Relationships for recombinant interleukin-2-stimulated mixed lymphocyte tumor extract reaction between peripheral blood lymphocytes and regional node lymphocytes in gastric cancer patients.

To investigate the relationship between "systemic" antitumor immunity and "local" antitumor immunity with respect to the histopathological stage of gastric cancer, interleukin-2 stimulated mixed lymphocyte tumor extract reactions (ILS-MLTR) of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and regional node lymphocytes (RNL) were evaluated in 59 gastric cancer patients. ILS-MLTRs of both PBL and RNL decreased with the advance of cancer stage, but ILS-MLTRs of PBL were always lower than those of RNL. Positive correlations in MLTR between PBL and RNL were found in patients with depth of invasion to muscularis propria and serosa and peritoneal dissemination. Inverse correlations between PBL and RNL were noted in patients with stage IV and distant nodal involvement. These results suggest that variations in the anticancer immunities might be effectively managed by an immunotherapy which is designed according to the responsiveness in the immune parameter ILS-MLTR.     

Modifiable factors for the length of life with disability before death: mortality retrospective study in Japan

BACKGROUND: Past studies have measured and described the length of life with disability before death, but there has been no study of the relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors and duration of disability. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether there are modifiable factors influencing the length of life with disability before death. METHODS: The study was designed as a retrospective observation of the deceased who had earlier been enrolled in a prospective cohort study.During the follow-up period (1996-1999), we documented 781 deaths among those who were 70-79 years of age at the baseline survey in 1994 (n=10,216). In 2000, we interviewed family members of the deceased about the duration of the subjects' disability before death (n=655). RESULTS: The median duration of disability before death was approximately 6 months. Both higher Body Mass Index (BMI) and shorter time spent walking were significantly associated with an increased risk of long-term disability (more than 6 months). The odds ratios of long-term disability were 1.3 in those with BMI 20-25 and 2.1 in those with BMI>25, compared with BMI<20. The odds ratios of long-term disability were 1.3 in those walking for 0.5-0.9 h/day and 1.7 in those walking for <0.5 h/day, compared with those walking for >1.0 h/day. These relationships were unchanged after stratification for causes of death. CONCLUSION: Weight control and walking in later life may shorten the length of life with disability before death.     

Cigarette smoking and the risk of colorectal cancer among men: a prospective study in Japan.

The association between cigarette smoking and the risk of colorectal cancer remains controversial. We examined this association using a population-based prospective cohort study in Miyagi, Japan. In 1990, we delivered a self-administered questionnaire on cigarette smoking and other health habits to 25 279 men who were 40-64 years of age and lived in 14 municipalities of Miyagi Prefecture. A total of 22 836 men responded (90.3% response rate). During 7 years of follow-up (158 376 person-years), we identified 188 patients of colorectal cancer. Relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by the Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis with adjustment for potential confounders. The multivariate-adjusted relative risks (95% confidence interval) of colorectal cancer for past smokers and current smokers compared with those who had never smoked were 1.73 (1.04-2.87) and 1.47 (0.93-2.34), respectively. Among current smokers, both a higher number of cigarettes smoked per day and an earlier age at which smoking had started were associated with a significant linear increase in risk (P for trend <0.05). Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that cigarette smoking is associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer in men.     

Anticancer chemosensitivity profile of freshly separated human pancreatic cancer cells assessed by DNA synthesis inhibition assay

The chemosensitivity of 49 freshly separated human pancreatic cancers to seven kinds of anticancer agents were assessed by a DNA synthesis (³H-thymidine incorporation) inhibition assay. DNA synthesis is higher in involved lymph nodes (n=7), malignant effusion (n=15), liver metastasis (n=7), primary cancer (n=15), and skin metastasis (n=5). Chemosensitivity assay demonstrates that etoposide, 4-epirubicin, carboquone, and 5-fluorouracil are more effective than cisplatin, mitomycin-C, and Adriamycin. In general, metastatic lesions of pancreatic cancer tend to show higher chemosensitivity than primary lesions. Pathological analysis demonstrates that small primary pancreatic cancers tend to be more responsive than large primary cancers, and primary pancreatic cancers with no regional lymph node involvement also tend to be more responsive than those with nodal involvement. No significant differences are seen in terms of tumor spread, vascular involvement, sex of patient, and histological type. When chemosensitivity assay is not available, the results of the present study may be beneficial to choose the regimens. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

No association between fruit or vegetable consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer in Japan

In a pooled analysis of two prospective studies with 88,658 Japanese men and women, fruit and vegetable consumptions, were not associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer (705 cases); multivariate relative risk (95% confidence interval) for the highest vs the lowest quartile of intake being 0.92 (0.70-1.19) and 1.00 (0.79-1.27), respectively.     

