Esophageal cancer: Epidemiology,risk factors and screening

More than 600,000 people are diagnosed with esophageal cancer (EC) every year globally, and the five-year survival rate of EC is less than 20%. Two common histological subtypes of EC, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), have great geographical variations in incidence rates. About half of the world’s EC was diagnosed in China and a majority of which belong to ESCC. Globally, the overall incidence rate of EC is decreasing. In some high-risk Asian regions, such as China, the incidence rate of ESCC has generally declined, potentially due to economic growth and improvement of diet habits. In some European high-income countries and the United States, the decline is mainly attributed to the decrease in smoking and drinking. The risk factors of EC are not well understood, and the importance of environmental and genetic factors in the pathogenesis is also unclear. The incidence and mortality of advanced EC can be reduced through early diagnosis and screening. White light endoscopy is still the gold standard in the current screening technology. This article reviews the epidemiology, risk factors, and screening strategies of EC in recent years to help researchers determine the most effective management strategies to reduce the risk of EC.     

Gastric cancer: Epidemiology,risk factors and prevention strategies

Gastric cancer(GC) is a global health problem, with more than 1 million people newly diagnosed with GC worldwide each year. GC is more prevalent in less developed countries than in more developed countries. About half of all GC cases worldwide occur in East Asia, notably China. Globally, overall incidence rates of GC are declining, which is potentially attributed to a decrease in Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) infection and the use of refrigeration to preserve foods rather than salt. GC is a mul...     

Hormonal risk factors and invasive epithelial ovarian cancer risk by parity

Background:

Recent studies have suggested that several ovarian cancer risk factors differ by parity status, but these findings have not been confirmed. We evaluated whether known risk factors of ovarian cancer differ between nulliparous and parous women using data from two large prospective cohorts.

Methods:

Data from the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study and the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial were combined for this analysis. Cox regression models were used to estimate associations with ovarian cancer risk. Risk heterogeneity by parity status was assessed using likelihood-ratio tests.

Results:

Among the 125 437 women included in the analysis, there were 16 589 (13%) nulliparous women and 108 848 (87%) parous women. Of the 623 women diagnosed with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, 102 (16%) were nulliparous and 521 (84%) were parous. While parity reduced ovarian cancer risk, no differences were found for other risk factors by parity. Among ever users of hormone therapy, body mass index suggestively increased the risk of ovarian cancer by 1.5-fold in nulliparous but not parous women (P-heterogeneity=0.08).

Conclusion:

While nulliparous women have higher ovarian cancer risk than parous women, our findings suggest that the relative effects of most other risk factors do not differ by parity.     

原发性肝癌全球流行情况和危险因素的新进展

原发性肝癌是全球导致死亡的第2大癌症,同时也是危险因素比较明确的恶性肿瘤之一,本文主要通过国内外有关肝癌的流行病学文献,从近几十年来对其在全球流行情况和危险因素进行综述。     

Trends and risk factors of lung cancer in China

China is faced with heavy burdens caused by lung cancer, which has climbed to the top of both cancer incidence and mortality spectrums. The age-standardized rates of incidence and mortality have shown a trend of gradual uptrends in the last decades, while the crude rates rise much quickly due to the aging of population. Although the improvement in health care has contributed to better survival of lung cancer, its prognosis is still challenging. Apart from the common risk factors such as tobacco ...     

Design considerations for identifying breast cancer risk factors in a population‐based study in Africa

Although breast cancer is becoming more prevalent in Africa, few epidemiologic studies have been undertaken and appropriate methodologic approaches remain uncertain. We therefore conducted a population‐based case–control study in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana, enrolling 2,202 women with lesions suspicious for breast cancer and 2,161 population controls. Biopsy tissue for cases prior to neoadjuvant therapy (if given), blood, saliva and fecal samples were sought for study subjects. Response rates, risk factor prevalences and odds ratios for established breast cancer risk factors were calculated. A total of 54.5% of the recruited cases were diagnosed with malignancies, 36.0% with benign conditions and 9.5% with indeterminate diagnoses. Response rates to interviews were 99.2% in cases and 91.9% in controls, with the vast majority of interviewed subjects providing saliva (97.9% in cases vs. 98.8% in controls) and blood (91.8% vs. 82.5%) samples; lower proportions (58.1% vs. 46.1%) provided fecal samples. While risk factor prevalences were unique as compared to women in other countries (e.g., less education, higher parity), cancer risk factors resembled patterns identified elsewhere (elevated risks associated with higher levels of education, familial histories of breast cancer, low parity and larger body sizes). Subjects with benign conditions were younger and exhibited higher socioeconomic profiles (e.g., higher education and lower parity) than those with malignancies, suggesting selective referral influences. While further defining breast cancer risk factors in Africa, this study showed that successful population‐based interdisciplinary studies of cancer in Africa are possible but require close attention to diagnostic referral biases and standardized and documented approaches for high‐quality data collection, including biospecimens.     

