STUDIES ON NUTRITION AND PRECANCEROUS LESIONS OF THE ESOPHAGUS IN THE ADOLESCENTS

This paper reports the prevalence of chronic esophagitis and nutritional status among 538 young persons aged 15 to 26 years from the high risk area for esophageal cancer. Of these subjects, 166 were from households with history of esophageal cancer and 372 were from households without history of esophageal cancer. The Incidences of chronic esophagltis among male and female adolescents were 37. 6% and 36% respectively, which was significantly higher than those in the low risk area (17%). The frequency of chronic esophagltis in the adolescents in the households with history of esophageal cancer was aiso higher than in those In the households without history of esophageal cancer. The deficiencies of vitamins, especially of riboflavin and ascorbate, are prevalent and severe among these adolescents. Ascorbate deficiency Is correlated with the severity of the chronic esophagltis. These results indicate that chronic esophagltis may be involved in the natural history of esophageal carclnogenesis. Nutrient defic     

Case-control study of lifetime occupational and recreational physical activity and risks of colon and rectal cancer.

Important aspects of the inverse relation between physical activity and colon cancer risk are still under discussion. In 2000-2003, 239 incident cases of colorectal cancer confirmed by histopathology and 239 hospital-based controls, matched by age and gender, were enrolled. In standardized interviews, data on occupational and recreational physical activity for ages 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 years were collected from 98 colon cancer cases, 141 rectal cancer cases, and from 193 controls. Besides lifestyle and sociodemographic characteristics, a detailed food frequency questionnaire was assessed. In multivariate logistic regression for colon cancer, significant risk reductions for the highest quartile of total physical activity were found for almost all ages. For lifetime mean physical activity, the multivariate odds ratio for the highest quartile was 0.37 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17, 0.83]. For lifelong constantly high-exercisers compared with lifelong non-exercisers an odds ratio of 0.26 (95% CI 0.08, 0.84) was estimated. For rectal cancer, no consistent association with physical activity was found. No confounding effects were observed but the authors found effect modification with total energy intake. These data support an inverse association of colon cancer risk and physical activity which is most expressed if activity is kept up throughout life.     

Sero-epidemiological analysis of the risk of virus infections for childhood leukaemia

Virus infections have been thought to be involved in the development of childhood leukaemia. In order to address this issue we determined, in a case-control study, the prevalence of antibodies to viruses infecting blood or bone-marrow cells [Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human herpes virus type 6 (HHV-6), parvovirus B19] as well as to the human virus known for its tumour-suppressive properties, the adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV-2), in the sera of 121 children with leukaemia in Germany, and in 197 control individuals, hospitalized for other reasons, and matched for age and gender to the cases. In addition, we developed a questionnaire to be answered by the children's parents, in order to gain information on previous infections of the children as well as to calculate for factors which may influence serological findings. Comparative determination of the prevalence of antibodies against AAV-2, B-19 or HHV-6 revealed no significant differences in cases and controls. However, antibodies to EBV were more frequently found in children with leukaemia younger than 6 years of age (age at the time of diagnosis of leukaemia) than in controls. Apparently, infection with AAV-2 has no protective effect in childhood leukaemia, in contrast to results observed for other malignancies. Similarly, and in accordance with results on leukaemia in adults, we found no indication of a protective effect of infection with the parvovirus B-19. The data suggest that EBV, which is known to be involved in various lymphomas, may play a role in the development of childhood leukaemia in young children. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Dietary carcinogens and the risk for glioma and meningioma in Germany

A population-based case-control study was performed in South-West Germany in 1987/88 with 115 histological confirmed glioma and 81 meningioma cases and 418 randomly selected controls. On the basis of information from a foodfrequency questionnaire and questions on food preparation and food supply, the role of dietary carcinogens, in particular N-nitroso compounds or their precursors, on risk for glioma and meningioma were analyzed by multiple logistic regression. Eleven food groups were investigated. The intake of processed meat was significantly associated with an increased risk of glioma. The intake of any food group was not significantly related to meningioma risk. Among single meat products, a significantly higher risk of glioma was found for cooked ham, processed pork meat and fried bacon. For the consumption of 3 N-nitrosamines, assessed from the intake of processed meat and cheese, significant positive relations to glioma risk were found. These N-nitrosamines were also related to meningioma risk, although to a less pronounced extent. The risk for occurrence of glioma was significantly increased for those using vegetable fat frequently for deep frying, as compared with non-users. For the dietary intake of nitrate, nitrite, vitamin C, specific alcoholic beverages, total alcohol, and water from a non-central supply, no elevated risk was found in this study.     

Association between brain tumors and menopausal status.

