Exposure assessment Comparison of agreement of experts to rate exposures in three industries (textiles, foundry, electroplating) were used to show the value of multiple raters, extra information in industry-specific questionnaires, and variation disagreements across exposure distribution. Given a gold-standard biomarker, expert exposure assessments for dust in textile and foundry industries showed that multiple experts using industry-specific questionnaires perform best. Lung Cancer In a case control study in Italy, protection against lung cancer from multiple diagnoses of pneumonia may reflect an underlying difference in immune response and requires further investigation and confirmation. HPV In Guanacaste, women >42y with HPV infections had more persistent infections than infections in younger women. Concurrent HPV infections of multiple types are not associated with each other, but each infection increases risk of precancerous lesions. The rate of new infections declines with age, and new infections typically do not progress to CIN 2 or worse disease in older women;overall potential benefit of prophylactic vaccination or frequent HPV screening to prevent or detect new carcinogenic HPV infections at older ages is low. Using case-control data, NIH-AARP, and NHANES, more HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer occurs among smokers rather than non-smokers. Cytology screening in women might lead to a transient enhancement of susceptibility to HPV infection and use of a carrageenan-based gel during the exam might mitigate this enhancement. In a study combining two randomized trials of Cervarix, a vaccine to present cervical lesions caused by HPV types 16 and 18, no evidence overall was found for an association between HPV vaccination and risk of miscarriage. HIV Relative to the general population risks of AIDS-defining cancers (ADCs;KS, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, cervical cancer) were elevated up to ten years after AIDS, and incidence declined significantly between 1990-1995 and 1996-2004. Elevated longterm risks were seen for other cancers. In a retrospective cohort study for an urban HIV clinic, NHL risk increased with declining CD4 count and increasing HIV viral load. NHL risk was independently associated with both current CD4 count and prior time spent with a viral load above 5.00 log10 copies/ml. Although serum globulin levels were elevated compared to the general population, NHL risk was unrelated to this B-cell activation marker. In another study, for most cancers the age of diagnosis is not younger among persons with AIDS compared with the general population, after accounting for the age. Modest age differences remained for a few cancers, perhaps reflecting acceleration in cancer development by HIV or earlier exposure to cancer risk factors. Biomarkers In Linxian, serum IL-2 was associated both with precancerous esophageal lesions, and with selenium supplementation, suggesting that IL-2 mediates the chemopreventive benefit of selenium on esophageal cancer. Serum C-Reactive Protein (CRP) was associated with lung cancer risk amongst smokers and estimated absolute risks of lung cancer due to smoking and CRP. We compared mammographic density (areal percent dense, MD) in 143 unaffected BRCA1/2 mutation carriers with MD in 119 women without BRCA1/2 mutations. After adjusting for age, there was no significant difference in MD between the two groups. Cancer genetics Associations of sub-telomeric DNA methylation with telomere length in patients with Dyskeratosis Congenita who have no known DC-related germline mutations was found, suggesting that the hunt for more DC-related mutations should include genes related to sub-telomeric methylation. In the Agricultural Health Study effect modification in 8q24 variants and exposure to restricted use pesticides and risk of prostate cancer was found. Bladder Bladder cancer risk in relation to smoking practices in a population-based case-control study conducted New England was examined. Regular and current cigarette smokers had higher risks of bladder cancer than never-smokers. We also observed that within categories of intensity, odds ratios increased approximately linearly with increasing pack-years smoked, but the slope of the increasing trend declined with increasing intensity. Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) Immune perturbation likely affects the development of KS among people infected with the KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). Mantoux DTH with three antigens (Candida, tetanus, PPD) was performed on the forearm and leg of 15 cKS cases, 14 KSHV-positive and 15 KSHV-negative controls. Compared to KSHV-negative controls, DTH was lower in KSHV-positive controls, whereas cKS cases had lower DTH specifically in the leg. BMI and diet In the Weight-Loss Maintenance Trial, a strong association between weight change and levels of many sex hormones, including an interaction of race with weight change. In a sample American Asian- women, the associations of usual adult soy intake with the urinary concentrations of 15 estrogens and estrogen metabolites (EM) measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Factor analysis confirmed that EM groups defined by metabolic pathways captured covariation in EM profiles. Total EM concentrations were not significantly associated with soy in women. Within the AHS, BMI was positively associated with colon cancer in men and breast cancer in postmenopausal women, while BMI was inversely associated with lung cancer in men. The positive association between BMI and colon cancer in men was significant in ever users of carbofuran or metolachlor, but was null in non-users. Using the INHANCE consortium of studies of head and neck cancer, BMI was a modifier of smoking and alcohol-related effects. ORs for all sites increased with lean BMI, greater smoking and drinking. Lean BMI enhanced ORs by smoking and drinking for oral cavity/pharynx cancers (pCancer Screening and History National Health Interview Survey data (between 1992 and 2005) showed rates of use for cancer tests are rising only for colorectal cancer, due largely to the increase in colorectal endoscopy screening. Use of all the modalities was strongly influenced by contact with a physician and by having health insurance coverage. In the Family Health Study family history prevalence for 4 of the most common adult solid tumors is substantial and the reported prevalence varied by respondent characteristics.
| Meulepas, Johanna M; Hauptmann, Michael; Lubin, Jay H et al. (2018) Is there Unmeasured Indication Bias in Radiation-Related Cancer Risk Estimates from Studies of Computed Tomography? Radiat Res 189:128-135 |
| Flegal, Katherine M; Graubard, Barry I; Yi, Sang-Wook (2017) Comparative effects of the restriction method in two large observational studies of body mass index and mortality among adults. Eur J Clin Invest 47:415-421 |
| Nyante, S J; Graubard, B I; Li, Y et al. (2012) Trends in sex hormone concentrations in US males: 1988-1991 to 1999-2004. Int J Androl 35:456-66 |
