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: Population & Cancer. The organization has 2989 authors who have published 9010 publications receiving 929752 citations. The organization is also known as: IARC.

The EPIC Project: rationale and study design. European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

Abstract: Background The most consistent result of epidemiological studies on diet and cancer is that a diet rich in vegetables, fruit and, more generally, in plant foods is associated with a reduced risk of cancer at several anatomical sites. Epidemiological studies have been less consistent regarding the putative increase in risk related to consumption of fat or meat. In addition it has not been possible to identify clearly the biological role of specific nutrients or non-nutrient food components in the prevention or causation of cancer. Limitations in the precision and validity of traditional dietary intake measurements and limited use of biomarkers combined with narrow ranges of variations in dietary habits within single populations, have been the main reasons for the limited success in identifying more specific diet and cancer links. Methods EPIC is a multi-centre prospective cohort study designed to investigate the relation between diet, nutritional and metabolic characteristics, various lifestyle factors and the risk of cancer. The study is based in 22 collaborating centres in nine European countries and includes populations characterized by large variations in dietary habits and cancer risk. Data are collected on diet, physical activity, sexual maturation and reproductive history, lifetime consumption of alcohol and tobacco, previous and current illnesses and current medication. Following a common protocol and using identical equipment, blood samples are collected, aliquoted into plasma, serum, white blood cells and erythrocytes, and stored in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees C for future laboratory analyses on cancer cases and matched healthy controls. Anthropometric measurements are taken according to a standard protocol. It is planned to include around 400,000 middle-aged men and women. Results and conclusions The collection of questionnaire data, anthropometric measurements and blood samples is under way. Almost 340,000 subjects had been included in the study by mid-1996, and recruitment is expected to be almost complete by 1997. Follow-up for cancer incidence and total mortality has started and it is expected that about 23000 cancer cases will be identified during the first 10 years of follow-up.

Meat, Fish, and Colorectal Cancer Risk: The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

Abstract: Background: Current evidence suggests that high red meat intake is associated with increased colorectal cancer risk. High fi sh intake may be associated with a decreased risk, but the existing evidence is less convincing. Methods: We prospectively followed 478 040 men and women from 10 European countries who were free of cancer at enrollment between 1992 and 1998. Information on diet and lifestyle was collected at baseline. After a mean follow-up of 4.8 years, 1329 incident colorectal cancers were documented. We examined the relationship between intakes of red and processed meat, poultry, and fi sh and colorectal cancer risk using a proportional hazards model adjusted for age, sex, energy (nonfat and fat sources), height, weight, workrelated physical activity, smoking status, dietary fi ber and folate, and alcohol consumption, stratifi ed by center. A calibration substudy based on 36 994 subjects was used to correct hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confi dence intervals (CIs) for diet measurement errors. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Colorectal cancer risk was positively associated with intake of red and processed meat (highest [>160 g/day] versus lowest [ 80 g/day versus <10 g/day, HR = 0.69, 95 % CI = 0.54 to 0.88; P trend <.001), but was not related to poultry intake. Correcting for measurement error strengthened the associations between colorectal cancer and red and processed meat intake (per 100-g increase HR = 1.25, 95% CI =1.09 to 1.41, P trend = .001 and HR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.19 to 2.02, P trend = .001 before and after calibration, respectively) and for fi sh (per 100 g increase HR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.57 to 0.87, P trend <.001 and HR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.27 to 0.77, P trend = .003; before and after correction, respectively). In this study population, the absolute risk of development of colorectal cancer within 10 years for a study subject aged 50 years was 1.71% for the highest category of red and processed meat intake and 1.28% for the lowest category of intake and was 1.86% for subjects in the lowest category of fi sh intake and 1.28% for subjects in the highest category of fi sh intake. Conclusions: Our data confi rm that colorectal cancer risk is positively associated with high consumption of red and processed meat and support an inverse association with fi sh intake. [J Natl Cancer Inst 2005;97:906–16]

Cancer Risk in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study: Associations With Immunodeficiency, Smoking, and Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