BACKGROUND: Several lines of evidence have implicated female hormones in the etiology of human brain tumors, meningiomas in particular. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between brain tumor development and the hormonal changes manifested during pregnancy and menopause, we analyzed data from female participants in a population-based case-control study of adult brain tumors. This study was conducted in 1987-1988 in the Rhein-Neckar-Odenwald area of the Federal Republic of Germany. METHODS: The study population consisted of 127 women with meningiomas, gliomas, and acoustic neuromas (case patients) and 233 control women who were selected from the general population and frequency-matched by age to the case patients. Information on parity, menopausal status, and previous gynecologic surgeries was obtained through a standardized questionnaire. Case patients and control subjects were compared with the use of the unconditional maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters in a logistic regression model. RESULTS: Our results were not statistically significant; nevertheless, they revealed some interesting trends. No association was found between parity and the development of any of the three histological subtypes of brain tumor (relative risk [RR] = 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.51-2.07). Menopausal women had a greatly reduced risk of developing meningiomas (RR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.18-1.90), and this effect was most pronounced when menopause had been surgically induced by bilateral oophorectomy (RR = 0.12; 95% CI = 0.01-1.30). Menopausal women had a greater risk of developing gliomas or acoustic neuromas (RR = 1.77; 95% CI = 0.67-4.68), except when menopause was surgically induced, in which case the risk was reduced (RR = 0.33; 95% CI = 0.04-3.09). Oophorectomy after menopause did not appear to influence risk. CONCLUSIONS: Since the onset of menopause is accompanied by cessation of estrogen production, our results support the notion that female hormones play a role in the development of brain tumors.     

Effect of longterm placebo controlled calcium supplementation on sigmoidal cell proliferation in patients with sporadic adenomatous polyps.

A longterm, double blind intervention trial was undertaken in patients with sporadic adenoma treated by polypectomy to investigate the putative role of calcium as a protective factor in colon carcinogenesis. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of a daily dietary supplementation of 2 g calcium over nine months on cell proliferation measured as proliferation index in colonic mucosa. A total of 48 patients were entered into the study of which 30 were fully compliant. After intervention proliferation index % (mean (SEM) in colonic epithelium was decreased in both the calcium (13.5 (1.5) to 11.4 (1.2)) and the placebo group (13.7 (0.9) to 10.8 (1.1)). The difference in the change between the two groups was not significant (p = 0.7). Changes in proliferation index % of crypt compartments were also not significantly different between the two groups. A significantly positive correlation between soluble calcium in faeces and the total proliferation index % in colonic epithelium at baseline and after intervention (r = 0.54, p < 0.01, r = 0.50, p < 0.01 respectively) suggests that an increase of free luminal calcium alone is insufficient for inhibition of cellular proliferation.     

Results from a comparative dietary assessment in Europe: II. Feasibility of pooling individual-based dietary data between countries

Dietary investigations in four central European survey populations carried out in the German Democratic Republic, Poland and Denmark between 1982 and 1984 using different methodologies were analysed in order to assess the possibilities of characterizing the dietary habits of individual survey participants in a comparable fashion. This was done with the view of assessing the feasibility of a pooled cancer cohort study. For this purpose a method has been devised to combine dietary information derived by food frequency questionnaires and quantitative recording methods into a quantitative characterization of individuals' habits. A comparable characterization between different cultural settings could be demonstrated for a selected list of food items. The selection was determined by the food items considered in common in the different food frequency questionnaires and yielding sufficient and comparable variation as well as absolute amounts of intake. This was more clearly found for food items such as 'fruit' which experience a concise role in dietary habits. However, the observed discrepancies of the different dietary methods within the countries, and, most importantly, between the countries, result in distributions of average daily consumption values which are not deemed to be comparable.     

Lung cancer, smoking, and employment in foundries

A case-referent study on lung cancer was conducted in Cracow, Poland. Men dying of lung cancer within a 6-year period (1980-1985) formed the case group. The reference series was selected from death registers and was frequency-matched with the cases by sex and age. Deaths due to other respiratory diseases were excluded. Information on the occupation, smoking habits, and residency of 901 cases and 875 referents was collected from their next-of-kin. The combined effect of smoking and industrial exposure, in particular employment in steel or iron foundries, was investigated by multivariate analyses and was very well fitted by a multiplicative model. Foundry employment, in particular in the younger age (less than 70 years) group, occupational exposure to known carcinogens in other industries for more than 20 years, and smoking were found to be risk factors.     

The Copenhagen case-referent study on bladder cancer. Risks among drivers, painters and certain other occupations

Occupational risk of bladder cancer (including papilloma) was investigated as part of a case-referent study in Copenhagen. Occupational histories were obtained on 389 cases and 790 referents drawn at random from the general population of the study area. When persons with missing information were excluded, a total of 371 cases (280 men, 91 women) and 771 referents (577 men, 194 women) were left for analysis. After adjustment for tobacco smoking, age, and sex, significantly increased relative risks were observed for occupation in land transport, in particular bus, taxi, or truck driving. A statistically significant trend was seen with duration of employment in these trades. Based on a logistic regression analysis, a relative risk (RR) of 1.3 was determined for 10 years of employment in the trade. An association was also found for employment in trades undertaking painting (RR = 1.4 for 10 years' employment), and a significant trend emerged for duration of employment. A positive association with employment in the textile and leather industry disappeared after adjustment for tobacco smoking, and no association with duration of employment emerged. No association was found with employment in the chemical, rubber, iron and metal industries or in health services.