Association of screening status,polygenic risk score and environmental risk factors with colorectal cancer incidence and mortality risks

Whether screening can attenuate the influence of genetic risk and environmental risk factors for colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality risk remains unknown. Our study is to investigate the association of the screening history, genetic risk and environmental risk factors with CRC incidence and mortality risks using UK Biobank data. Screening history was associated with lower CRC incidence (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58-0.69) and mortality risk (HR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.49-0.63). Compared to the HRs of participants with a low genetic risk, low environmental risk and no screening history, the HRs of participants with a high genetic risk, high environmental risk and no screening history were 3.42 (95% CI: 2.76-4.24) for CRC incidence and 3.36 (95% CI: 2.48-4.56) for CRC mortality. In contrast, the HRs of participants with a high genetic risk and no screening history, but a low environmental risk, were 1.92 (95% CI: 1.55-2.36) for CRC incidence and 1.88 (95% CI: 1.39-2.53) for CRC mortality. Furthermore, the HRs of participants with a high genetic risk and a low environmental risk, but a screening history were 1.62 (95% CI: 1.15-2.28) for CRC incidence and 1.77 (95% CI: 1.08-2.89) for CRC mortality. Participants benefited more substantially from screenings for CRC mortality than for CRC incidence risk. A higher environmental risk was associated with higher risk of CRC incidence and mortality within each category of genetic risk. These findings emphasize the importance of CRC screening and identifying environmental factors to reduce CRC incidence and mortality risks.     

Metabolic factors and the risk of colorectal cancer by KRAS and BRAF mutation status

Factors related to energy metabolism and the metabolic syndrome, such as higher body mass index (BMI), blood glucose, or blood lipids, and blood pressure, are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, CRC is a heterogeneous disease, developing through distinct pathways with differences in molecular characteristics and prognosis, and possibly also in risk factors. For subtypes defined by KRAS and BRAF mutation status, BMI is the only metabolic factor previously studied, with inconsistent findings. We investigated whether associations between BMI, blood glucose, blood lipids, and blood pressure and CRC risk differed by tumor KRAS and BRAF mutation status in 117,687 participants from two population-based cohorts within the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (NSHDS). Hazard ratios (HRs) for overall CRC and CRC subtypes by metabolic factors were estimated with Cox proportional hazards regression, using multiple imputation to handle missing exposure and tumor data. During a median follow-up of 15.6 years, we acquired 1,250 prospective CRC cases, of which 766 cases had complete baseline and molecular tumor data. Consistent with previous evidence, higher BMI, total cholesterol, triglyceride levels, and blood pressure were associated with an increased risk of overall CRC (HRs per 1 standard deviation increase: 1.07 to 1.12). These associations were similar regardless of CRC subtype by KRAS and BRAF mutation status (all p_{heterogeneity} > 0.05). The same was true for subtypes based on microsatellite instability status. Poor metabolic health may therefore be a universal mechanism for colorectal cancer, acting across multiple developmental pathways.     

Pregnancy recency and risk of ovarian cancer

Objective: A recent analysis suggested that ovarian cancer risk increased with time since last birth, possibly because of some aspect of pregnancy that affects the clearance of cells that have undergone malignant transformation. We analyzed data from four case–control studies pertaining to ovarian cancer risk in relation to age at first pregnancy, age at last pregnancy, and years since last pregnancy: 628 cases and 3432 neighborhood or population controls, ages 18–79, were included.>Methods: We used logistic regression to analyze associations between ovarian cancer risk, controlling for study, age (at diagnosis or corresponding reference age for controls), race, parity, oral contraceptive use, tubal ligation, family history of ovarian or breast cancer, and excluding women with a history of infertility.Results: An early age at first pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer (odds ratio 1.4, 95% confidence interval (1.1–1.8) for ages 19 compared to 25). Years since last pregnancy was also associated with increased ovarian cancer risk, with odds ratios of 1.4, 1.4, 1.8, and 2.1 for 10–14, 15–19, 20–24, and 25 years compared to 0–9 years (trend test p = 0.004), respectively.Conclusion: These observations support the results from the previous study, and raise additional questions about the role of pregnancy in the etiology of ovarian cancer.     

