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Background: Randomized trials have yielded mixed results on the effects of treatment for Helicobacter pylori and little information on the effects of vitamins or garlic supplements on precancerous gastric lesions. We conducted a randomized trial to test the effects of one-time H. pylori treatment and long-term vitamin or garlic supplements in reducing the prevalence of advanced precancerous gastric lesions. Methods: Most of the adults aged 35-64 years in 13 randomly selected villages in Linqu County, Shandong Province, China, were identified and given baseline endoscopies in 1994. In 1995, 3365 eligible subjects were randomly assigned in a factorial design to three interventions or placebos: amoxicillin and omeprazole for 2 weeks in 1995 (H. pylori treatment); vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium for 7.3 years (vitamin supplement); and aged garlic extract and steam-distilled garlic oil for 7.3 years (garlic supplement). Subjects underwent endoscopies with biopsies in 1999 and 2003, and the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions was determined by histopathologic examination of seven standard biopsy sites. The 3365 eligible randomized subjects represented 93.5% of those with baseline endoscopy and included all baseline histologic categories except gastric cancer. Only 0.18% had normal gastric mucosa. Logistic regression was used to estimate the intervention effects on the odds of advanced precancerous gastric lesions, and t-tests were used to assess effects on histologic severity. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: H. pylori treatment resulted in statistically significant decreases in the combined prevalence of severe chronic atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, or gastric cancer in 1999 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.62 to 0.95) and in 2003 (OR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.47 to 0.75), and had favorable effects on the average histopathologic severity and on progression and regression of precancerous gastric lesions in 2003. H. pylori treatment did not reduce the combined prevalence of dysplasia or gastric cancer. However, fewer subjects receiving H. pylori treatment (19/1130; 1.7%) than receiving placebo (27/1128; 2.4%) developed gastric cancer (adjusted P= .14). No statistically significant favorable effects were seen for garlic or vitamin supplements. Conclusion: H. pylori treatment reduces the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions and may reduce gastric cancer incidence, but further data are needed to prove the latter point. Long-term vitamin or garlic supplementation had no beneficial effects on the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions or on gastric cancer incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participants in the General Population Trial, a randomized nutrition intervention trial in Linxian, China, who received a combination of selenium, β-carotene, and vitamin E supplements, had statistically significantly lower cancer mortality rates than those who did not receive the supplements. In the current study, we used a case-cohort design to examine the association between pre-trial serum vitamin E levels and the risks of developing esophageal and gastric cancers during the trial. We measured serum α- and γ-tocopherol and cholesterol levels in 1072 case patients with incident esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), gastric cardia cancer (GCC), or gastric noncardia cancer (GNCC) and in 1053 control subjects. The relative risks for comparisons of the highest to the lowest quartiles of serum α-tocopherol were 0.63 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.44 to 0.91) for ESCC, 0.84 (95% CI = 0.55 to 1.26) for GCC, and 2.05 (95% CI = 0.89 to 4.75) for GNCC. Serum γ-tocopherol level was not associated with the incidence of any of these cancers. Our findings provide support for the role of α-tocopherol in the etiology of upper gastrointestinal cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the associations of dietary cholesterol and egg intakes with cardiometabolic and all-cause mortality among Chinese and low-income Black and White Americans. Included were 47,789 Blacks, 20,360 Whites, and 134,280 Chinese aged 40-79 years at enrollment. Multivariable Cox models with restricted cubic splines were applied to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality outcomes using intakes of 150 mg cholesterol/day and 1 egg/week as the references. Cholesterol intake showed a nonlinear association with increased all-cause mortality and a linear association with increased cardiometabolic mortality among Black Americans: HRs (95% CIs) associated with 300 and 600 mg/day vs. 150 mg/day were 1.07 (1.03-1.11) and 1.13 (1.05-1.21) for all-cause mortality ( P -linearity = 0.04, P -nonlinearity = 0.002, and P -overall < 0.001) and 1.10 (1.03-1.16) and 1.21 (1.08-1.36) for cardiometabolic mortality ( P -linearity = 0.007, P -nonlinearity = 0.07, and P -overall = 0.005). Null associations with all-cause or cardiometabolic mortality were noted for White Americans ( P -linearity ≥ 0.13, P -nonlinearity ≥ 0.06, and P -overall ≥ 0.05 for both). Nonlinear inverse associations were observed among Chinese: HR (95% CI) for 300 vs. 150 mg/day was 0.94 (0.92-0.97) for all-cause mortality and 0.91 (0.87-0.95) for cardiometabolic mortality, but the inverse associations disappeared with cholesterol intake > 500 mg/day ( P -linearity ≥ 0.12; P -nonlinearity ≤ 0.001; P -overall < 0.001 for both). Similarly, we observed a positive association of egg intake with all-cause mortality in Black Americans, but a null association in White Americans and a nonlinear inverse association in Chinese. In conclusion, the associations of cholesterol and egg intakes with cardiometabolic and all-cause mortality may differ across ethnicities who have different dietary patterns and cardiometabolic risk profiles. However, residual confounding remains possible.

