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.

Incidence of breast and gynaecological cancers by ethnic group in England, 2001-2007: a descriptive study.

Abstract: Although international comparisons reveal large geographical differences in the incidence of breast and gynaecological cancers, incidence data for ethnic groups in England remains scarce. We compared the incidence of breast, ovarian, cervical and endometrial cancer in British Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Black Africans, Black Caribbeans, Chinese and Whites between 2001 and 2007. We identified 357,476 cancer registrations from which incidence rates were calculated using mid-year population estimates from 2001 to 2007. Ethnicity was obtained through linkage to the Hospital Episodes Statistics database. Incidence rate ratios were calculated, comparing the 6 non-White ethnic groups to Whites, and were adjusted for age and income. We found evidence of differences in the incidence of all 4 cancers by ethnic group (p < 0.001). Relative to Whites, South Asians had much lower rates of breast, ovarian and cervical cancer (IRRs of 0.68, 0.66 and 0.33 respectively), Blacks had lower rates of breast, ovarian and cervical cancer but higher rates of endometrial cancer (IRRs of 0.85, 0.62, 0.72 and 1.16 respectively), and Chinese had lower rates of breast and cervical cancer (IRRs of 0.72 and 0.68 respectively). There were also substantial intra-ethnic differences, particularly among South Asians, with Bangladeshis experiencing the lowest rates of all 4 cancers. Our study provides evidence that the risk of breast and gynaecological cancers varies by ethnic group and that those groups typically grouped together are not homogenous with regards to their cancer risk. Furthermore, several of our findings cannot be readily explained by known risk factors and therefore warrant further investigation.

Paraplegia and squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder in young women: findings from a case-control study.

Abstract: A death certificate-based case-control study was conducted on 207 women aged 25-44 who died of bladder cancer in England and Wales in the period 1971-89 and 411 controls matched on sex, year of death and age at death. An odds ratio of 12.0 (95% CI 1.5-99.7) was found for women with a history of paraplegia. Four of the six paraplegic women were reported to have had squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder compared with only 19 of the 201 non-paraplegic women. These findings suggest that squamous cell carcinomas of the bladder, especially in paraplegics, may be the result of chronic urinary tract infection.

Effects of smoking and physical activity on body weight: developments in Sweden between 1980 and 1989

Abstract: . Objectives. To study the effects of changes in smoking and exercise habits on body weight in Sweden. Design. Analysis of factors affecting relative body weight by construction of regression equations using two models: one adjusted for age, education, socioeconomic group, geographical region and nationality, the other further adjusted for cigarette smoking and leisure-time physical activity. Setting. Cross-sectional interview data derived from the ‘Undersokning om LevnadsForhallanden’ (Living Conditions) survey 1980–81 and 1989–89. Subjects. Nationally representative samples of Swedish men and women aged 16–84. Main outcome measures. Changes in body-mass index (BMI) in Sweden during the 1980s. Results. Using the first model, an increase in the BMI of 0.23 kg/m2 in men and 0.17 kg/m2 in women, from 1980 to 1989, was found. When controlling for smoking and physical activity, these values were 0.20 and 0.18 kg/m2, respectively, (P at least < 0.003). Conclusions. These findings indicate that the reported decrease in smoking and changes in physical activity during the 1980s only marginally explain the BMI increase in the adult Swedish population. The health programmes launched during the 1980s seem to have little beneficial effects on body-weight development, in particular in younger generations of both sexes.

Enhanced West Nile Virus Circulation in the Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy Regions (Northern Italy) in 2018 Detected by Entomological Surveillance.

Abstract: With several human cases reported annually since 2008 and the unapparent risk of infection of blood donors, the West Nile virus (WNV) is emerging as an important health issue in Europe. Italy, as well as other European countries, experienced a recrudescence of the virus circulation in 2018, which led to an increased number of human cases. An integrated surveillance plan was activated in the Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy regions (Northern Italy) since 2008 in order to monitor the intensity and timing of WNV circulation. A fundamental part of this plan consists in entomological surveillance. In 2018, the surveillance plan made it possible to collect 385,293 mosquitoes in 163 stations in the two Regions. In total 269,147 Culex mosquitoes were grouped into 2,337 pools and tested for WNV, which was detected in 232 pools. Circulation started in the central part of the Emilia-Romagna region in the middle of June, about one month before the previous seasons. Circulation suddenly expanded to the rest of the region and reached the Lombardy region in the middle of July. WNV circulated more intensively in the eastern part of the surveyed area, as confirmed by the highest number of human cases. A relationship between the number of mosquitoes collected and the virus incidence emerged, but the data obtained highlighted that the probability of detecting the virus in a given site was less than expected with a higher number of collected mosquitoes. A significant relationship was observed between the temperature recorded one week before the sampling and the number of collected mosquitoes, as well as between the estimated number of WNV-positive mosquitoes and the temperature recorded two weeks before the sampling. The two weeks delay in the influence of temperature on the positive mosquitoes is in line with the time of the virus extrinsic incubation in the mosquito. This finding confirms that temperature is one of the principal drivers in WNV mosquito infection. The surveillance system demonstrated the ability to detect the virus circulation early, particularly in areas where circulation was more intense. This allowed evaluating the effect of mosquito abundance and weather factors on virus circulation.