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2023 MAR 18 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- Investigators publish new report on cancer. According to news reporting out of [...]

2022 OCT 15 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- A new study on Cancer is now available. According to news originating [...]

2022 JUN 25 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- Investigators publish new report on kidney cancer. According to news reporting from [...]

2022 JUN 25 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- New research on colon cancer is the subject of a new report. [...]

Byline: Amal. Kataki, Jagannath. Sharma, Manoj. Kalita, Nizara. Baishya, Mouchumee. Bhattacharyya, Manigreeva. Krishnatreya Background and Objective: Cancers in a nonagenarian patient are rarely seen, and there is always a moral [...]

Background Individuals with a personal history of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) may have an increased risk of subsequent noncutaneous malignancies. To test this hypothesis, we carried out a community-based, prospective cohort study. Methods In the CLUE (Give Us a Clue to Cancer and Heart Disease) II cohort, which was established in Washington County, MD, in 1989, the risk of new malignancies was compared among individuals with (n = 769) and without (n = 18405) a personal history of NMSC (total n = 19174) during a 16-year follow-up period. Pathologically confirmed NMSC (and other malignancies) were ascertained from the Washington County Cancer Registry. Cox regression analysis with time-dependent covariates was used to determine the hazard ratios (presented as multivariable-adjusted relative risks [RRs]) and 95% confidence intervals (Cls) of second primary malignancies associated with a previously confirmed NMSC diagnosis. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results The crude incidence rate (per 10000 person-years) of subsequent cancers other than NMSC among participants with a positive personal history of NMSC was 293.5 and with a negative history was 77.8. Compared with persons with no personal history of NMSC, those with such a history had a statistically significantly increased risk of being diagnosed with a subsequent cancer other than NMSC (RR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.70 to 2.33) after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, and educational level. The association was observed for both basal cell carcinoma (multivariable-adjusted RR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.70 to 2.42) and squamous cell carcinoma (multivariable-adjusted RR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.50 to 2.59) of the skin. NMSC was a statistically significantly stronger cancer risk factor in younger age groups than in older age groups (P for interaction = .022). Conclusions This community-based, prospective cohort study provides evidence for an association between an NMSC diagnosis and an increased risk of subsequent cancer, even after adjusting for individual-level risk factors.

Background Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), an acceptable alternative to axillary lymph node dissection for staging patients with breast cancer, was introduced to clinical practice in the late 1990s. We assessed demographic, clinical, and facility-related factors associated with SLNB in women with early-stage breast cancer and evaluated trends in these factors over time. Methods Data on early-stage breast cancers (T1a, T1b, T1c, and T2N0) diagnosed between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2005, were extracted from the National Cancer Database, a hospital-based registry. Patient demographics, tumor stage, type of lymph node surgery, type of breast cancer surgery, health insurance, treatment facility type, and area-level education and income variables were collected. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess predictive factors associated with SLNB, temporal differences in factors associated with SLNB, and differences in rates of SLNB by facility type, race/ethnicity, and type of health insurance over time. Results The total analytic study population included 490899 women. The use of SLNB increased from 26.8% in 1998 to 65.5% in 2005. Factors associated with lower likelihood of SLNB over the study period included being older (odds ratio [OR] = 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.78 to 0.92 for those aged 72 or older compared with those aged 51 or younger), being of racial/ethnic minority (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.74 to 0.78 for African Americans compared with whites), having no health insurance (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.73 to 0.80 for uninsured compared with having private insurance), having certain government insurance plans (for Medicaid, OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.78 to 0.84, and for Medicare at age Conclusions Although use of SLNB increased from 1998 to 2005, disparities persisted in receipt of SLNB that are based on nonclinical factors, including sociodemographic characteristics and insurance status.

Objective. To investigate racial differences in posttreatment bowel surveillance after colorectal cancer surgery in a large population of Medicare patients. Data Sources. We used a large population-based dataset: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) linked to Medicare data. Study Design. This is a retrospective cohort study. We analyzed data from 44,768 non-Hispanic white, 2,921 black, and 4,416 patients from other racial/ethnic groups, aged 65 and older at diagnosis, who had a diagnosis of local or regional colorectal cancer between 1986 and 1996, and were followed through December 31, 1998. Cox Proportional Hazards models were used to investigate the relation of race and receipt of posttreatment bowel surveillance. Data Collection. Sociodemographic, hospital, and clinical characteristics were collected at the time of diagnosis for all members of the cohort. Surgery and bowel surveillance with colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and barium enema were obtained from Medicare claims using ICD-9-CM and CPT-4 codes. Principal Findings. The chance of surveillance within 18 months of surgery was 57 percent, 48 percent, and 45 percent for non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and others, respectively. After adjusting for sociodemographic, hospital, and clinical characteristics, blacks were 25 percent less likely than whites to receive surveillance if diagnosed between 1991 and 1996 (RR = 0.75, 95 percent CI = 0.70-0.81). Conclusions. Elderly blacks were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to receive posttreatment bowel surveillance and this result was not explained by measured racial differences in sociodemographic, hospital, and clinical characteristics. More research is needed to explore the influences of patient- and provider-level factors on racial differences in posttreatment bowel surveillance. Key Words. Colorectal neoplasms, SEER-Medicare, colonoscopy, blacks, surveillance, Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States and is estimated to account for 56,600 deaths in 2002 (Jemal et al. 2002). Important racial [...]

Objective. To estimate the average survival effects of breast conserving surgery plus irradiation relative to mastectomy for marginal stage II breast cancer patients in Iowa from 1989-1994. Data Sources/Data Setting. Secondary linked Iowa SEER Cancer Registry--Iowa Hospital Association discharge abstract data for women in Iowa with stage II breast cancer from 1989-1994. Study Design. Observational instrumental variables (IV) analysis. Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Women with stage II breast cancer from the Iowa SEER Cancer Registry 1989-1994 who received all of their inpatient care in Iowa were linked with their respective hospital discharge abstracts. Principal Findings. Breast conserving surgery plus irradiation decreased survival relative to mastectomy for marginal stage II breast cancer patients in Iowa during the early 1990s. In this study marginal patients were those whose surgery choices were affected by differences in area treatment rates and access to radiation facilities. Conclusions. If marginal patients are representative of patients whose treatment choices would be affected by changes in treatment rates, an increase in the breast conserving surgery plus irradiation rate for stage II early stage breast cancer patients would have decreased survival in Iowa during the early 1990s. Further research with newer data and broader samples is needed to make more current and specific assessments. Key Words. Breast cancer, instrumental variables, treatment effectiveness, The initial treatment decision for patients with early stage breast cancer (stages I, IIa, and IIb) is the surgical approach for local tumor control--mastectomy (MAS) or breast conserving surgery plus [...]