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.

Recent patterns in gastric cancer: A global overview

Abstract: Until the mid-1990s, gastric cancer has been the first cause of cancer death worldwide, although rates had been declining for several decades and gastric cancer has become a relatively rare cancer in North America and in most Northern and Western Europe, but not in Eastern Europe, Russia and selected areas of Central and South America or East Asia. We analyzed gastric cancer mortality in Europe and other areas of the world from 1980 to 2005 using joinpoint regression analysis, and provided updated site-specific incidence rates from 51 selected registries. Over the last decade, the annual percent change (APC) in mortality rate was around -3, -4% for the major European countries. The APC were similar for the Republic of Korea (APC = -4.3%), Australia (-3.7%), the USA (-3.6%), Japan (-3.5%), Ukraine (-3%) and the Russian Federation (-2.8%). In Latin America, the decline was less marked, but constant with APC around -1.6% in Chile and Brazil, -2.3% in Argentina and Mexico and -2.6% in Colombia. Cancers in the fundus and pylorus are more common in high incidence and mortality areas and have been declining more than cardia gastric cancer. Steady downward trends persist in gastric cancer mortality worldwide even in middle aged population, and hence further appreciable declines are likely in the near future.

Alcohol and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Effect of Lifetime Intake and Hepatitis Virus Infections in Men and Women

Abstract: The authors investigated the dose-effect relation between alcohol drinking and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in men and women separately, also considering hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections. They enrolled 464 subjects (380 men) with a first diagnosis of HCC as cases and 824 subjects (686 men) unaffected by hepatic diseases as controls; all were hospitalized in Brescia, northern Italy, in 1995-2000. Spline regression models showed a steady linear increase in the odds ratio of HCC for increasing alcohol intake, for values of >60 g of ethanol per day, with no substantial differences between men and women. Duration of drinking and age at start had no effect on the odds ratio when alcohol intake was considered. Former drinkers who had stopped 1-10 years previously had a higher risk of HCC than current drinkers did. The effect of alcohol drinking was evident even in the absence of hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus infection. In addition, a synergism between alcohol drinking and either infection was found, with approximately a twofold increase in the odds ratio for each hepatitis virus infection for drinkers of >60 g per day.

Translocations among antibody genes in human cancer

Abstract: The characteristic chromosomal translocations that occur in certain human malignancies offer opportunities to understand how two gene systems can affect one another when they are accidentally juxtaposed. In the case of Burkitt lymphoma, such a translocation joins the cellular oncogene, c-myc, to a region encoding one of the immunoglobulin genes. In at least one example, the coding sequence of the rearranged c-myc gene is identical to that of the normal gene, implying that the gene must be quantitatively, rather than qualitatively, altered in its expression if it is to play a role in transformation. One might expect to find the rearranged c-myc gene in a configuration that would allow it to take advantage of one of the known immunoglobulin promoters or enhancer elements. However, the rearranged c-myc gene is often placed so that it can utilize neither of these structures. Since the level of c-myc messenger RNA is often elevated in Burkitt cells, the translocation may lead to a deregulation of the c-myc gene. Further, since the normal allele in a Burkitt cell is often transcriptionally silent in the presence of a rearranged allele, a model for c-myc regulation is suggested that involves a trans-acting negative control element that might use as its target a highly conserved portion of the c-myc gene encoding two discrete transcriptional promoters.

Estimates of the worldwide mortality from eighteen major cancers in 1985. Implications for prevention and projections of future burden

Abstract: This report presents worldwide estimates of annual mortality from all cancers and for 18 specific cancer sites around 1985. Crude and age-standardized mortality rates and numbers of deaths were computed for 24 geographical areas. Of the estimated 5 million deaths from cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer), 56% occurred in developing countries. The most frequent neoplasm is lung cancer, accounting for 22% of cancer deaths in men. Among women breast cancer is the leading malignancy, accounting for 16% and 11% of all cancer deaths in developed and developing countries, respectively. In developing countries, cancer of the cervix uteri ranks first, breast cancer second. The second most frequent cause of death from cancer in both sexes is cancer of the stomach, followed by liver cancer in men and by colon/rectum cancer in women. Cancers of the colon/rectum and prostate maintain a high rank in men living in developed countries, while cancers of the lung, ovary and pancreas occupy similar ranks among women. In developing countries, cancers of the oesophagus and mouth/pharynx follow those previously mentioned in both sexes. If the estimated rates continue to prevail, increases in the numbers of deaths of 20.4% in developed and 18.1% in developing countries are expected by the year 2000, simply as a consequence of demographic trends towards ageing and population growth. Our results provide an indication of the potential impact of preventive practices. It is estimated that 20% of all cancer deaths (1 million) could be prevented by eliminating tobacco smoking. Mortality from cancers of the liver and uterine cervix, both major problems in developing countries, could be substantially reduced by immunization against hepatitis B virus infection and early detection through Pap smears, respectively.