American Association for Cancer Research

December 2007 CEBP Highlights

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Selected Articles from the December 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 December 2007 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

Risk Wanes After Stopping Estrogen Therapy

Rossing et al.

Page 2548

Substantial increase in use of menopausal hormone therapy (HT) throughout the 1990s was followed by widespread discontinuation after the 2002 publication of the Women’s Health Initiative findings. However, few studies have examined whether ovarian cancer risk varies according to recency and duration of specific HT regimens. Rossing and investigators assessed risk of epithelial ovarian cancer among users of unopposed estrogen (ET) and combined estrogen/progestogen (EPT). The authors did not observe an increased risk with EPT and, with increasing time after stopping, a reduction in risk became increasingly evident. The progestogen component of HT may confer a risk reduction that is masked by an opposing effect of estrogen until, among former users, estrogenic influences have diminished. 
 

Exercise During Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Improves Outcomes

Courneya et al.

Page 2572

Few exercise trials in cancer patients have reported longer term follow-up. Courneya and coauthors reported a six month follow-up of exercise behavior and patient-rated outcomes from an exercise trial in breast cancer patients. Breast cancer patients initiating adjuvant chemotherapy were randomly assigned to usual care (UC), resistance exercise training (RET), or aerobic exercise training (AET) for the duration of their chemotherapy. At six-month follow-up, the RET group reported higher self-esteem and the AET group reported lower anxiety compared to the UC group. Moreover, compared to participants reporting no regular exercise during the follow-up period, those reporting regular aerobic and resistance exercise also reported better patient-rated outcomes including quality of life.  

Breast Density Influences Events after DCIS

Hwang et al.

Page 2587

Risk of invasive cancer following treatment for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is associated with both treatment- and tumor-related factors. However, it is unknown whether stromal factors such as breast density may also influence subsequent invasive breast events. Hwang and colleagues investigated whether breast density is an independent predictor of subsequent breast events among women treated for DCIS. The authors found that high breast density was associated with contralateral, but not ipsilateral invasive breast cancer following lumpectomy for DCIS. Thus, women with DCIS and high breast density may especially benefit from anti-estrogenic therapy to reduce risk of contralateral invasive disease. 

Higher intakes of calcium and dairy products, a major source of dietary calcium, have been reported to increase risk of prostate cancer, potentially due to reductions in circulating vitamin D with increasing calcium intake. Ahn and colleagues prospectively examined the association of dairy product and calcium intake with prostate cancer risk in 29,509 men the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. In this large prospective study, greater dietary intake of calcium and dairy products, particularly low-fat types, may be modestly associated with increased risks for non-aggressive prostate cancer, but unrelated to aggressive disease. Further, the authors found no relationship between calcium intake and circulating vitamin D.  

Highly Methylated Markers Screen for Colorectal Neoplasia

Zou et al.

Page 2686

Discriminant markers are required for accurate cancer screening. Zou and investigators evaluated genes frequently methylated in colorectal neoplasia to identify the most discriminant ones. Four genes specifically methylated in colorectal cancer (BMP3, EYA2, ALX4, and vimentin) were selected from 41 candidate genes and evaluated on 74 cancers, 62 adenomas, and 70 normal epithelia. Their study showed that BMP3, EYA2, ALX4, and vimentin genes were methylated in most colorectal neoplasms but rarely in normal epithelia. Co-methylation of these genes is common, and pursuit of complementary markers for methylation-negative neoplasms is a rational strategy to optimize screening sensitivity.

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