October 2007 CEBP Highlights

Selected Articles from the October 1, 2007 Issue

The articles referenced in this Highlights section will be available online in HTML and PDF formats to all interested users at no charge until the next issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention is published. Click on the article title to view the complete article.

View the Table of Contents for the October 2007 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Physical Activity Inversely Associated with Estradiol

Schmitz et al.

Page 2042

Background physical activity is associated with reduced risk for breast cancer, perhaps through reductions in circulating reproductive hormones. However, the potential effect of the menopausal transition on the associations between physical activity and reproductive hormone levels has not been examined previously. Schmitz and colleagues used data from the Penn Ovarian Aging Study to assess self-reported physical activity in 391 women up to four times over 10 years and extending across the menopausal transition. The authors found that activity level was inversely associated with estradiol in the subgroup in the late transition stage. There were no significant associations of activity with any other reproductive hormone.

Breaking Language Barriers Increases Screening Rates

Beach et al.

Page 2058

There is evidence that non-English speakers in the United States receive lower quality health care and preventive services than English speakers. Beach and colleagues tested the hypothesis that Spanish-speaking women would respond differently to an intervention to increase up-to-date status for cancer screening. A multi-site randomized controlled trial showed that scripted telephone support, provided by a Prevention Care Manager (PCM), increased up-to-date rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening. While the PCM intervention increased cancer screening rates generally, Spanish-speaking women appeared to benefit disproportionately more than English-speaking women for cervical cancer screening. In addition, in this exploratory analysis, there was a trend toward Spanish-speaking women receiving more benefit than English-speaking women from the intervention in increased breast and colorectal cancer screening rates.

Barrett’s Esophagus Alters Mortality Risks

Cook et al.

Page 2090

There are very few prospective follow-up studies of Barrett’s esophagus (BE) cohorts assessing the risk of extra-esophageal cancer incidence or mortality. Cook and colleagues indentified a cohort of 502 BE patients and found all-cause mortality was elevated in BE patients and remained so after esophageal cancers were excluded. Increased mortality risks were also found for malignant neoplasms of the esophagus and diseases of the digestive system. Esophageal malignancies and esophageal adenocarcinomas were found to be increased in BE. All remaining analyses provided unaltered risks, including that of colorectal cancer. This study showed an increased risk of esophageal cancer incidence and mortality in BE, and demonstrated that those who have a histologic BE diagnosis may also have an increased risk of circulatory disease mortality.

C-peptide Positively Associated with Pancreatic Cancer

Michaud et al.

Page 2101

An association between serum insulin levels and pancreatic cancer risk was reported recently, but the study population was comprised of heavy smokers so the findings may not be generalizable to nonsmokers. Michaud and colleagues obtained pancreatic cancer cases and matched controls from four large-scale prospective cohorts to examine the association between prediagnostic plasma levels of C-peptide and insulin and pancreatic cancer. The authors found that prediagnostic plasma C-peptide was positively associated with pancreatic cancer risk. Fasting C-peptide and insulin were not related to pancreatic cancer, but a strong linear association for nonfasting C-peptide and pancreatic cancer was observed. The authors proposed that insulin levels in the postprandial state may be the relevant exposure for pancreatic carcinogenesis.

October 2007 CEBP Highlights

Selected Articles from the October 1, 2007 Issue

Physical Activity Inversely Associated with Estradiol

Breaking Language Barriers Increases Screening Rates

Barrett’s Esophagus Alters Mortality Risks

C-peptide Positively Associated with Pancreatic Cancer

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