Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer risk: a case-control study in Italy.

In Italy, pancreatic cancer accounts for approximately 5% of cancer-related deaths. Tobacco smoking is the major established risk factor for this cancer, whereas the role of alcohol consumption is open to debate. Between 1991 and 2008, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study on pancreatic cancer in northern Italy.

Occupational exposure to rock wool and glass wool and risk of cancers of the lung and the head and neck: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To conduct a review and meta-analysis of risks of cancers of the lung and head and neck (HN) from exposure to rock wool (RW) and glass wool (GW).

Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of risk estimates of lung and HN cancer in epidemiologic studies of workers exposed to man-made vitreous fibers (MMVF), specifically RW and GW.

Results: Sixteen estimates of lung cancer risk yielded a summary relative risk (RR) of 1.

Diet and cancer in Mediterranean countries: carbohydrates and fats.

Objective: Several aspects of the diet characteristic of the Mediterranean countries are considered favourable not only on cardiovascular disease, but also on cancer risk. We considered some aspects of the Mediterranean diet (including, in particular, the consumption of olive oil and carbohydrates) on cancer risk.

Design, Setting And Subjects: Data were derived from a series of case-control studies, conducted in Italy since the early 1990s, on over 10,000 cases of thirteen cancer sites and over 17,000 controls.

Artificial sweeteners and the risk of gastric, pancreatic, and endometrial cancers in Italy.

Background: The role of sweeteners on cancer risk has been widely debated over the last few decades. To provide additional information on saccharin and other artificial or low-calorie sweeteners (mainly aspartame), we updated the analysis of an integrated network of case-control studies conducted in Italy between 1991 and 2004 including data on cancers of the stomach, pancreas, and endometrium.

Patients And Methods: Cases were 230 patients with incident, histologically confirmed cancers of the stomach and 547 corresponding controls, 326 of the pancreas and 652 controls, and 454 of the endometrium and 908 controls.

Oral contraceptives and neoplasms other than breast and female genital tract.

We reviewed epidemiological data on oral contraceptive (OC) use and colorectal, liver, lung and other nonfemale neoplasms. The data for colorectal cancer are suggestive of a favourable effect of OC, in the absence, however, of any duration-risk relation. Current, but not past, OC use is associated with excess risk of benign liver tumours, and a modest excess risk of liver cancer.

Estimates of the incidence and prevalence of renal cell carcinoma in Italy in 2002 and projections for the years 2007 and 2012.

Aims And Background: Data on kidney cancer incidence and prevalence are not available on a national and regional level. We provided estimates of the number of incident and prevalent cases of kidney and renal cell cancer in Italy overall and in various regions in 2002 and gave projections for the years 2007 and 2012.

Methods: We derived annual numbers of incident cases combining mortality data provided by the World Health Organization and information on relative survival from kidney cancer and we subsequently derived 5-year prevalence by combining incidence with information on survival.

Physical activity and risk of endometrial cancer: an Italian case-control study.

Most epidemiological studies on the relationship between physical activity and endometrial cancer found risk reductions of about 25-30% among most active women, but results were not consistent among studies. A multicentric case-control study was conducted in Italy between 1992 and 2006. Cases were 454 women with incident, histologically confirmed endometrial cancer and controls were 908 women admitted to hospital for acute non-neoplastic, nonhormonal conditions.

Macronutrients, fatty acids and cholesterol intake and stomach cancer risk.

Background: Several case-control studies have examined the association between intake of selected macronutrients and stomach cancer, with inconsistent results regarding total energy, proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Materials And Methods: We considered the relation between total energy, various macronutrients and fatty acids and gastric cancer using data from a case-control study conducted in northern Italy. Cases were 230 patients with incident, histologically confirmed stomach cancer.

Dietary vitamins E and C and prostate cancer risk.

Background: The epidemiologic evidence on dietary vitamins E and C and prostate cancer is controversial. Therefore, a case-control study was carried out to investigate the role of dietary intake of vitamins E and C in the etiology of prostate cancer.

Material And Methods: Cases were 1 294 men with incident, histologically confirmed prostate cancer, admitted to the major teaching and general hospitals of five Italian areas between 1991 and 2002.

Coffee, black tea and risk of gastric cancer.

Background: To provide information about the association of coffee, black tea with gastric cancer risk.

Methods: Between 1985 and 2007, we conducted two case-control studies in northern Italy. Overall, cases were 999 subjects with incident, histologically confirmed gastric cancer and controls were 2,628 patients admitted to the same network of hospitals for acute non-neoplastic diseases.

Oral contraceptives and colorectal cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Various studies have reported an inverse relation between oral contraceptive (OC) use and the risk of colorectal cancer, but the issue is still open.

Methods: In order to quantify the association between OC use and colorectal cancer risk, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on this issue. We identified all relevant studies published, in English, as original articles up to December 2008 through a search of the literature using PubMed and EMBASE, and by reviewing the references from the retrieved articles.

Estimates of the incidence and prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma in Italy in 2002 and projections for the years 2007 and 2012.

Aims And Background: Data on liver cancer incidence and prevalence in Italy are not available on a national and regional level.

Methods: We provided estimates of the number of incident and prevalent cases for hepatocellular carcinoma in Italy overall and in various regions in 2002 and gave projections for the years 2007 and 2012. We obtained annual numbers of incident cases of hepatocellular carcinoma by combining mortality data provided by the World Health Organization and information on survival for liver cancer, and subsequently derived five-year prevalence for hepatocellular carcinoma by combining incidence with information on survival.