遗传性非息肉病性结直肠癌相关肿瘤累计危险度分析

目的 了解各遗传性非息肉病性结直肠癌（HNPCC）相关肿瘤在中国HNPCC家族中发病的危险度,探讨中国HNPCC患者的诊断和治疗策略.方法 收集符合Amsterdam标准的HNPCC家族41个,以寿命表法对213例发生各种肿瘤的HNPCC家族成员做相关肿瘤的累计危险度分析.结果 肠外肿瘤中胃癌发生率最高（25例）,其次为子宫内膜癌（11例）.各HNPCC常见肿瘤的累计危险度分别为大肠癌89.5%,胃癌24.5%,子宫内膜癌29.6%（女性）,肝癌8.2%.结论 肠外肿瘤中胃癌、子宫内膜癌及肝癌的累计危险度均较高,忽视胃癌在中国HNPCC诊断中的价值,可能会漏诊部分患者.     

Perineal talc exposure and epithelial ovarian cancer risk in the Central Valley of California

Perineal talc use has been suggested as a possible risk factor for ovarian cancer based on its structural similarity to asbestos, a known human carcinogen. A population-based epidemiologic case-control study of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) was conducted in 22 counties of Central California that comprise the reporting area for 2 regional cancer registries. Telephone interviews were conducted with 256 cases diagnosed in the years 2000-2001 and 1,122 controls frequency-matched on age and ethnicity. The interview obtained information on demographic factors, menstrual and reproductive experience, exogenous hormone use, surgical history and family history of cancer. Questions on perineal talc use included frequency of use, duration of use and specific years when talc was used. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were derived from unconditional logistic regression. The OR for ever use of talc was 1.37 (CI = 1.02-1.85) compared to never users. However, no dose response association was found. Tubal ligation (TL) modified the effect of talc on EOC such that women with TL had an OR of 0.88 (CI = 0.46-1.68) associated with perineal talc use, whereas women with no TL had an OR of 1.54 (CI = 1.10-2.16). Talc use and EOC risk was highest in women with serous invasive tumors (OR = 1.77; CI = 1.12-2.81). This study provides some support for the hypothesis that perineal talc use is associated with an increased risk of EOC.     

Subsite-specific risk factors for colorectal cancer: a hospital-based case-control study in Japan

To investigate the subsite-specific risk factors for colorectal cancer, we conducted a case-control study, using a common questionnaire which inquired about general lifestyles over the past five years (1988–92), at the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Nagoya, Japan. This study compared 432 patients with histopathologically diagnosed colorectal cancer (94 proximal colon [cecum, ascending colon, transverse colon]; 137 distal colon [descending colon, sigmoid colon]; 201 rectum [rectosigmoid, rectum]); and 31,782 first-visit outpatient controls who were free from cancer. In both genders, habitual smoking selectively increased the risk for rectum cancer. Soft or loose feces increased the risk for all subsites of colorectal cancer, particularly in female cancer (odds ratio [OR]=4.5). Among female dietary habits, Japanese-style foods decreased the risk factors for distal colon cancer, but increased the risk for proximal colon cancer. These results suggested that the risk factors for colorectal cancer differ by subsite among such a low-risk population as the Japanese. It is suggested also that irritable bowel (soft or loose feces) might be associated with distal subsites of colorectal cancer, independently or combined with habitual smoking. Cancer Causes and Control 1995, 6, 14–22.Drs Inoue and Tajima, Ms Hirose, and Drs Hamajima and Takezaki are with the Division of Epidemiology, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, Nagoya, Japan. Authors are also affiliated with the Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Nagoya, Japan (Drs Hirai and Kato), and the Department of Preventive Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan (Drs Inoue and Ohno). Address correspondence to Dr Inoue, Division of Epidemiology, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, 1-1 Kanokoden, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan, 464. This study was funded in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Cancer Research (4-2) and the Comprehensive 10-year Strategy for Cancer Control from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Japan.     

The association of plasma androgen levels with breast,ovarian and endometrial cancer risk factors among postmenopausal women

Although androgens may play an etiologic role in breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers, little is known about factors that influence circulating androgen levels. We conducted a cross‐sectional analysis among 646 postmenopausal women in the Nurses' Health Study to examine associations between adult risk factors for cancer, including the Rosner/Colditz breast cancer risk score, and plasma levels of testosterone, free testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA sulfate (DHEAS). All analyses were adjusted for age, laboratory batch and other cancer risk factors. Free testosterone levels were 79% higher among women with a body mass index of ≥30 vs. <22 kg/m² (p‐trend <0.01) and 25% higher among women with a waist circumference of >89 vs. ≤74 cm (p‐trend = 0.02). Consuming >30 g of alcohol a day vs. none was associated with a 31% increase in DHEA and 59% increase in DHEAS levels (p‐trend = 0.01 and <0.01, respectively). Smokers of ≥25 cigarettes per day had 35% higher androstenedione and 44% higher testosterone levels than never smokers (p‐value, F‐test = 0.03 and 0.01, respectively). No significant associations were observed for height or time since menopause with any androgen. Testosterone and free testosterone levels were ～30% lower among women with a hysterectomy vs. without (both p‐values < 0.01). Overall breast cancer risk was not associated with any of the androgens. Thus, several risk factors, including body size, alcohol intake, smoking and hysterectomy, were related to androgen levels among postmenopausal women, while others, including height and time since menopause, were not. Future studies are needed to clarify further which lifestyle factors modulate androgen levels.     