Abstract: Background: Persons infected with human immunodefi ciency virus (HIV) have an increased risk for several cancers, but the infl uences of behavioral risk factors, such as smoking and intravenous drug use, and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on cancer risk are not clear. Methods: Patient records were linked between the Swiss HIV Cohort Study and Swiss cantonal cancer registries. Observed and expected numbers of incident cancers were assessed in 7304 persons infected with HIV followed for 28 836 person-years. Relative risks for cancer compared with those for the general population were determined by estimating cancer registry – , sex-, age-, and period-standardized incidence ratios (SIRs). Results: Highly elevated SIRs were confi rmed in persons infected with HIV for Kaposi sarcoma (KS) (SIR = 192, 95% confi dence interval [CI] = 170 to 217) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR = 76.4, 95% CI = 66.5 to 87.4). Statistically signifi cantly elevated SIRs were also observed for anal cancer (SIR = 33.4, 95% CI = 10.5 to 78.6); Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR = 17.3, 95% CI = 10.2 to 27.4); cancers of the cervix (SIR = 8.0, 95% CI = 2.9 to 17.4); liver (SIR = 7.0, 95% CI = 2.2 to 16.5); lip, mouth, and pharynx (SIR = 4.1, 95% CI = 2.1 to 7.4); trachea, lung, and bronchus (SIR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.7 to 5.4); and skin, nonmelanomatous (SIR = 3.2, 95% CI = 2.2 to 4.5). In HAART users, SIRs for KS (SIR = 25.3, 95% CI = 10.8 to 50.1) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR = 24.2, 95% CI = 15.0 to 37.1) were lower than those for nonusers (KS SIR = 239, 95% CI = 211 to 270; non-Hodgkin lymphoma SIR = 99.3, 95% CI = 85.8 to 114). Among HAART users, however, the SIR (although not absolute numbers) for Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR = 36.2, 95% CI = 16.4 to 68.9) was comparable to that for KS and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. No clear impact of HAART on SIRs emerged for cervical cancer or non – acquired immunodefi ciency syndrome-defi ning cancers. Cancers of the lung, lip, mouth, or pharynx were not observed among nonsmokers. Conclusion: In persons infected with HIV, HAART use may prevent most excess risk of KS and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but not that of Hodgkin lymphoma and other non – acquired immunodefi ciency syndrome-defi ning cancers. No cancers of the lip, mouth, pharynx, or lung were observed in nonsmokers. [J Natl Cancer Inst 2005;97:425 – 32]

KSHV antibodies among Americans, Italians and Ugandans with and without Kaposi's sarcoma.

Abstract: A major controversy regarding Kaposi's sarcoma–associated herpesvirus (KSHV or HHV8)1,2 is whether or not it is a ubiquitous infection of humans3,4. Immunoassays based on KSHV– and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)–coinfected cell lines show that most US AIDS–KS patients have specific antibodies to KSHV–related antigens2,5,6. We have developed a sensitive indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) based on an EBV–negative, KSHV–infected cell line, BCP–1. When we used this IFA assay, KSHV–related antibodies were found in 71–88% of serum samples from US, Italian and Ugandan AIDS–KS patients, as well as all serum samples examined from HIV–seronegative KS patients. Although none of the US blood donors examined were KSHV seropositive by IFA, intermediate and high seroprevalence rates were found in Italian and Ugandan control populations. Antibody kinetics showed that more than half of the AIDS–KS patients who were examined IgG–seroconverted before KS development, and antibody levels did not decline after seroconversion. For these patients, seropositivity rates increased linearly with time, suggesting that the rate of infection was constant and that the risk of developing KS once infected with KSHV is not highly dependent on the duration of infection. These data strongly suggest that KSHV is not ubiquitous in most populations and that the virus may be under strict immunologic control in healthy KSHV–infected persons.

Age-Specific Prevalence of Infection with Herpes Simplex Virus Types 2 and 1: A Global Review

Abstract: Information on age- and sex-specific prevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 2 and 1 infections is essential to optimize genital herpes control strategies, which increase in importance because accumulating data indicate that HSV-2 infection may increase acquisition and transmission of human immunodeficiency virus. This review summarizes data from peer-reviewed publications of type-specific HSV seroepidemiologic surveys. HSV-2 prevalence is, in general, highest in Africa and the Americas, lower in western and southern Europe than in northern Europe and North America, and lowest in Asia. HSV-2 and -1 prevalence, overall and by age, varies markedly by country, region within country, and population subgroup. Age-specific HSV-2 prevalence is usually higher in women than men and in populations with higher risk sexual behavior. HSV-2 prevalence has increased in the United States but national data from other countries are unavailable. HSV-1 infection is acquired during childhood and adolescence and is markedly more widespread than HSV-2 infection. Further studies are needed in many geographic areas.