Plasma equol concentration is not associated with breast cancer and fibrocystic breast conditions among women in Shanghai, China

Equol (a bacterial metabolite of the soy isoflavone daidzein) is produced by 30% to 50% of humans and may be associated with health outcomes. We hypothesized that plasma equol would be inversely associated with risks of fibrocystic breast conditions (FBC) and breast cancer (BC). Plasma from women in a breast self-examination trial in Shanghai with BC (n = 269) or FBC (n = 443), and age-matched controls (n = 1027) was analyzed for isoflavones. Equol was grouped into categories (= 45 nmol/L) and, among women with daidzein >= 20 nmol/L, the log(10) equol:daidzein ratio was grouped into tertiles. Where available, non-cancerous tissue (NCT) adjacent to the carcinomas from women with BC were classified as non-proliferative or proliferative (n = 130 and 172, respectively). The lesions from women with FBC were similarly classified (n = 99 and 92, respectively). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated across equol categories and tertiles of log(10) equol:daidzein ratio. Equol categories were not associated with FBC or BC >.05). For log(10) equol:daidzein, compared to controls there were positive associations in the mid tertile for proliferative FBC (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.08-3.93), BC with proliferative NCT (OR 2.95, 95% CI 1.37-6.35), and all BC regardless of histology (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.43-3.95). However, trends in ORs with increasing plasma equol values or equol:daidzein ratios were not observed (P >.05). The results of this study do not provide evidence that equol plays a role in the etiology of these breast conditions. However, further work is needed to confirm or refute this conclusion. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Demografisk utvikling og potensialet for uformell omsorg i Norge

Bakgrunn: Myndighetene har forventninger om at bidrag fra pårørende og frivillige i omsorg for hjemmeboende eldre skal opprettholdes på dagens nivå eller økes i fremtiden. I artikkelen undersøker vi potensialet for uformell omsorg med utgangspunkt i den demografiske utviklingen frem mot 2040. Metode: Med utgangspunkt i folketall fra 2018 og Statistisk sentralbyrås befolkningsframskrivinger 2018–2040 har vi beregnet FNs familieomsorgskoeffisient (personer i alderen 50–66/85+), aldersbæreevne (personer i alderen 16–66/67+), og forholdet mellom antall unge eldre og eldste eldre (personer 67–79/85+) for årene frem mot 2040 for et utvalg av 49 norske kommuner (omsorgsforskningskommunepanelet). Vi har videre undersøkt korrelasjonen mellom de tre koeffisientene og kommunenes størrelse og sentralitet. Resultat: Familieomsorgskoeffisienten faller betydelig i samtlige kommuner fra 2018 til 2040 (størst fall i små kommuner). Aldersbæreevnen faller også markant i de fleste kommunene, og fallet er størst i små kommuner. Forholdet mellom unge eldre og de eldste faller også markert frem mot 2040 i alle kommunene. Dette forholdet er svakt korrelert med kommunestørrelse (størst fall i små kommuner). Alle tre forholdene faller i gjennomsnitt gradvis fra de mest sentrale til de minst sentrale kommunene. Konklusjon: Myndighetenes forventninger om opprettholdt eller økt innsats fra pårørende og frivillige er basert på sviktende demografiske forutsetninger. Den demografiske utviklingen bør være en tydeligere del av kunnskapsgrunnlaget for utformingen av fremtidens pårørende- og frivillighetspolitikk

Plasma equol concentration is not associated with breast cancer and fibrocystic breast conditions among women in Shanghai, China

Equol (a bacterial metabolite of the soy isoflavone daidzein) is produced by 30% to 50% of humans and may be associated with health outcomes. We hypothesized that plasma equol would be inversely associated with risks of fibrocystic breast conditions (FBC) and breast cancer (BC). Plasma from women in a breast self-examination trial in Shanghai with BC (n = 269) or FBC (n = 443), and age-matched controls (n = 1027) was analyzed for isoflavones. Equol was grouped into categories (= 45 nmol/L) and, among women with daidzein >= 20 nmol/L, the log(10) equol:daidzein ratio was grouped into tertiles. Where available, non-cancerous tissue (NCT) adjacent to the carcinomas from women with BC were classified as non-proliferative or proliferative (n = 130 and 172, respectively). The lesions from women with FBC were similarly classified (n = 99 and 92, respectively). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated across equol categories and tertiles of log(10) equol:daidzein ratio. Equol categories were not associated with FBC or BC >.05). For log(10) equol:daidzein, compared to controls there were positive associations in the mid tertile for proliferative FBC (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.08-3.93), BC with proliferative NCT (OR 2.95, 95% CI 1.37-6.35), and all BC regardless of histology (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.43-3.95). However, trends in ORs with increasing plasma equol values or equol:daidzein ratios were not observed (P >.05). The results of this study do not provide evidence that equol plays a role in the etiology of these breast conditions. However, further work is needed to confirm or refute this conclusion. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Guidelines for International Breast Health and Cancer Control-Implementation Supplement to Cancer Breast Pathology Guideline Implementation in Low-and Middle-Income Countries on behalf of the Breast Health Global Initiative Pathology Focus Group

The quality of breast healthcare delivery and the ultimate clinical outcome for patients with breast cancer are directly related to the quality of breast pathology practices within the healthcare system. The Breast Health Global Initiative KEYWORDS: breast cancer diagnosis, breast pathology, breast health global initiative, countries of limited resources, quality of care, breast pathology education, implementation of pathology practice, improved breast pathology reporting, standardization of test results, prognostic and predictive factors. T he quality of breast healthcare and the ultimate clinical outcome of patients with breast cancer are directly related to the quality of breast pathology practice. Pathology is the study of huma

Extra-tumoral breast tissue in breast cancer patients: Variations with steroid contraceptive use

The association between oral contraceptive (OC) use and benign breast changes in extra-tumoral breast tissue was studied histologically in 1,503 breast cancer patients from The WHO Collaborative Study of Neoplasia and Steroid Contraceptives. The occurrence of ductal hyperplasia, ductal atypia, sclerosing adenosis, cysts, apocrine metaplasia, apocrine hyperplasia, apocrine atypia, adenosis, lobular atypia, duct ectasia, calcifications, inflammatory reaction, lactational metaplasia and a high epithelial-stromal ratio was graded semi-quantitatively. Prevalence odds ratio (POR) for each histologic variable was calculated by logistic regression analyses. Patients who had ever used OC had lower occurrence of ductal hyperplasia than never users (POR 0.72 (95% CI 0.52-0.99)). Current use and more than 8 years of use was also associated with a lower prevalence of ductal hyperplasia (POR 0.40 (0.20-0.81) and POR 0.33 (0.17-0.64), respectively). Age > 35 years at first use was associated with in