Cancer Epidemiology Unit

About: Cancer Epidemiology Unit is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 669 authors who have published 1725 publications receiving 93979 citations.

Usefulness of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance for Recurrent Pericarditis

Abstract: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) offers the capability to objectively detect pericarditis by identifying pericardial thickening, edema/inflammation by Short-TI Inversion Recovery-T2 weighted (STIR-T2w) imaging, edema/inflammation or fibrosis by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), and presence of pericardial effusion. This is especially helpful for the diagnosis of recurrent pericarditis. Aim of the present paper is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of CMR findings as well as their potential prognostic value for the diagnosis of recurrent pericarditis. Multicenter cohort study of consecutive patients with recurrent pericarditis evaluated by CMR. We included 128 consecutive cases (60 males, 47%; mean age 48 ± 14 years). CMR was performed at a mean time of 12 days (95% confidence interval 15 to 21) after the clinical diagnosis. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy and areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for CMR diagnostic criteria and complications (additional recurrences, cardiac tamponade, and constrictive pericarditis). Areas under the ROC curve were respectively 64% for pericardial thickening, 84% for pericardial edema, 82% for pericardial LGE, and 71% for pericardial effusion. After a mean follow-up of 34 months, recurrences occurred in 52% of patients, tamponade in 6%, and constrictive pericarditis in 11%. Using a multivariable Cox model, elevation of CRP and presence of CMR pericardial thickening were predictors of adverse events, whereas the presence of CMR LGE was associated with a lower risk. The prognostic model for adverse events using gender, age, CRP level, and all CMR variables showed a C-index of 0.84. In conclusion, CMR findings show high diagnostic accuracy and may help identifying patients at higher risk of complications.

Quality of Life in Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer after a 12-Month Treatment of Lifestyle Modifications

Abstract: Healthy lifestyles are associated with better health-related quality of life (HRQoL), favorable prognosis and lower mortality in breast cancer (BC) survivors. We investigated changes in HRQoL after a 12-month lifestyle modification program in 227 BC survivors participating in DEDiCa trial (Mediterranean diet, exercise, vitamin D). HRQoL was evaluated through validated questionnaires: EQ-5D-3L, EORTC-QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23. Baseline changes were tested using analysis of variance. Multiple regression analyses were performed to assess treatment effects on HRQoL. Increases were observed in global health status (p < 0.001), physical (p = 0.003), role (p = 0.002) and social functioning (p < 0.001), body image (p < 0.001), future perspective (p < 0.001), well-being (p = 0.001), and reductions in fatigue (p < 0.001), nausea and vomiting (p = 0.015), dyspnea (p = 0.001), constipation (p = 0.049), financial problems (p = 0.012), sexual functioning (p = 0.025), systematic therapy side effects (p < 0.001) and breast symptoms (p = 0.004). Multiple regression analyses found inverse associations between changes in BMI and global health status (p = 0.048) and between serum 25(OH)D levels and breast symptoms (p = 0.002). A healthy lifestyle treatment of traditional Mediterranean diet and exercise may impact positively on HRQoL in BC survivors possibly through reductions in body weight while vitamin D sufficiency may improve BC-related symptoms. These findings are relevant to BC survivors whose lower HRQoL negatively affects treatment compliance and disease outcomes.

Risk of kidney cancer among patients using analgesics and diuretics: A population‐based cohort study

Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the risk of kidney cancer in 2 cohorts defined on the basis of hospital discharge diagnoses associated with analgesic or diuretic use during the period 1965 t

Pubertal development and prostate cancer risk: Mendelian randomization study in a population-based cohort

Abstract: Epidemiological studies have observed a positive association between an earlier age at sexual development and prostate cancer, but markers of sexual maturation in boys are imprecise and observational estimates are likely to suffer from a degree of uncontrolled confounding. To obtain causal estimates, we examined the role of pubertal development in prostate cancer using genetic polymorphisms associated with Tanner stage in adolescent boys in a Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. We derived a weighted genetic risk score for pubertal development, combining 13 SNPs associated with male Tanner stage. A higher score indicated a later puberty onset. We examined the association of this score with prostate cancer risk, stage and grade in the UK-based ProtecT case-control study (n = 2,927), and used the PRACTICAL consortium (n = 43,737) as a replication sample. In ProtecT, the puberty genetic score was inversely associated with prostate cancer grade (odds ratio (OR) of high- vs. low-grade cancer, per tertile of the score: 0.76; 95 % CI, 0.64–0.89). In an instrumental variable estimation of the causal OR, later physical development in adolescence (equivalent to a difference of one Tanner stage between pubertal boys of the same age) was associated with a 77 % (95 % CI, 43–91 %) reduced odds of high Gleason prostate cancer. In PRACTICAL, the puberty genetic score was associated with prostate cancer stage (OR of advanced vs. localized cancer, per tertile: 0.95; 95 % CI, 0.91–1.00) and prostate cancer-specific mortality (hazard ratio amongst cases, per tertile: 0.94; 95 % CI, 0.90–0.98), but not with disease grade. Older age at sexual maturation is causally linked to a reduced risk of later prostate cancer, especially aggressive disease.

Premorbid diet in relation to survival from prostate cancer (Canada).

Abstract: Objectives: To examine the associations between prediagnostic energy, fat, and vitamin A intake and survival from prostate cancer. Methods: Two hundred and seven cases of prostate cancer from Toronto and 201 cases from Vancouver provided diet histories at diagnosis between 1989 and 1992 and were followed for survival from prostate cancer. After exclusions for various reasons, 263 cases (135 from Toronto, 128 from Vancouver) were analyzed in Cox proportional hazards models. Results: Following adjustments for clinical stage, histologic grade, and other factors, significantly lower risks of dying from prostate cancer in the highest compared with the lowest tertiles of monounsaturated fat intakes were observed in each city and in the combined city analyses (combined cities: hazard ratio [HR] = 0.3; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.1–0.7). Survival from prostate cancer was significantly better for cases in the highest tertile of energy intake in Toronto (HR = 0.1; CI = 0.01–0.6) in contrast to that in Vancouver where these cases did relatively worse (HR = 2.6; CI = 0.6–10.7). Other nutrients were either not consistently or not significantly associated with prostate cancer survival in the two cities. Conclusions: This bi-center cohort study observed a consistent and significant inverse association between the premorbid intake of monounsaturated fat and risk of death from prostate cancer. The inconsistent results for energy intake between cities could potentially be attributed to non-respondent bias in Toronto.