Ovarian cancer risk factors by tumor dominance,a surrogate for cell of origin

Differentiating ovarian tumors based on developmental pathway may further enhance our understanding of the disease. Traditionally, ovarian cancers were thought to arise from the ovarian surface epithelium; however, recent evidence suggests that some tumors originate in the fallopian tube. We classified cases in a population‐based case–control study (New England Case–Control [NECC] Study) and two cohort studies (Nurses' Health Study [NHS]/Nurses' Health Study II [NHSII]) by tumor dominance, a proxy for tissue of origin. Dominant tumors (likely ovarian origin) are restricted to one ovary or are at least twice as large on one ovary compared to the other. Ovarian cancer risk factors were evaluated in relation to dominant and nondominant tumors (likely tubal origin) using polytomous logistic regression (NECC) or competing risks Cox models (NHS/NHSII). Results were combined using random‐effects meta‐analyses. Among 1,771 invasive epithelial ovarian cancer cases, we observed 1,089 tumors with a dominant mass and 682 with no dominant mass. Dominant tumors were more likely to be mucinous, endometrioid or clear cell, whereas nondominant tumors were more likely to be serous. Tubal ligation, two or more births, endometriosis and age were more strongly associated with dominant tumors (rate ratio [RR] = 0.60, 0.83, 1.58 and 1.37, respectively) than nondominant tumors (RR = 1.03, 0.93, 0.84 and 1.14, respectively; p‐difference = 0.0001, 0.01, 0.0003 and 0.01, respectively). These data suggest that risk factors for tumors putatively arising from ovarian versus fallopian tube sites may differ; in particular, reproductive factors may be more important for ovarian‐derived tumors. As this is the first study to evaluate ovarian cancer risk factors by tumor dominance, these results need to be validated by other studies.     

Cholecystectomy and the risk of colorectal cancer in Italy

In two case-control studies from Italy covering 3533 cases of colorectal cancer and 7062 hospital controls, the odds ratios were 1.04 after cholecystectomy for colorectal, 1.08 for colon and 1.03 for rectal cancers. The results did not differ significantly by gender, colon subsite or time since diagnosis.     

Colon Cancer Risk Factors in Jiashan County of Zhe-jiang Province, the Highest Incidence Area in China

OBJECTIVE To investigate the risk factors of colon cancer in Jiashan county, the highest incidence area in China and to provide a scientific basis for monitoring and prevention. METHODS With a population-based case-control study, 109 colon cancer patients with 1:7 matched controls were interviewed with uniform questionnaires. Conditional logistic regression was used for univariate and multivariate analysis of colon cancer. RESULTS High monthly pork consumption (OR=1.608), and high monthly animal fat consumption (OR=1.391) over a ten-year period, psychological depression (OR=9.887), negative emotion (OR=1.723), lower digestivetract diseases (OR=4.163), and history of colorectal cancer in first-degree relatives (OR=3.421) were the main risk factors of colon cancer. During that time, high monthly vegetable consumption was a protective factor for colon cancer (OR=0.422).CONCLUSIONS Colon cancer in Jiashan county was related to dietary factors. The research results support the colon cancer etiological hypothesis of “fat-bile acid“ and “deficiency of dietary fibre“. Psychological depression, in heritance and lower digestive tract diseases were also correlated with colon cancer.     

Epidemiologic risk factors for esophageal cancer development

In retrospective studies of esophageal cancer (EC), cigarettes and hookah smoking, nass use (a chewing tobacco product), opium consumption, hot tea drinking, poor oral health, low intake of fresh fruit and vegetables, and low socioeconomic status have been associated with a higher risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Barrett's esophagus is clearly recognized as a risk factor for EC, and dysplasia remains the only factor useful for identifying patients at increased risk, for the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma in clinical practice. Here, we review the epidemiologic studies that have investigated the epidemiologic patterns and causes of EC.     

结直肠癌术后肝转移的危险因素分析及预测模型构建

目的:分析结直肠癌术后肝转移的危险因素并构建预测模型.方法:选取2011年1月至2015年12月于苏州市第九人民医院行根治性手术切除的247例结直肠癌患者作为观察对象,依据随访是否出现肝转移分为转移组、非转移组.对两组各项指标进行单因素筛选,再行Logistic多因素回归分析,并建立预测模型,应用受试者工作特征(rec...