Purpose: Long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) are increasingly recognized as important regulators for pathogenesis and/or prognosis of breast cancer, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype. However, few previous studies used RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology, and none included an independent replication., Methods: To systematically evaluate the association between expression of lincRNAs and TNBC survival, we examined lincRNA expression profiles in TNBC tissues using RNA-Seq data for 200 TNBC patients from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study (SBCSS) and Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS)., Results: Twenty-five lincRNAs were found to be associated with overall survival (P < 0.05 and no significant heterogeneity across studies at Q statistic P > 0.1), and 61 lincRNAs were associated with disease-free survival (DFS). Among these, two lincRNAs (LINC01270 and LINC00449) were significantly associated with both worse overall survival and DFS and were expressed at significantly higher levels in tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal breast tissues (log 2 [Fold Change] > 0.5 and FDR < 0.05). We further evaluated the potential functions of LINC01270 and LINC00449 using in vitro functional experiments and found that siRNA-mediated knockdown of LINC01270 and LINC00449 expression significantly decreased cell viability, colony formation and cell migration ability in TNBC cells (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Evidence from observational studies and in vitro experiments indicates that LINC00449 and LINC01270 may be prognostic biomarkers for TNBC.

In the Shandong Intervention Trial, 2 weeks of antibiotic treatment for Helicobacter pylori reduced the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions, whereas 7.3 years of oral supplementation with garlic extract and oil (garlic treatment) or vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium (vitamin treatment) did not. Here we report 14.7-year follow-up for gastric cancer incidence and cause-specific mortality among 3365 randomly assigned subjects in this masked factorial placebo-controlled trial. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of gastric cancer incidence, and the Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the relative hazard of cause-specific mortality. All statistical tests were two-sided. Gastric cancer was diagnosed in 3.0% of subjects who received H pylori treatment and in 4.6% of those who received placebo (odds ratio = 0.61, 95% confidence interval = 0.38 to 0.96, P = .032). Gastric cancer deaths occurred among 1.5% of subjects assigned H pylori treatment and among 2.1% of those assigned placebo (hazard ratio [HR] of death = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.36 to 1.28). Garlic and vitamin treatments were associated with non-statistically significant reductions in gastric cancer incidence and mortality. Vitamin treatment was associated with statistically significantly fewer deaths from gastric or esophageal cancer, a secondary endpoint (HR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.30 to 0.87; P = .014).

Background: Randomized trials have yielded mixed results on the effects of treatment for Helicobacter pylori and little information on the effects of vitamins or garlic supplements on precancerous gastric lesions. We conducted a randomized trial to test the effects of one-time H. pylori treatment and long-term vitamin or garlic supplements in reducing the prevalence of advanced precancerous gastric lesions., Methods: Most of the adults aged 35-64 years in 13 randomly selected villages in Linqu County, Shandong Province, China, were identified and given baseline endoscopies in 1994. In 1995, 3365 eligible subjects were randomly assigned in a factorial design to three interventions or placebos: amoxicillin and omeprazole for 2 weeks in 1995 (H. pylori treatment); vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium for 7.3 years (vitamin supplement); and aged garlic extract and steam-distilled garlic oil for 7.3 years (garlic supplement). Subjects underwent endoscopies with biopsies in 1999 and 2003, and the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions was determined by histopathologic examination of seven standard biopsy sites. The 3365 eligible randomized subjects represented 93.5% of those with baseline endoscopy and included all baseline histologic categories except gastric cancer. Only 0.18% had normal gastric mucosa. Logistic regression was used to estimate the intervention effects on the odds of advanced precancerous gastric lesions, and t-tests were used to assess effects on histologic severity. All statistical tests were two-sided., Results: H. pylori treatment resulted in statistically significant decreases in the combined prevalence of severe chronic atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, or gastric cancer in 1999 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.62 to 0.95) and in 2003 (OR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.47 to 0.75), and had favorable effects on the average histopathologic severity and on progression and regression of precancerous gastric lesions in 2003. H. pylori treatment did not reduce the combined prevalence of dysplasia or gastric cancer. However, fewer subjects receiving H. pylori treatment (19/1130; 1.7%) than receiving placebo (27/1128; 2.4%) developed gastric cancer (adjusted P = .14). No statistically significant favorable effects were seen for garlic or vitamin supplements., Conclusion: H. pylori treatment reduces the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions and may reduce gastric cancer incidence, but further data are needed to prove the latter point. Long-term vitamin or garlic supplementation had no beneficial effects on the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions or on gastric cancer incidence.

