Maize and Risk of Cancers of the Oral Cavity, Pharynx, and Esophagus in Northeastern Italy

The relationship between maize consumption and risk of cancer of the upper digestive tract was investigated in 107 patients with oral cancer, 107 with pharyngeal cancer, 68 with esophageal cancer, and 505 hospital controls who permanently resided in Pordenone Province in the northeastern part of Italy. The analysis was restricted to males. The population of this province has a high incidence of these neoplasms and shows particularly elevated levels of alcohol and tobacco use, in addition to high maize consumption. Highly significant associations with frequent intake of maize emerged for oral cancer, pharyngeal cancer, and esophageal cancer (odds ratios = 3.3, 3.2, and 2.8, respectively). The risk elevation could not be explained in terms of differences in education, occupation, tobacco use, or consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. The unfavorable effect of maize on risk of cancer of the upper digestive tract, however, was evident only in those individuals who reported heavy drinking (i.e., ≥42 alcoholic drinks/wk). The present findings are likely to be related to the fact that maize can cause deficiencies of various micronutrients (chiefly, niacin and riboflavin) and agree with previous observations from Africa, the People's Republic of China, the United States, and Italy. [J Natl Cancer Inst 82:1407-1411, 1990

Trastuzumab and Gemcitabine in Pretreated HER2 Overexpressing Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients: Retrospective Analysis of Our Series

Trastuzumab-based regimes improved clinical outcome in women with overexpressing HER2 metastatic breast cancer, mainly due to the availability of different combination therapies, clinically active and well tolerated. In this study we retrospectively evaluated clinical activity and toxicity of trastuzuamb plus gemcitabine regimen in heavily pretreated HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer patients. Although the observed population was heavily pretreated, the evaluated regimen was notably effective in terms of response rate, time to progression and survival, with very mild toxicity. These data suggest that in over expressing HER2 metastatic breast cancer patients, sequential trastuzumab based chemotherapeutic regimens can achieve good response rate with prolonged TTP in responding patients, even after other target therapy such as lapatinib based combinations

Late tamoxifen in patients previously operated for breast cancer without postoperative tamoxifen: 5-year results of a single institution randomised study

BACKGROUND: A population of breast cancer patients exists who, for various reasons, never received adjuvant post-operative tamoxifen (TAM). This study was aimed to evaluate the role of late TAM in these patients. METHODS: From 1997 to 2003, patients aged 35 to 75 years, operated more than 2 years previously for monolateral breast cancer without adjuvant TAM, with no signs of metastases and no contraindication to TAM were randomized to TAM 20 mg/day orally for 2 years or follow-up alone. Events were categorized as locoregional relapse, distant metastases, metachronous breast cancer, tumours other than breast cancer and death from any causes, whichever occurred first. The sample size (197 patients per arm, plus 10% allowance) was based on the assumption of a 30% decrease in the number of events occurring at a rate of 5% annually in the 10 years following randomization. Four hundred and thirty-three patients were randomized in the study (TAM 217, follow-up 216). Patients characteristics (TAM/follow-up) included: median age 55/55 years, median time from surgery 25/25 months (range, 25-288/25-294), in situ carcinoma 18/24, oestrogen receptor (ER) positive in 75/68, negative in 70/57, unknown in 72/91 patients. Previous adjuvant treatment included chemotherapy in 131/120 and an LHRH analogue in 11/13 patients. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients prematurely discontinued TAM after a median of 1 month, mostly because of subjective intolerance. Eighty-three events (TAM 39, follow-up 44) occurred: locoregional relapse in 10/8, distant metastases in 14/16, metachronous breast cancer in 4/10, other tumours in 11/10 patients. Less ER-positive secondary breast cancers occurred in the TAM treated patients than in follow-up patients (1 vs 10, p = 0.005). Event-free survival was similar in both groups of patients. CONCLUSIONS: This 5-year analysis revealed significantly less metachronous ER-positive breast cancers in the TAM treated patients. No other statistically significant differences have emerged thus far

Risk Factors for Thyroid Cancer in Northern Italy

Franceschi S (Epidemiology Unit, Aviano Cancer Centre, Via Pedemontana Occ, 33081 Aviano (PN) Italy), Fassina A, Talamini R, Mazzolini A, Vianello S, Bidoli E, Serraino D and La Vecchia C. Risk factors for thyroid cancer in Northern Italy. International Journal of Epidemiology, 1989, 18: 578-584. We conducted a hospital based case-control study of 245 cases of thyroid cancer (62 males and 183 females) and 411 controls in three areas of Northern Italy, Subjects with thyroid cancer more often had a history of benign thyroid nodules (18 cases versus 0 controls, lower 95% confidence limit = 7.84), goitre (RR = 5.61, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.13-14.77) and residence in endemic goitre areas (RR for residence longer than 20 years = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.23-4.29). Heavy (> 1000 rads) irradiation of the neck was reported only by seven cases (lower 95% confidence limit: 2.45). Among 31 food items considered, a few showed direct association, including starchy foods and various sources of animal fats or proteins, whereas frequent consumption of other foods, including major sources of dietary iodine (such as fish, green vegetables and fruit) gave significant protection. When analysis was restricted to various subgroups of patients (ie, different histological types, sexes and major groups of hospital controls), it yielded similar result

