from Cyclic Fasting–Mimicking Diet Plus Bortezomib and Rituximab Is an Effective Treatment for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

&lt;p&gt;SFigure6&lt;/p&gt;

Targeting Gene Function in Germinal Center B Cells: A Practical Approach

Dietary fiber intake and head and neck cancer risk: A pooled analysis in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium

The possible role of dietary fiber in the etiology of head neck cancers (HNCs) is unclear. We used individual-level pooled data from ten case-control studies (5959 cases and 12,248 controls) participating in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium, to examine the association between fiber intake and cancer of the oral cavity/pharynx and larynx. Odds Ratios (ORs) and their 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) were estimated using unconditional multiple logistic regression applied to quintile categories of non-alcohol energy-adjusted fiber intake and adjusted for tobacco and alcohol use and other known or putative confounders. Fiber intake was inversely associated with oral and pharyngeal cancer combined (OR for 5th vs. 1st quintile category = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.40-0.59; p for trend <0.001) and with laryngeal cancer (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.54-0.82, p for trend <0.001). There was, however, appreciable heterogeneity of the estimated effect across studies for oral and pharyngeal cancer combined. Nonetheless, inverse associations were consistently observed for the subsites of oral and pharyngeal cancers and within most strata of the considered covariates, for both cancer sites. Our findings from a multicenter large-scale pooled analysis suggest that, although in the presence of between-study heterogeneity, a greater intake of fiber may lower HNC risk.

Cancer Mortality in Italy, 1998

This short report provides data and statistics of cancer mortality in Italy in 1998, updating previous work on the issue. The material and methods of this report are similar to those previously described. Briefly, cancer death certification numbers by cause and estimates of the resident population in 1998, stratified by sex and quinquennia of age, were abstracted from data provided by the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT). All cancers or groups of cancers, classified according to the standard International Classification of Diseases (ICD), Ninth Revision, were grouped in 31 categories, besides total cancer mortality and other and unspecified sites. We grouped together all intestinal sites, melanomas and non-melanomatous skin neoplasms, all uterine neoplasms (cervix and corpus), all neoplasms of the brain and nerves (benign and malignant), all leukemias, and all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Eight tables were produced, including the following statistics: 1) number of deaths, crude and age-standardized death certification rates, and percentages of all cancer deaths for population at all ages and truncated 35-64 years (Table 1 for males and Table 2 for females). Two different standards were used: i) the 1971 Italian census population, corrected for census undercount and subdivided into 16 quinquennia of age from 0-4 to 75-79, plus 80 and over, and ii) the world standard population, for purposes of comparison with other countries; 2) age-specific death certification rates for each sex and quinquennium of age from 0-4 to 75-79, plus 80 and over (Table 3 for males and Table 4 for females); 3) total number of registered deaths for each cancer or group of cancers, sex and age group (Table 5 for males and Table 6 for females); 4) percentage of all cancer deaths for each sex and age group (Table 7 for males and Table 8 for females). A few comments are included, mainly in order to assist reading and interpretation of data for major cancer sites, and to recall underlying long-term tendencies. Any inference should in any case be based on age-standardized rates, and, essentially, on detailed inspection of age-specific rates.