Use of smokeless tobacco and risk of myocardial infarction and stroke: systematic review with meta-analysis

Objective To assess whether people who use smokeless tobacco products are at increased risk of myocardial infarction and stroke

Alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk

Boyle, Peter Boffetta, Paolo eng England 2010/01/20 06:00 Breast Cancer Res. 2009;11 Suppl 3:S3. doi: 10.1186/bcr2422. Epub 2009 Dec 18.International audienceno abstrac

Power Laws in Solar Flares: Self-Organized Criticality or Turbulence?

We study the time evolution of Solar Flares activity by looking at the statistics of quiescent times $\tau_{L}$ between successive bursts. The analysis of 20 years of data reveals a power law distribution with exponent $\alpha \simeq 2.4$ which is an indication of complex dynamics with long correlation times. The observed scaling behavior is in contradiction with the Self-Organized Criticality models of Solar Flares which predict Poisson-like statistics. Chaotic models, including the destabilization of the laminar phases and subsequent restabilization due to nonlinear dynamics, are able to reproduce the power law for the quiescent times. In the case of the more realistic Shell Model of MHD turbulence we are able to reproduce all the observed distributions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letter

A quick guide to cancer epidemiology

This short and essential book [1] is addressed essentially to medical and public health students, and to anyone interested in a summary up to date presentation of cancer epidemiology and prevention. It is subdivided into four major sections, that include principles of primary and secondary cancer prevention, the current global burden of neoplasms,..

Causation in the Presence of Weak Associations

none1siDespite their observational nature, epidemiologic studies have been used to make inductive inferences about the causes of human diseases. In this context, I mainly consider the term “cause” in its cognitive (explanatory) meaning, that is, by detecting causal factors and identifying mechanisms of diseases...openBoffetta, P.Boffetta, P

Mortality Patterns and Trends for Lung Cancer and Other Tobacco-Related Cancers in the Americas, 1955-1989

Mortality from cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, oesphagus, larynx and lung between 1955 and 1989 has been analysed for USA, Canada and 14 countries in Latin America. Among males, Uruguay, Cuba, Argentina and Puerto Rico have the highest rates for all sites, and Peru, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Colombia have the lowest rates. Among females, Cuba, Colombia and Puerto Rico rank high for all sites, and Mexico, Paraguay, Ecuador and Peru rank low. For both sexes, lung cancer mortality rates from the US and Canada are high, whereas rates from other sites are intermediate. An increasing trend in lung cancer mortality over time is shown in all countries except Cuba (no changes), Argentina, Paraguay and Peru (decreasing trend). In Latin America, the tobacco-related lung cancer epidemic is in its early phase among males, and very early phase among female

Occupational and Environmental Exposures and Cancers in Developing Countries

Background: Over the past few decades, there has been a decline in cancers attributable to environmental and occupational carcinogens of asbestos, arsenic, and indoor and outdoor air pollution in high-income countries. For low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), however, these exposures are likely to increase as industrialization expands and populations grow. Objective: The aim of this study was to review the evidence on the cancer risks and burdens of selected environmental and occupational exposures in less-developed economies. Findings: A causal association has been established between asbestos exposure and mesotheliomaand lung cancer. For arsenic exposure, there is strong evidence of bladder, skin, lung, liver, and kidney cancer effects. Women are at the highest risk for lung cancer due to indoor air pollution exposure; however, the carcinogenic effect on the risk for cancer in children has not been studied in these countries. Cancer risks associated with ambient air pollution remain the least studied in LMICs, although reported exposures are higher than World Health Organization, European, and US standards. Although some associations between lung cancer and ambient air pollutants have been reported, studies in LMICs are weak or subject to exposure misclassification. For pulmonary cancers, tobacco smoking and respiratory diseases have a positive synergistic effect on cancer risks. Conclusions: A precise quantification of the burden of human cancer attributable to environmental and occupational exposures in LMICs is uncertain. Although the prevalence of carcinogenic exposures has been reported to be high in many such countries, the effects of the exposures have not been studied due to varying country-specific limitations, some of which include lack of resources and government support

Cancer in Low- and Medium-Income Countries

No Abstrac

Meta-analysis of studies of occupational exposure to vinyl chloride in relation to cancer mortality

Copyright: Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Objective. A meta-analysis was made of studies addressing occupational exposure to vinyl chloride in relation to cancer mortality. Methods. Two recently updated multicenter cohort studies and six smaller studies were identified. For selected neoplasms, standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were abstracted (or calculated from raw data). In cases of lack of heterogeneity (P-value ≥0.01), meta-analyses were conducted using a random-effects model. Results. With SMR values ranging from 1.63 to 57.1, all six studies for which these ratios could be obtained suggested an increased risk of liver cancer. For four of these studies, excesses persisted when known cases of angiosarcoma of the liver (ASL) were excluded. The meta-SMR for liver cancers other than ASL (based on the 2 large cohorts) was 1.35 (95% CI 1.04-1.77). The meta-SMR for lung cancer was 0.90 (95% CI 0.77-1.00, based on 5 studies), although higher SMR values were reported in early studies. The meta-SMR for brain cancer, based on 5 studies, was 1.26 (95% CI 0.98-1.62). For soft tissue sarcomas, the meta-SMR based on 4 studies was 2.52 (95% CI 1.56-4.07). The meta-SMR for lymphatic and hematopoietic neoplasms in the 2 large studies was 0.90 (95% CI 0.75-1.01), although 3 of the smaller studies reported significant excesses. Conclusions. Apart from the known risk of ASL, workers exposed to vinyl chloride may experience an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and soft-tissue sarcoma; however, these results may have been influenced by the underdiagnosis of true ASL. Increased mortality from lung and brain cancers and from lymphatic and hematopoietic neoplasms cannot be excluded; mortality from other neoplasms does not appear to be increased.publishersversionPeer reviewe