Studies of radon-exposed underground miners predict that residential radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer mortality; however, case-control studies of residential radon have not provided unambiguous evidence of an association. Owing to small expected risks from residential radon and uncertainties in dosimetry, large studies or pooling of multiple studies are needed to fully evaluate effects. We pooled data from 2 case-control studies of residential radon representing 2 large radon studies conducted in China. The studies included 1050 lung cancer cases and 1996 controls. In the pooled data, odds ratios (OR) increased significantly with greater radon concentration. Based on a linear model, the OR with 95% confidence intervals (CI) at 100 Becquerel/cubic-meter (Bq/m(3)) was 1.33 (1.01,1.36). For subjects resident in the current home for 30 years or more, the OR at 100 Bq/m(3) was 1.32 (1.07,1.91). Results across studies were consistent with homogeneity. Estimates of ORs were similar to extrapolations from miner data and consistent with published residential radon studies in North American and Europe, suggesting long-term radon exposure at concentrations found in many homes increases lung cancer risk., (Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Participants in the General Population Trial, a randomized nutrition intervention trial in Linxian, China, who received a combination of selenium, beta-carotene, and vitamin E supplements, had statistically significantly lower cancer mortality rates than those who did not receive the supplements. In the current study, we used a case-cohort design to examine the association between pre-trial serum vitamin E levels and the risks of developing esophageal and gastric cancers during the trial. We measured serum alpha- and gamma-tocopherol and cholesterol levels in 1072 case patients with incident esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), gastric cardia cancer (GCC), or gastric noncardia cancer (GNCC) and in 1053 control subjects. The relative risks for comparisons of the highest to the lowest quartiles of serum alpha-tocopherol were 0.63 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.44 to 0.91) for ESCC, 0.84 (95% CI = 0.55 to 1.26) for GCC, and 2.05 (95% CI = 0.89 to 4.75) for GNCC. Serum gamma-tocopherol level was not associated with the incidence of any of these cancers. Our findings provide support for the role of alpha-tocopherol in the etiology of upper gastrointestinal cancers.

Objective: This study examined the relationship between pretrial serum concentrations of retinol, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and lutein/zeaxanthin and the subsequent risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and gastric cardia or non-cardia adenocarcinoma in subjects selected from a randomized nutritional intervention trial in Linxian, China, a region with epidemic rates of esophageal and gastric cardia cancer., Methods: We used a stratified case-cohort design to select cohort members for inclusion in this study. In all we measured serum concentrations of the above vitamins in 590 esophageal, 395 gastric cardia, and 87 gastric non-cardia case subjects as well as in 1053 control subjects. Relative risks (RRs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models., Results: Median values in our cohort were low for serum retinol (33.6 microg/dl), beta-carotene (4.3 microg/dl), and beta-cryptoxanthin (3.5 microg/dl), but were high for lutein/zeaxanthin (40.0 microg/dl). Gastric cardia cancer incidence fell 10% for each quartile increase in serum retinol (RR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.83-0.99). For esophageal cancer, an inverse association with retinol levels was found only in male non-smokers (RR = 0.79 per quartile increase, 95% CI = 0.63-0.99). For gastric non-cardia cancer, an inverse association was limited to subjects 50 years old or younger (RR = 0.58 per quartile, 95% CI = 0.31-0.96). For beta-cryptoxanthin there was a borderline significant protective association for gastric non-cardia cancer (RR = 0.88 per quartile, 95% CI = 0.76-1.0). In contrast, we found the incidence of gastric non-cardia cancer increased (RR = 1.2 per quartile, 95% CI = 1.0-1.3) with increasing concentration of serum lutein/zeaxanthin., Conclusions: In this population, we found that low retinol and high lutein/zeaxanthin concentrations increased the risks of gastric cardia and gastric non-cardia cancer respectively. We found that there were no strong associations between any of the other analytes and any of the cancer sites.