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.

Sex hormones in women in rural China and in Britain.

Abstract: Plasma concentrations of certain hormones linked to breast cancer risk were measured in age-pooled samples from 3,250 rural Chinese women in 65 counties, and 300 British women, all aged 35-64. In age-groups 35-44, 45-54 and 55-64 respectively, mean oestradiol concentrations were 36% (P = 0.043), 90% (P less than 0.001) and 171% (P = 0.001) higher in the British than in the Chinese women, and mean testosterone concentrations were 48% (P less than 0.001), 68% (P less than 0.001) and 53% (P = 0.001) higher in the British than in the Chinese women. The difference in testosterone concentrations between the two countries appeared to be due largely to the lower average body weight in the Chinese women. Sex hormone binding globulin did not differ significantly between the two countries in age groups 35-44 and 45-54, but was 15% (P = 0.002) lower in the British than in the Chinese women at ages 55-64. Prolactin concentrations did not differ significantly between the two countries in any age group.

Pancreatitis and Pancreatic Cancer: a Population-Based Study

Abstract: Background Little is known about the etiology of cancer of the exocrine portion of the pancreas, which produces a variety of digestive enzymes. Smoking, certain dietary factors, and diabetes mellitus are considered to be risk factors, although the risk estimates are modest in most instances. A recent cohort study of patients with chronic pancreatitis indicated a ninefold to 16-fold increased risk for pancreatic cancer. Purpose Our purpose was to evaluate the relationship between various clinical types of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Methods Data for this study were collected from all inpatient medical institutions in Sweden from 1965 until 1983 by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. Data were recorded on individual hospital admissions and discharges in the Inpatient Register. All patients with records in the Inpatient Register coded for acute, chronic, or unspecified pancreatitis were considered for inclusion in the study. A population-based cohort of 7956 patients with at least one discharge diagnosis of pancreatitis was monitored (up to 19 years of follow-up) for the occurrence of pancreatic cancer by record linkages to the Swedish Cancer Registry and Registry of Causes of Death. Results A total of 46 pancreatic cancers were diagnosed during follow-up compared with 21 expected (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] of 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6-2.9) for the Uppsala Health Care Region. The excess risk for women and men was similar--most pronounced during the first period of follow-up (2-4 years) after discharge and close to unity after more than 10 years of follow-up. Patients with chronic pancreatitis and patients with more than one discharge diagnosis of either acute or unspecified pancreatitis were at higher risk (SIR = 3.8; 95% CI 1.4-8.2 and SIR = 4.8; 95% CI 1.9-9.9, respectively) compared with those with only one discharge of acute (SIR = 1.6; 95% CI 0.9-2.7) or unspecified (SIR = 2.1; 95% CI 1.2-3.2) pancreatitis. Conclusions Our finding of a moderate excess of pancreatic cancer among patients with pancreatitis, especially the chronic or recurrent forms, supports some earlier clinical and case-control studies, but it is not consistent with the ninefold to 16-fold risk reported in a recent cohort study. The absence of an increased risk 10 years or more after first discharge for pancreatitis argues against a straight-forward causal relationship. Because of the relatively short interval between diagnosis of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, it is possible that some forms of pancreatitis are a precursor to pancreatic cancer or that shared risk factors for both diseases (e.g., cigarette smoking) may also be involved.

Tea consumption and cancer

Abstract: Following the report from Hawaii (Heilbrun et al., 1986) of relationships between tea consumption and respectively rectal cancer (positive) and prostate cancer (negative), these questions were examined using data from a prospective mortality study of London men initiated in 1967. The small numbers of men who did not usually drink any tea prevented a reliable study of this sub group. Nevertheless no evidence of a dose-response relationship was found for rectal, colon or prostate cancer. Significant relationships were found, however, between tea consumption and deaths from stomach, lung and kidney cancers. In the case of stomach and lung cancer, these were partly due to the effects of social class and smoking, and possible reasons are considered for the residual relations.

Familial testicular cancer: a report of the UK family register, estimation of risk and an HLA class 1 sib-pair analysis.

Abstract: Forty-two families with two or more cases of testicular cancer have been reported to the UK Register for Familial Testicular Cancer, comprising two pairs of identical twins, 27 sets of other brothers (25 pairs, two triples), nine father-son pairs, two pairs of first cousins and two uncle-nephew pairs. In total 91 testicular tumours are described in 86 individuals (42 (46%) pure seminoma, 49 (54%) other germ cell tumours). The median age at diagnosis in these patients was significantly younger than that in a comparable series of non-familial patients (29 c.f. 32.5 years, P less than 0.01). In a case-control comparison of 794 testicular cancer patients, eight patients (1.0%) had a brother and four patients (0.5%) had a father with a previous diagnosis of testicular cancer at the time of their own diagnosis (and these families are all included in this report). Two out of 794 controls (0.3%) had a first degree relative with testicular cancer. The cumulative risk to a brother of a patient for developing testicular cancer by the age of 50 years was estimated to be 2.2% (95% C.I. 0.6-3.8%) which results in a relative risk of 9.8 (95% C.I. 2.8-16.7) in comparison with the general population. HLA Class I typing of 21 affected sib-pairs demonstrated four (19%) sharing two haplotypes, 13 pairs (62%) sharing one and four pairs (19%) sharing none. This did not differ significantly from the expected proportions of 25%/50%/25%. It is unlikely, therefore, that there is a major gene associated with testicular cancer predisposition within or closely linked to the major histocompatibility gene complex on chromosome 6.

Adherence to the mediterranean diet and risk of breast cancer in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition cohort study

Abstract: Epidemiological evidence suggests that the Mediterranean diet (MD) could reduce the risk of breast cancer (BC). As evidence from the prospective studies remains scarce and conflicting, we investigated the association between adherence to the MD and risk of BC among 335,062 women recruited from 1992 to 2000, in ten European countries, and followed for 11 years on average. Adherence to the MD was estimated through an adapted relative Mediterranean diet (arMED) score excluding alcohol. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used while adjusting for BC risk factors. A total of 9,009 postmenopausal and 1,216 premenopausal first primary incident invasive BC were identified (5,862 estrogen or progesterone receptor positive [ER+/PR+] and 1,018 estrogen and progesterone receptor negative [ER-/PR-]). The arMED was inversely associated with the risk of BC overall and in postmenopausal women (high vs. low arMED score; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.94 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.88, 1.00] ptrend = 0.048, and HR = 0.93 [95% CI: 0.87, 0.99] ptrend = 0.037, respectively). The association was more pronounced in ER-/PR- tumors (HR = 0.80 [95% CI: 0.65, 0.99] ptrend = 0.043). The arMED score was not associated with BC in premenopausal women. Our findings show that adherence to a MD excluding alcohol was related to a modest reduced risk of BC in postmenopausal women, and this association was stronger in receptor-negative tumors. The results support the potential scope for BC prevention through dietary modification.