Serum pituitary and sex steroid hormone levels in the etiology of prostatic cancer--a population-based case-control study.

The hypothesis that serum concentrations of pituitary hormones, sex steroid hormones, or sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) affect the occurrence of prostatic cancer was tested in a consecutive sample of 93 patients with newly diagnosed, untreated cancer and in 98 population controls of similar ages without the disease. Cases did not differ significantly from controls regarding serum levels of luteinising hormone (LH) or follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Remarkably close agreement was found for mean values of total testosterone (15.8 nmol l-1 in cases and 16.0 in controls), and free testosterone (0.295 and 0.293 nmol l-1, respectively), with corresponding odds ratios for the highest vs lowest tertile of 1.0 (95% confidence interval 0.5-1.9) for testosterone and 1.2 (95% confidence interval 0.6-2.4) for free testosterone. Similar close agreement between cases and controls was found for serum concentrations of estradiol, androstenedione and SHBG, although the mean estradiol level was non-significantly (P = 0.30) lower among cases. Changes secondary to the disease were unlikely to have affected the results materially, since only LH and FSH were associated with stage of disease and this relationship was weak. Our findings suggest that further analyses of serum hormone levels at the time of diagnosis are unlikely to improve our understanding of the etiology of prostatic cancer.     

Alcohol and breast cancer risk: the alcoholism paradox

A population-based cohort study of 36 856 women diagnosed with alcoholism in Sweden between 1965 and 1995 found that alcoholic women had only a small 15% increase in breast-cancer incidence compared to the general female population. It is therefore apparent, contrary to expectation, that alcoholism does not increase breast-cancer risk in proportion to presumed ethanol intake.     

Body size in different periods of life, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and risk of postmenopausal endometrial cancer (Sweden)

Objective: To measure the association between endometrial cancer risk and obesity at age 18 and recently, adult weight gain, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Methods: We performed a population-based, nationwide case–control study among postmenopausal women aged 50–74 years in Sweden, including 709 incident cases with histopathologically verified endometrial cancer and 3368 controls. Results: Compared to lean women (recent body mass index (BMI), i.e. kg/m² below 22.5), overweight women (recent BMI 28–29.99) had a 50% increase in risk for endometrial cancer (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.0–2.1). Obese women (recent BMI 30–33.99) had a 3-fold increased risk (OR 2.9, 95% CI 2.0–4.0), and markedly obese women (recent BMI 34) a 6-fold increased risk (OR 6.3, 95% CI 4.2–9.5). The OR for Type 2 diabetes mellitus was 1.5 (95% CI 1.0–2.1) and for Type 1 diabetes mellitus it was 13.3 (3.1–56.4). The effect of recent BMI was similar for tumors having different degrees of differentiation and myometrial invasion, and did not vary with age, time since menopause, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, and use of contraceptives. Hypertension increased risk only among obese women. BMI at age 18, height, and adult weight change were not independent risk factors. Conclusions: Recent overweight/obesity and diabetes mellitus (Types 1 and 2) are associated with endometrial cancer risk. Hypertension increases risk among obese women.     

Trends in mortality rates from malignant melanoma in Sweden 1953-1987 and forecasts up to 2007.

To monitor mortality rates from malignant melanoma we analysed all patients in Sweden (6,324) who died of malignant melanoma in 1953 through 1987. Age-standardised rates per 10(5) increased from 1.1 to 4.0 in men and from 1.0 to 2.6 in women. The average annual increase levelled off in men from 4.6% during 1953-1967 to 2.0% in 1978-1987; and in women from 3.7% to 0%. Multivariate analyses showed that the change in rates for men was mainly due to a birth-cohort effect, whereas in women the rates changed similarly in all age-groups in accordance with a time-period effect. The risk of dying of malignant melanoma increased in men for birth cohorts up to 1932, whereas in women the rise continued for cohorts born as late as 1947. The best-fitted multivariate models were extrapolated to the year 2007, among men a slight increase in mortality rates seemed likely, whereas among women the rates will probably remain unchanged.     

Effect of a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, nitroflurbiprofen, on the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in rat neutrophils.

The effects of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, flurbiprofen, and its nitro-derivative, nitroflurbiprofen, on inducible nitric oxide synthase in rat neutrophils were examined. Nitroflurbiprofen was shown to inhibit nitric oxide synthase induction caused by lipopolysaccharide administration, while flurbiprofen had no effect on nitric oxide synthase induction. This inhibitory action may be ascribed to nitric oxide released from nitroflurbiprofen.     

Epidemiologic correlates of breast cancer laterality (Sweden)

Breast cancer laterality was studied in relation to age in 80,784 cases of invasive and 3,835 cases of pre-invasive breast cancer in women and 548 cases of invasive breast cancer in men reported to the Swedish Cancer Registry, 1970–89. In a subset of 11,274 women with invasive disease, data on parity were available through the Swedish Fertility Registry. Laterality also was evaluated in relation to age and reproductive variables in 3,986 cases from an international study from the 1960s. The overall incidence of pre-invasive and invasive cancer was higher in the left than in the right breast among both women and men. The excess incidence of invasive cancer in the left breast was evident only after the age of 45 years in women; a similar phenomenon may exist with pre-invasive disease in women and in men. The age-dependent laterality pattern did not appear to be confounded by menopausal status. Among women younger than 45 years, nulliparity, right handedness, and late age at menarche was associated with a somewhat higher incidence of cancer in the right breast. The laterality findings are likely to be due to factors operating early in the carcinogenic process, perhaps at the pre-initiation stage.Supported by grants from the Swedish Cancer     

Biochemical and cytochemical effects of cytosine arabinoside (ARA C) and hydrocortisone on HeLa cells.

The biochemical and cytochemical effects of cytosine arabinoside (Ara C) and of hydrocortisone on HeLa cell in vitro have been studied. In cultures treated with Ara C, a relationship exists between the cytocidal effects of the drug and an increase in alkaline phosphatase. Although hydrocortisone had no influence on the proliferative rhythm, it induced an increase in alkaline phosphatase. Results obtained with the cytochemical technique were evaluated, particularly in relation to enzyme localization.