Post-diagnosis dietary factors and survival after invasive breast cancer.

Little is known about the effects of diet after breast cancer diagnosis on survival. We prospectively examined the relation between post-diagnosis dietary factors and breast cancer and all-cause survival in women with a history of invasive breast cancer diagnosed between 1987 and 1999 (at ages 20-79 years). Diet after breast cancer diagnosis was measured using a 126-item food frequency questionnaire. Among 4,441 women without a history of breast cancer recurrence prior to completing the questionnaire, 137 subsequently died from breast cancer within 7 years of enrollment. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated for intake of macronutrients as well as selected micronutrients and food groups from Cox proportional hazards regression models. After adjustment for factors at diagnosis (age, state of residence, menopausal status, smoking, breast cancer stage, alcohol, history of hormone replacement therapy), interval between diagnosis and diet assessment, and at follow-up (energy intake, breast cancer treatment, body mass index, and physical activity), women in the highest compared to lowest quintile of intake of saturated fat and trans fat had a significantly higher risk of dying from any cause (HR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.06-1.87, P trend = 0.03) for saturated fat; (HR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.35-2.32, P trend = 0.01) for trans fat intake. Associations were similar, though did not achieve statistical significance, for breast cancer survival. This study suggests that lower intake of saturated and trans fat in the post-diagnosis diet is associated with improved survival after breast cancer diagnosis

Prospective study of cigarette smoking and adult glioma: Dosage, duration, and latency

Tobacco products are major contributors of exogenous N-nitroso compounds, a group of potent neurocarcinogens. Overall results from studies of smoking and brain tumors have been null, but have provided little information on duration, age at smoking initiation, and latency. We prospectively examined the relation between cigarette smoking and glioma risk among men and women in three large U.S. cohort studies: the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), the Nurses’ Health Study I (NHS), and NHS II. Information on smoking history was obtained at baseline (1986 for HPFS, 1976 for NHS, and 1989 for NHS II) and updated biennially through 2002 in the HPFS and the NHS and 2003 in the NHS II. We confirmed 110 incident gliomas among men and 255 gliomas among women during 667,673 and 4,388,515 person-years of follow-up, respectively. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate incidence rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals between smoking and glioma risk adjusting for age, total meat intake, and alcohol and coffee consumption. Estimates from each cohort were pooled using a random-effects model after determining that there was no heterogeneity by sex. No association with glioma risk was observed between baseline or updated smoking status, intensity, duration, or age at smoking initiation among men and women. Furthermore, no association with glioma risk was observed after allowing for an induction period between smoking and glioma diagnosis. These findings provide strong evidence that cigarette smoking is not associated with an appreciably elevated risk of adult glioma

Safety study of live, oral human rotavirus vaccine: A cohort study in United States health insurance plans

As part of a regulatory commitment for post-licensure safety monitoring of live, oral human rotavirus vaccine (RV1), this study compared the incidence rates (IR) of intussusception, acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) hospitalization, Kawasaki disease, convulsion, and mortality in RV1 recipients versus inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) recipients in concurrent (cIPV) and recent historical (hIPV) comparison cohorts. Vaccine recipients were identified in 2 claims databases from August 2008 – June 2013 (RV1 and cIPV) and January 2004 – July 2008 (hIPV). Outcomes were identified in the 0–59 days following the first 2 vaccine doses. Intussusception, Kawasaki disease, and convulsion were confirmed via medical record review. Outcome IRs were estimated. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were obtained from Poisson regression models. A post-hoc self-controlled case series (SCCS) analysis compared convulsion IRs in a 0–7 day post-vaccination period to a 15–30 day post-vaccination period. We identified 57,931 RV1, 173,384 cIPV, and 159,344 hIPV recipients. No increased risks for intussusception, LRTI, Kawasaki disease, or mortality were observed. The convulsion IRRs were elevated following RV1 Dose 1 (cIPV: 2.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27 – 3.38; hIPV: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.24 – 3.38), a finding which is inconclusive as it was observed in only one of the claims databases. The IRR following RV1 Dose 1 in the SCCS analysis lacked precision (2.40, 95% CI: 0.73 – 7.86). No increased convulsion risk was observed following RV1 Dose 2. Overall, this study supports the favorable safety profile of RV1. Continued monitoring for safety signals through routine surveillance is needed to ensure vaccine safety

Prospective study of meat intake and dietary nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines and risk of adult glioma123

Background: The hypothesis that nitrosamine exposure may increase the risk of glioma has been circulating for several decades, but testing it has been difficult because of the ubiquitous nature of nitrosamine exposure. Diet has been the focus of many studies because it can substantially influence nitrosamine exposure, mostly from the endogenous formation of nitrosamines based on intake of nitrite and nitrate