Risk Factors for Thyroid Cancer in Northern Italy

none8noneFranceschi S;Fassina A;Talamini R;Mazzolini A;Vianello S;Bidoli E;Serraino D;La Vecchia CFranceschi, S; Fassina, Ambrogio; Talamini, R; Mazzolini, A; Vianello, S; Bidoli, E; Serraino, D; La Vecchia, C

Methylation levels of the "long interspersed nucleotide element-1" repetitive sequences predict survival of melanoma patients

Background\ud The prognosis of cutaneous melanoma (CM) differs for patients with identical clinico-pathological stage, and no molecular markers discriminating the prognosis of stage III individuals have been established. Genome-wide alterations in DNA methylation are a common event in cancer. This study aimed to define the prognostic value of genomic DNA methylation levels in stage III CM patients.\ud \ud Methods\ud Overall level of genomic DNA methylation was measured using bisulfite pyrosequencing at three CpG sites (CpG1, CpG2, CpG3) of the Long Interspersed Nucleotide Element-1 (LINE-1) sequences in short-term CM cultures from 42 stage IIIC patients. The impact of LINE-1 methylation on overall survival (OS) was assessed using Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis.\ud \ud Results\ud Hypomethylation (i.e., methylation below median) at CpG2 and CpG3 sites significantly associated with improved prognosis of CM, CpG3 showing the strongest association. Patients with hypomethylated CpG3 had increased OS (P = 0.01, log-rank = 6.39) by Kaplan-Meyer analysis. Median OS of patients with hypomethylated or hypermethylated CpG3 were 31.9 and 11.5 months, respectively. The 5 year OS for patients with hypomethylated CpG3 was 48% compared to 7% for patients with hypermethylated sequences. Among the variables examined by Cox regression analysis, LINE-1 methylation at CpG2 and CpG3 was the only predictor of OS (Hazard Ratio = 2.63, for hypermethylated CpG3; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.21-5.69; P = 0.01).\ud \ud Conclusion\ud LINE-1 methylation is identified as a molecular marker of prognosis for CM patients in stage IIIC. Evaluation of LINE-1 promises to represent a key tool for driving the most appropriate clinical management of stage III CM patients

Comparison between two cancer registry quality check systems: functional features and differences in an Italian network of cancer registries dataset

PurposeThe aim of this study was to compare the functional characteristics of two computer-based systems for quality control of cancer registry data through analysis of their output differences. MethodsThe study used cancer incidence data from 22 of the 49 registries of the Italian Network of Cancer Registries registered between 1986 and 2017. Two different data checking systems developed by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Joint Research Center (JRC) with the European Network of Cancer Registries (ENCR) and routinely used by registrars were used to check the quality of the data. The outputs generated by the two systems on the same dataset of each registry were analyzed and compared. ResultsThe study included a total of 1,305,689 cancer cases. The overall quality of the dataset was high, with 86% (81.7-94.1) microscopically verified cases and only 1.3% (0.03-3.06) cases with a diagnosis by death certificate only. The two check systems identified a low percentage of errors (JRC-ENCR 0.17% and IARC 0.003%) and about the same proportion of warnings (JRC-ENCR 2.79% and IARC 2.42%) in the dataset. Forty-two cases (2% of errors) and 7067 cases (11.5% of warnings) were identified by both systems in equivalent categories. 11.7% of warnings related to TNM staging were identified by the JRC-ENCR system only. The IARC system identified mainly incorrect combination of tumor grade and morphology (72.5% of warnings). ConclusionBoth systems apply checks on a common set of variables, but some variables are checked by only one of the systems (for example, checks on patient follow-up and tumor stage at diagnosis are included by the JRC-ENCR system only). Most errors and warnings were categorized differently by the two systems, but usually described the same issues, with warnings related to "morphology" (JRC-ENCR) and "histology" (IARC) being the most frequent. It is important to find the right balance between the need to maintain high standards of data quality and the workability of such systems in the daily routine of the cancer registry

