International Agency for Research on Cancer

About: International Agency for Research on Cancer is a government organization based out in Lyon, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Cancer & Population. The organization has 2989 authors who have published 9010 publications receiving 929752 citations. The organization is also known as: IARC.

The Role of Measurement Error in Estimating Levels of Physical Activity

Abstract: Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that physical inactivity is an important determinant of numerous chronic diseases. However, self-reported estimates of physical activity contain measurement errors responsible for attenuating relative risk estimates. A validation study conducted in 2002-2003 at the Alberta Cancer Board (Canada) included a physical activity questionnaire, four 7-day physical activity logs, and four sets of accelerometer data from 154 study subjects (51% women) aged 35-65 years. The authors used a measurement error model to evaluate validity of the different types of physical activity assessment, and the attenuation factors, after taking into account error correlations between self-reported measurements. The validity coefficients, which express the correlation between measured and true exposure, were higher for accelerometers (0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76, 0.85) compared with the physical activity log (0.57, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.66) and questionnaire measurements (0.26, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.40). The estimate of the attenuation factor for questionnaires was 0.13 (95% CI: 0.05, 0.23). Accuracy of physical activity questionnaire measurements was higher for men than for women, for younger individuals, and for those with a lower body mass index. Because the degree of attenuation in relative risk estimates is substantial, after the role of error correlations was considered, validation studies quantifying the impact of measurement errors on physical activity estimates are essential to evaluate the impact of physical inactivity on health.

Tobacco use and cancer causation: association by tumour type

Abstract: In the second part of our review we describe the association between tobacco use and risk of specific cancer types. There is evidence for an established association of tobacco use with cancer of the lung and larynx, head and neck, bladder, oesophagus, pancreas, stomach and kidney. In contrast, endometrial cancer is less common in women who smoke cigarettes. There are some data suggesting that tobacco use increases the risk for myeloid leukaemia, squamous cell sinonasal cancer, liver cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer after an extended latency, childhood cancers and cancer of the gall bladder, adrenal gland and small intestine. Other forms of cancer, including breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, are unlikely to be linked to tobacco use.

Mediterranean dietary pattern and cancer risk in the EPIC cohort

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Although several studies have investigated the association of the Mediterranean diet with overall mortality or risk of specific cancers, data on overall cancer risk are sparse. METHODS: We examined the association between adherence to Mediterranean dietary pattern and overall cancer risk using data from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and nutrition, a multi-centre prospective cohort study including 142 605 men and 335 873. Adherence to Mediterranean diet was examined using a score (range: 0-9) considering the combined intake of fruits and nuts, vegetables, legumes, cereals, lipids, fish, dairy products, meat products, and alcohol. Association with cancer incidence was assessed through Cox regression modelling, controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: In all, 9669 incident cancers in men and 21 062 in women were identified. A lower overall cancer risk was found among individuals with greater adherence to Mediterranean diet (hazard ratio = 0.96, 95% CI 0.95-0.98) for a two-point increment of the Mediterranean diet score. The apparent inverse association was stronger for smoking-related cancers than for cancers not known to be related to tobacco (P (heterogeneity) = 0.008). In all, 4.7% of cancers among men and 2.4% in women would be avoided in this population if study subjects had a greater adherence to Mediterranean dietary pattern. CONCLUSION: Greater adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern could reduce overall cancer risk. British Journal of Cancer (2011) 104, 1493-1499. doi:10.1038/bjc.2011.106 www.bjcancer.com Published online 5 April 2011 (C) 2011 Cancer Research UK

Higher dosage nicotine patches increase one-year smoking cessation rates: results from the European CEASE trial

Abstract: The Collaborative European Anti-Smoking Evaluation (CEASE) was a European multicentre, randomized, double-blind placebo controlled smoking cessation study. The objectives were to determine whether higher dosage and longer duration of nicotine patch therapy would increase the success rate. Thirty-six chest clinics enrolled a total of 3,575 smokers. Subjects were allocated to one of five treatment arms: placebo and either standard or higher dose nicotine patches (15 mg and 25 mg daily) each given for 8 or 22 weeks with adjunctive moderately intensive support. The 12 month sustained success rates were: 25 mg patch for 22 weeks (L-25), 15.4%; 25 mg patch for 8 weeks (S-25), 15.9%; 15 mg patch for 22 weeks (L-15), 13.7%; 15 mg patch for 8 weeks (S-15), 11.7%; and placebo (P-0) 9.9% (placebo versus 15 mg, p<0.05; 25 mg versus 15 mg, p<0.03; 25 mg versus placebo, p<0.001, Chi- squared test). There was no significant difference in success rate between the two active treatment durations. Of the first week abstainers (n=1,698), 25.1% achieved success at 12 months as opposed to first week smokers, 2.7% of 1,877 subjects (p<0.001). In summary, a higher than standard dose of nicotine patch was associated with an increase in the long-term success in smoking cessation but continuation of treatment beyond 8-12 weeks did not increase the success rates. Eur Respir J 1999; 13: 238-246.

Hepatitis C virus and risk of lymphoma and other lymphoid neoplasms: A meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies

Abstract: The present meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the strength and the consistency of the association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and non–Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and other lymphoid neoplasms. Only studies with ≥100 cases which were also adjusted for sex and age were included. Fifteen case-control studies and three prospective studies contributed to present analysis, nine of which had not been included in previous meta-analyses. We calculated the pooled relative risks (RR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), as a weighted average of the estimated RRs by random-effect models. The pooled RR of all NHL among HCV-positive individuals was 2.5 (95% CI, 2.1-3.0), but substantial heterogeneity was found between studies and by study design. Pooled RRs were 2.5 (95% CI, 2.1-3.1) in case-control studies and 2.0 (95% CI, 1.8-2.2) in cohort ones. The strongest source of heterogeneity seemed to be the prevalence of HCV among NHL-free study subjects (RR for NHL among HCV-positive individuals 3.0 and 1.9, respectively, for ≥5% and <5% HCV prevalence). RRs were consistently increased for all major B-NHL subtypes, T-NHL, and primary sites of NHL presentation. Thus, previous suggestions that the RRs for HCV differed by NHL subtype were not confirmed in our meta-analysis. Associations weaker than with NHL were found between HCV infection and Hodgkin's lymphoma (RR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0-2.1) and multiple myeloma (RR, 1.6; 95% CI, 0.7-3.6), but they were based on much fewer studies than NHL. The etiologic fraction of NHL attributable to HCV varies greatly by country, and may be upward of 10% in areas where HCV prevalence is high. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(11):2078–85)