Dietary fiber and stomach cancer risk: a case-control study from Italy.

Objective: Fiber intake has been inversely related to stomach cancer risk, although this issue is still controversial.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Italy between 1997 and 2007, including 230 cases with incident, histologically confirmed stomach cancer, and 547 controls with acute, non-neoplastic diseases. Dietary habits were investigated through a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Health impacts of long-term exposure to disinfection by-products in drinking water in Europe: HIWATE.

There appears to be very good epidemiological evidence for a relationship between chlorination by-products, as measured by trihalomethanes (THMs), in drinking water and bladder cancer, but the evidence for other cancers, including colorectal cancer appears to be inconclusive and inconsistent. There appears to be some evidence for a relationship between chlorination by-products, as measured by THMs, and small for gestational age (SGA)/intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and preterm delivery, but evidence for other outcomes such as low birth weight (LBW), stillbirth, congenital anomalies and semen quality appears to be inconclusive and inconsistent.The overall aim of the HIWATE study is to investigate potential human health risks (e.

The role of foods and nutrients on oral and pharyngeal cancer risk.

The relation between selected aspects of diet and the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer was considered in a few cohort studies and approximately 30 case-control studies. These studies reported consistent inverse associations with fruit and vegetable consumption. beta-carotene, vitamin C and selected flavonoids were also inversely related to risk, although it remains difficult to disentangle their potential effect from that of fruit and vegetables.

Aspirin and cancer risk: a summary review to 2007.

Aspirin has been associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer and--based on limited evidence--to cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, breast, ovary and lung. The role of aspirin on other cancers, such as pancreatic, prostate and bladder cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and myeloma is less clear, and an increase of risk has been suggested for kidney cancer. For most cancer sites, however, significant heterogeneity between studies, and particularly between study design, was found, with a reduction in risk generally stronger in case-control studies than in cohort ones.

Cancer mortality in a cohort of continuous glass filament workers.

Objective: To examine cancer mortality in continuous glass filament workers.

Methods: A cohort of 936 continuous glass filament workers employed in a plant from northern Italy since January 1976 was followed-up through December 2003, for a total of 19,987 man-years.

Results: Overall, 144 deaths were observed compared with 160.

Dietary glycemic load and gastric cancer risk in Italy.

We investigated gastric cancer risk in relation to dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL), which represent indirect measures of carbohydrate absorption and consequently of dietary insulin demand, in a case-control study conducted in northern Italy between 1997 and 2007, including 230 patients with the incident, histologically confirmed gastric cancer and 547 frequency matched controls, admitted to the same hospitals as cases with acute non-neoplastic conditions. We used conditional logistic regression models, including terms for major recognised gastric cancer risk factors and non-carbohydrate energy intake. The odds ratios (ORs) in the highest vs lowest quintile were 1.

Dietary vitamin D intake and cancers of the colon and rectum: a case-control study in Italy.

Epidemiologic evidence indicates that vitamin D is inversely associated with risk of colon or rectal cancer or both. Using data from a case-control study conducted in Italy between 1992 and 1996, we examined the relation between dietary intake of vitamin D and colon and rectal cancer risk. The study population comprised patients with incident colon cancer (n = 1,225) or rectal cancer (n = 728) and 4,154 hospital controls.

Cancer mortality in Italy, 1970-2002.

Aims And Background: To update previous work on Italian cancer mortality.

Methods: WHO data were used to calculate death rates for 30 cancer sites for 2002. Trends were analyzed with joinpoint regression over the 1970-2002 period.

Coffee drinking and endometrial cancer risk: a metaanalysis of observational studies.

We conducted a metaanalysis of published studies on the relation between coffee drinking and endometrial cancer risk, which included 2 cohort (201 cases) and 7 case-control studies (2409 cases). The summary relative risk (RR) for coffee drinkers vs nondrinkers was 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.

Food groups and endometrial cancer risk: a case-control study from Italy.

Objective: Although several studies have been conducted on the relation between dietary habits and endometrial cancer risk, the evidence for specific food groups is still controversial.

Study Design: We analyzed data from an Italian case-control study including 454 women with histologically confirmed endometrial cancer and 908 controls admitted to the same hospitals for acute, nonneoplastic conditions. Multivariate odds ratios (ORs) were obtained after allowance for major potential confounding factors.

The recent decline in mortality from Hodgkin lymphomas in central and eastern Europe.

Background: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a largely curable disease and its mortality had steadily declined in western Europe since the late 1960s. Only modest declines were, however, observed in central/eastern Europe.

Materials And Methods: We updated trends in mortality from HL in various European areas up to 2004 and analyzed patterns in incidence for selected European countries providing national data.

Asthmatic symptoms after exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamates and other pesticides in the Europit field studies.

We conducted a multicenter prospective study to assess the effects of occupational exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamate fungicides and/or other pesticides on self-reported asthma and asthmatic symptoms. This multicenter study was conducted among 248 workers exposed to pesticides and 231 non-exposed workers from five field studies. The five field studies were carried out in The Netherlands, Italy, Finland, and two studies in Bulgaria.

Occupational exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamates in agriculture and allergy: results from the EUROPIT field study.

This epidemiological study was carried out to evaluate the possible association between occupational exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamates (EDBC) and allergy. The study was conducted in four countries in the European Union: The Netherlands, Finland, Italy and Bulgaria. A total of 248 workers exposed to EDBC and 231 non-occupationally exposed subjects entered the study.