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View the Table of Contents for the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Landgren et al. Page 2342
Certain commonly used drugs and medical conditions characterized by chronic immune dysfunction and/or antigen stimulation have been suggested to affect important pathways in multiple myeloma (MM) tumor cell growth and survival. Landgren et al. conducted a population-based case-control study to investigate the role of medical history in the etiology of MM among Connecticut women. The authors found anti-lipid statin drugs and estrogen replacement therapy and medical conditions characterized by chronic immune dysfunction and/or antigen stimulation to be associated with an almost 50% reduced risk of MM. Prior use of prednisone, insulin and, perhaps, gout medication was associated with increased risk of MM. If these results are confirmed, mechanistic studies examining underlying mechanisms for the observed associations may provide insights to the as yet unknown etiology of MM.
Walker et al. Page 2370
Non–small-cell lung cancer patients who continue to smoke after cancer diagnosis are more likely to experience disease recurrence, decreased treatment efficacy, and treatment complications. Despite this, Walker et al. found that 42.9% of patients smoked at some point after surgery, and 36.9% were smoking at 12 months after surgery. Sixty percent of patients who lapsed did so during the first two months after surgery. Nearly half of non–small-cell lung cancer patients return to smoking after surgery if they have recent smoking histories. Most initial lapses happen within two months and occur in response to more recent smoking and more intense cravings. Findings suggested that interventions to prevent relapse should target those who wait until cancer surgery to quit smoking, and should begin as soon as possible after treatment.
Lukanova et al. Page 2489
The role of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I in breast cancer remains controversial, despite numerous reports on the association of the hormone with breast cancer or high risk mammographic densities. Lukanova et al. hypothesized that exposure to elevated IGF-I during early pregnancy, a period characterized by intense cell proliferation in the breasts and in the presence of high concentrations of sex-steroids, would be associated with increased maternal risk to develop a breast malignancy. This study confirmed that IGF-I is important in breast cancer, and suggested that the adverse effect of IGF-I on the breast may be stronger before the remodeling of the gland induced by a first pregnancy.
Page 2467
Black populations have been documented to have low vitamin D levels. Giovannucci et al. examined whether total cancer incidence and mortality rates differ between blacks and whites in a population of male health professionals, particularly for digestive system cancers, which have been most consistently linked to poor vitamin D status. The authors also examined whether blacks might be more susceptible to these cancers if they concurrently had other risk factors for hypovitaminosis D. The results suggest that the high frequency of hypovitaminosis D in blacks may be an important, and easily modifiable, contributor to their higher risk of cancer incidence and mortality.
Page 2546
Half of all cancers in the United States are skin cancers. van der Pols et al. previously showed in a randomized controlled trial in an Australian community that squamous-cell (SCCs) but not basal-cell carcinomas (BCCs) can be prevented by regular sunscreen application to the head, neck, hands and forearms after 4.5 years. The authors followed participants for a further 8 years to evaluate possible latency of preventive effect for BCCs compared with SCCs. BCC tumor rates tended to decrease but not significantly in people formerly randomized to daily sunscreen use. By contrast, corresponding SCC tumor rates were significantly decreased by almost 40% during the entire follow-up period. Regular application of sunscreen by people in sunny climates has prolonged preventive effects on SCC but has no clear benefit in reducing BCC.