Anthropometric and reproductive factors and risk of esophageal and gastric cancer by subtype and subsite: Results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort

Obesity has been associated with upper gastrointestinal cancers; however, there are limited prospective data on associations by subtype/subsite. Obesity can impact hormonal factors, which have been hypothesized to play a role in these cancers. We investigated anthropometric and reproductive factors in relation to esophageal and gastric cancer by subtype and subsite for 476,160 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. Multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox models. During a mean follow-up of 14 years, 220 esophageal adenocarcinomas (EA), 195 esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, 243 gastric cardia (GC) and 373 gastric noncardia (GNC) cancers were diagnosed. Body mass index (BMI) was associated with EA in men (BMI ≥30 vs. 18.5–25 kg/m²: HR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.25–3.03) and women (HR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.15–6.19); however, adjustment for waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) attenuated these associations. After mutual adjustment for BMI and HC, respectively, WHR and waist circumference (WC) were associated with EA in men (HR = 3.47, 95% CI: 1.99–6.06 for WHR >0.96 vs. <0.91; HR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.52–4.72 for WC >98 vs. <90 cm) and women (HR = 4.40, 95% CI: 1.35–14.33 for WHR >0.82 vs. <0.76; HR = 5.67, 95% CI: 1.76–18.26 for WC >84 vs. <74 cm). WHR was also positively associated with GC in women, and WC was positively associated with GC in men. Inverse associations were observed between parity and EA (HR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.14–0.99; >2 vs. 0) and age at first pregnancy and GNC (HR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.32–0.91; >26 vs. <22 years); whereas bilateral ovariectomy was positively associated with GNC (HR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.04–3.36). These findings support a role for hormonal pathways in upper gastrointestinal cancers.     

Giant right atrium and subvalvular pulmonary stenosis: A case report of an interesting combination

A 20‐year‐old Congolese woman presented with presyncope, dyspnea, and anasarca. Past medical history was unremarkable. Echocardiography revealed a rare combination of giant right atrium (RA), a dilated and hypertrophied right ventricle, subvalvular pulmonary stenosis (subPS), severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR), pericardial effusion and what appeared to be a spontaneously closed ventricular septal defect (VSD). Cardiac Magnetic Resonance and Cardiac Computed Tomography confirmed the findings excluding the presence of intra‐cardiac and extra‐cardiac shunt and other associated congenital anomalies. The patient underwent subPS resection, right atrioplasty, and tricuspid annuloplasty. Multimodality approach facilitated the detection of the abnormalities and provided clarity when determining the optimal surgical strategy.     

Bloqueio do plano do eretor da espinha com técnica de múltiplos cateteres para esofagectomia aberta: relato de caso

Background and objective

Erector spinae plane block is a valid technique to provide simultaneously analgesia for combined thoracic and abdominal surgery.

A drug safety evaluation of mogamulizumab for the treatment of cutaneous T-Cell lymphoma

Introduction: Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL) are rare non-Hodgkin lymphomas of skin-homing T-cells that initially or mainly manifest cutaneously. Treatment of CTCL is challenging given the disease states’ varying presentation and prognosis. Systemic treatment options often lack comparative evidence and have relatively low response rates and short duration of response. The recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of mogamulizumab in adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) CTCL after at least one prior line of therapy provided a new treatment option to patients with advanced disease.

Areas covered: The authors discuss basic information about CTCL and mogamulizumab’s mechanism of action. Then, the authors discuss the agent’s efficacy. Finally, the authors evaluate the safety of mogamulizumab in comparison to other agents available in CTCL.

Expert opinion: Mogamulizumab has been shown to be an effective and well tolerated therapy for patients with relapsed and refractory MF/SS with excellent activity in the circulating component of the disease.     

Exploring Coverage of the 2008 Irish Dioxin Crisis in the Irish and UK Newsprint Media

The 2008 dioxin crisis occurred as a result of contamination of Irish pork. The event had significant implications for Ireland’s economy and the reputation of its agricultural industry, as well as raising concerns for human health. This study describes the results of a content analysis of Irish and UK newspaper coverage of the 2008 Irish dioxin crisis, as this is likely to provide insight into how public perceptions of this issue were shaped. Articles from 16 print publications were systematically sampled for the period December 2008 to February 2009. The resulting data set of 141 articles was examined using a coding protocol developed based on previous research and refined during piloting. Results indicated that the dioxin crisis was primarily portrayed by the media as an industry/economic crisis, dominant in 26.9% of articles in the sample. Within this dominant portrayal, the agricultural industry was frequently cited as being in crisis (42.6%); however, the implications of the crisis on the wider economic environment also received attention (17.7%). Differences between Irish and UK-based media were also examined, revealing that while the Irish media most frequently described the crisis in terms of its impact on the industry and economy, the UK media were more likely to portray the crisis as a risk to health. These dominant media messages and message framings have implications for the public understanding of the issue in each country and potential consequences regarding perception of the adequacy of existing food policy and regulatory oversight.