Green tea and the risk of colorectal cancer: pooled analysis of two prospective studies in Japan

BACKGROUND: Although laboratory experiments suggest protective effects of green tea against colorectal cancer, few prospective cohort studies have been conducted.METHODS: We conducted a pooled analysis of two prospective cohort studies among residents in Miyagi Prefecture in rural northern Japan. The first study started in 1984 and included 26,311 subjects. The second study started in 1990 and included 39,604 subjects. The subjects responded to a self-administered questionnaire including an item on green tea consumption. With 7 to 9 years of follow-up, 305 colon and 211 rectal cancers were identified in the two cohorts through record linkage to a regional cancer registry. We used Cox regression to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of colorectal cancer according to the consumption of green tea with adjustment for potential confounders, and pooled the estimates obtained from each cohort by general variance-based method.RESULTS: Multivariate pooled HRs for colon cancer associated with drinking 1-2, 3-4, and 5 or more cups of green tea per day, as compared with less than 1 cup per day, were 1.06 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.74-1.52), 1.10 (0.78-1.55), 0.97 (0.70-1.35), respectively (trend p=0.81). Corresponding HRs for rectal cancer were 0.85 (95% CI=0.56-1.29), 0.70 (0.45-1.08), 0.85 (0.58-1.23), respectively (trend p=0.31).CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of green tea was not associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer.     

Green tea and the risk of breast cancer: pooled analysis of two prospective studies in Japan

In a pooled analysis of two prospective studies with 35004 Japanese women, green-tea intake was not associated with a lower risk of breast cancer (222 cases), the multivariate relative risk for women drinking >or=5 cups compared with <1 cup per day being 0.84 (95% confidence interval 0.57-1.24, Trend P=0.69).     

The increase of female breast cancer incidence in Japan: emergence of birth cohort effect

During recent decades, breast cancer incidence has been increasing in Japan. According to the latest reports from several cancer registries in Japan, the breast has become the leading cancer site in female cancer incidence. To analyze the trend of breast cancer incidence in detail, we summarized female breast cancer incidence in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan during 1959-1997, and evaluated the period and cohort effect on breast cancer incidence using the age-period-cohort model. Age-specific and age-standardized rates have increased over successive calendar periods. Around 1980, an accelerated increase in these incidence rates took place. A full model including age, period and cohort was best fitted to the trend of incidence. In the model, the effects of period and cohort were statistically significant. The nonlinear effect for cohort indicates an increasing trend, beginning with the cohort in 1888-1897, and the nonlinear effect for period showed a clear increase in risk with calendar period. Furthermore, the full model including a linear component showed a steadily upward trend in the cohort effect. Based on our own epidemiologic studies previously conducted in Miyagi Prefecture, and other published reports, the cohort effect is likely to be related to the change in prevalence of women with risk factors such as low parity and insufficient breastfeeding. We believe that the emergence of the cohort effect is an important finding, although the period effect may also persist. The significant cohort effect may give a caution for continuous increase of breast cancer incidence in Japan.     

Fish, long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and risk of colorectal cancer in middle-aged Japanese: the JPHC study

Although long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (Ln-3 PUFA), which are abundant in fish, have shown protective effects on colorectal cancer in laboratory studies, epidemiological studies to date have not been consistent. We evaluated the relationship of consumption of fish and Ln-3 PUFA to the colon and rectal cancer risk in the two cohorts of the Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study of 42,525 men and 46,133 women. Dietary and other exposure data were obtained between 1990 and 1994. Through December 1999, 705 cases of colon and rectal cancer were documented. When data from the two cohorts were pooled, multivariable relative risks (RRs) for the highest quartile compared with the lowest quartile of fish consumption were 1.07 (95% confidence interval, CI = 0.77-1.48) for colon cancer and 0.95 (95% CI = 0.63-1.43) for rectal cancer with no dose-risk trend. RRs for the highest quartile compared with the lowest quartile of eicosapentaenoic acid consumption were 1.05 (95% CI = 0.76-1.46) for colon cancer and 0.91 (95% CI = 0.60-1.38) for rectal cancer with no dose-risk trend. This study does not support the role of fish and Ln-3 PUFA in the etiology of colon and rectal cancer in this population whose fish consumption was high and the variation in Ln-3 PUFA consumption was large.