Micronutrients and laryngeal cancer risk in Italy and Switzerland: a case-control study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between various micronutrients and laryngeal cancer risk. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted in Italy and Switzerland between 1992 and 2000. Cases were 527 patients with incident cancer of larynx, admitted to the major teaching and general hospitals of the study areas. Controls were 1297 subjects admitted for acute, non-neoplastic diseases to the same network of hospitals. Dietary habits were assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (OR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Significant inverse relations emerged between laryngeal cancer risk and intake of vitamin C (OR = 0.2, for the highest versus the lowest intake quintile; 95% CI: 0.2-0.4), beta-carotene (OR = 0.2; 95% CI: 0.2-0.4), alpha-carotene (OR = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2-0.5), lutein/zeaxanthin (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3-0.6), vitamin E (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3-0.6), beta-criptoxanthin (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2-0.5), folic acid (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2-0.6), thiamin (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3-0.6), glutathione (OR = 0.5; 95% CI: 0.4-0.8), reduced glutathione (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4-0.8), vitamin B6 (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4-0.9) and potassium (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4-0.9). Direct associations were found with zinc (OR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-2.2) and vitamin D (OR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.2-2.6). Combining low intakes of vitamin C, carotene, vitamin E, and folate with heavy smoking and drinking led to ORs between 80 and 170. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides further support that, independently from smoking and alcohol consumption, the intake of several micronutrients, including selected antioxidants, is inversely related to laryngeal cancer risk. [authors]]]> eng oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_8A02156E5225 2022-05-07T01:22:17Z openaire documents urnserval <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_8A02156E5225 Acknowledgment and health in police officers Arial, Marc Gonik, Viviane Danuser, Brigitta info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject inproceedings 2008 Regenerative medicine, CHUV Research Day, January 17, 2008, pp. EHU-8, 12 <![CDATA[The way colleagues and supervisors acknowledge specific contribution and efforts of individuals is crucial for occupational mental health and well being. It contributes to improve the self image of employees and it gives a sense to the activities performed. We carried out a study about occupational health in police officers with a special emphasis on acknowledgment and reward. A questionnaire was sent to 1000 police officers working for a cantonal administration in Switzerland. In total, 695 participants answered the questionnaire. We used the French version of the Langner's questionnaire on psychiatric symptoms to identify cases characterized by potential mental health problems. Multiple choice items (6 modalities ranging from "not at all" to "tremendously") to measure acknowledgment were used. Answers were later dichotomized (low annoyance- high annoyance). Questions we used are: "Do you feel annoyed due to a lack of support and attention from your supervisors?" "Do you feel annoyed because the authorities (politics, judges, etc.) have a low consideration of your occupation?" "Do you feel annoyed due to a low appreciation by the public?" and "Do you feel annoyed due to a lack of acknowledgment by the hierarchy?". The score for psychiatric symptoms was high for 86 police officers for whom health might be at risk. Acknowledgment aspects associated with a high score for psychiatric symptoms are : high annoyance due to a lack of support and attention from supervisors (odds ratio [OR] 3.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.0 to 5.1), high annoyance because authorities seems to have a low consideration for police officers (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.7 to 4.3), high annoyance due to a low appreciation by the public (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.9), and high annoyance due to a lack of acknowledgment by the hierarchy (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.9 to 4.8). Preserving mental health in occupations characterized by high emotional demand is challenging. The results from our study suggest that appropriate acknowledgment might contribute to the prevention of mental health problems. Further research should address a potential causal relation of acknowledgment on mental health

Micronutrients and laryngeal cancer risk in Italy and Switzerland: a case-control study

Abstract Objective: To investigate the relation between various micronutrients and laryngeal cancer risk. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Italy and Switzerland between 1992 and 2000. Cases were 527 patients with incident cancer of larynx, admitted to the major teaching and general hospitals of the study areas. Controls were 1297 subjects admitted for acute, non-neoplastic diseases to the same network of hospitals. Dietary habits were assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (OR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed using multiple logistic regression. Conclusions: This study provides further support that, independently from smoking and alcohol consumption, the intake of several micronutrients, including selected antioxidants, is inversely related to laryngeal cancer risk

Familial breast cancer: characteristics and outcome of BRCA 1–2 positive and negative cases

BACKGROUND: The clinical and pathological characteristics and the clinical course of patients with breast cancer and BRCA 1–2 mutation are poorly known. METHODS: From 1997, patients with breast cancer and a family history of breast or ovarian cancer were offered BRCA testing. The clinical and pathological features of patients with known BRCA status were retrospectively assessed and comparisons were made between cancers arising in BRCA positive and BRCA wild type (WT) patients respectively. Type of treatment, pattern of relapse, event (local relapse, contralateral breast cancer, metastases) free and overall survival were also compared in the two groups. Out of the 210 patients tested, 125 had been treated and followed-up at our Institution and were evaluated in this study. RESULTS: BRCA positive patients tended to be more often premenopausal (79% vs 65%) and to have positive lymphnodes (63% vs 49%), poorly differentiated tumours (76% vs 40% – p = 0.002 at univariate analysis, not significant at multivariate analysis) and negative estrogen receptors (43% vs 29%). Treatment was not different in the two groups. In the 86 BRCA-WT patients, the first event was a local relapse in 3 (3%), metachronous contralateral breast cancer in 7 (8%) and distant metastases in 16 (19%). In the 39 BRCA positive patients, the corresponding figures were 3 (8%), 8 (21%) and 3 (8%). There was no difference in event free survival, with a median of 180 months in both groups of patients. At 20 years, projected survival was 85% for BRCA positive patients and 55% for BRCA-WT, but this difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Although BRCA positive patients have more frequently negative prognostic factors, their prognosis appears to be equal to or better than in patients with BRCA-WT