Time trends in socioeconomic differences in incidence rates of cancers of gastro-intestinal tract in Finland

BACKGROUND: The magnitude of socioeconomic differences in health varies between societies, and over time within a given society. We studied the association between social class and incidence of cancers of the gastro-intestinal tract over time in a large cohort in Finland. METHODS: We studied social class variation among 45–69 year-old Finns during 1971–95 in incidence of cancers of the gastro-intestinal tract by means of a computerized record linkage of the Finnish Cancer Registry and the 1970 Population Census, which included social class data. RESULTS: There were 2.3 million individuals in the cohort under follow-up, with 1622 cases of cancer of the esophagus, 8069 stomach (non-cardia), 1116 cardia, 408 small intestine, 6361 colon, 5274 rectum, 1616 liver, 1756 gallbladder, and 5084 pancreas during 1971–1995. Cancers of the esophagus, stomach, cardia, gallbladder and pancreas were most common among persons belonging to a low social class. Cancers of the small intestine in males only, colon in both genders, and rectum in females were most common in the higher social classes. Incidence of stomach cancer decreased and incidence of colon cancer increased over time in both genders in all social classes, and the large differences between social classes remained unchanged over time. Incidence rates of cardia cancer did not change substantially over time. CONCLUSION: There is a large variation in incidence of cancer of the gastrointestinal tract by social class in Finland. Although much of the observed social class differences probably could be explained by known etiological factors such as diet, physical exercise, alcohol consumption, smoking and exogenous hormone use, part of the variation is apparently attributable to largely unknown factors

FLT3-ITD: technical approach and characterization of cases with double duplications.

FLT3-Internal Tandem Duplication (ITD) of the juxtamembrane domain is one of the most common genetic alterations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and in some FAB subgroups seems to represent an unfavorable prognostic factor. Thus, its correct identification is critical. We analyzed 261 AML cases to individuate FLT3-ITD by RT-PCR and we compare different techniques (agarose and polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis, sequence and Genescan of PCR products) to define FLT3-ITD presence, length and number. All 53 positive cases were identified by electrophoresis on agarose gel. The sequence of the FLT3-ITD amplicons eluted from polyacrilamide gel was successfully performed while failing from agarose gel. We compared different methods of purifying PCR products from polyacrilamide gel to identify the fastest and most effective one. Genescan analysis was used to confirm the presence and the length of the ITD and to study the rate between ITD/WT transcripts. In our experience electrophoresis on 2% agarose gel is adequate for identifying FLT3-ITD, while purification from polyacrilamide gel is suggested for sequencing. In our series we found 20% of positive cases, 7.5% of these lacked FLT3 wild-type transcript and 13.2% showed two different FLT3-ITDs. In addition we identify 2 cases carrying 2 FLT3-ITD with the same length but different nucleotide sequenc

Development of indicators to measure European variation of nursing activities

This paper describes a study to capture the key roles and activities of nephrology nurses across different countries in Europe. The concept of the study and the need to clarify the activities of the nephrology nurse arose as part of a larger study to develop the European Practice Database (EPD)1. The Research Board (EDTNA/ERCA) needed to identify key questions that would detect significant differences in the role and responsibilities of nephrology nurses in different countries and monitor the evolution over time of nephrology nursing practice in Europe. It was therefore appropriate to devise a separate small study to generate evidence based questions for the EPD and confirm the reliability and usefulness of the information captured

Lo studio della malattia residua minima mediante RT-PCR nel sangue periferico pu\uf2 rappresentare uno strumento valido e non invasivo per la valutazione della risposta alla terapia: un caso clinico

Case report sull'uso della malattia residua minima per la valutazione della risposta alla terapi

Clinical features of childhood acute myeloid leukemia with specific gene rearrangements

Specific gene rearrangements seem to distinguish distinct subsets of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) with different features and prognosis, and some reports suggest that the epidemiological distribution of AML could vary among countries.1, 2 To date, cytogenetic examination has been used to study the frequency of these genetic alterations in a large series of children3, 4, 5 with AML; nevertheless, in a proportion of cases, these gene rearrangements may be cryptic and undetectable by conventional cytogenetic techniques.6, 7 To evaluate the frequency of specific gene rearrangements, the corresponding clinical morphological features at diagnosis and the potential prognostic impact on patients' long-term survival, we screened by RT-PCR five different chimaeric transcripts (AML1-ETO, CBF-MYH11, PML-RAR, MLL-AF9 and BCR-ABL) in a series of 270 Italian children with AML, treated with AIEOP-LAM 87\u201392, BFM 83-93 and AIDA protocols between 1988 and 1998, and whose RNA were available and morphology had been centrally reviewed