Publications by authors named "Carlo la Vecchia"

Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding paternal addiction to cigarettes, alcohol, and opium with psychological distress in youths. This study examined the association between paternal addiction to cigarettes, alcohol, and opium and the psychological distress of youths in southeast Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 895 youths (aged 15-35) from the baseline phase of the Rafsanjan Youth Cohort Study (RYCS) whose fathers also participated in the Rafsanjan Cohort Study (RCS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The relations between coffee and tea consumption and head and neck cancer (HNC) incidence are unclear. With increasing global HNC burden, this study aims to examine the association between coffee, tea, and HNC.

Methods: A pooled analysis of 9548 HNC cases and 15,783 controls from 14 individual-level case-control studies was conducted from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic role of body mass index (BMI) on survival from head and neck cancer (HNC). We performed a pooled analysis of studies included in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for overall survival and HNC-specific survival, and we stratified the results according to cancer site.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: The relation between various types of plant-based diets and cancer risk is still unclear. We examined the association of the overall plant-based diet index (PDI) and healthy (hPDI) and unhealthy plant-based diet indices (uPDI) with the risk of selected digestive cancers.

Methods: We used data from a network of hospital-based case-control studies including 942 oral/pharyngeal, 304 esophageal, 230 stomach, 1953 colorectal, and 326 pancreatic cancer cases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Analysis of WHO mortality data revealed that colorectal cancer mortality rates have increased in several countries, particularly in the UK and Mexico, despite a general decline in total cancer mortality across most nations.
  • * The findings underscore the importance of addressing the obesity epidemic and enhancing cancer surveillance strategies aimed at younger populations to combat the rising mortality from colorectal cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Intestinal permeability has been related to colorectal cancer (CRC) development. Zonulin, a protein able to regulate tight junction function and intestinal permeability, emerges as a promising marker to elucidate the contribution of bacterial translocation in CRC. An Italian case-control study included 77 CRC cases, 72 intestinal adenoma and 76 healthy controls (for a total of 148 tumor-free subjects), aged 20-85.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cancer burden can be reduced by controlling modifiable risk factors, including diet. We provided an evidence-based assessment of cancer cases and deaths attributable to diet in Italy in 2020. We considered dietary factor-cancer type pairs for which the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research - Continuous Update Project reported either 'convincing' or 'probable' evidence of causal association.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: COVID-19 dramatically reshaped mortality across Europe. This study aimed to assess its impact on total mortality in European countries taking into consideration the relationship with selected country-level socioeconomic indicators, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and vaccine uptake.

Methods: We obtained weekly mortality data from 2010 to 2023 from the Short-term Mortality Fluctuations data series, the annual population data from the United Nations archives, selected sociodemographic and economic indicators from the World Bank's database, the stringency index and the percentage of the population fully vaccinated from Our World in Data.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: Porto-sinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD) is a group of vascular disorders characterized by lesions involving portal venules and sinusoids, irrespective of the presence of portal hypertension. Liver biopsy is essential for diagnosis. In a single-center study, we demonstrated high rates of PSVD in patients with persistently elevated gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The American Cancer Society suggests that doctors should talk to women about endometrial cancer risks when they reach menopause, but more younger women under 50 are being diagnosed.
  • A study looked at nearly 14,000 women with endometrial cancer and found that factors like body weight and diabetes increase the risk for both younger and older women.
  • Educating women about these risk factors could help reduce the number of cases, as many endometrial cancer cases in both age groups are linked to these factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dietary isoflavones have been associated with a lower risk of gastric cancer (GC), but the evidence for this association is still limited. We investigated the association between isoflavone intake and GC risk using data from a case-control study including 230 incident, histologically confirmed GC cases and 547 controls with acute, non-neoplastic conditions. Dietary information was collected through a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and isoflavone intake was estimated using ad hoc databases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Aspirin and statins have been suggested to have potential chemopreventive effects against gastric cancer (GC), although the results of previous studies have been inconsistent. This study therefore aimed to investigate the association between the use of aspirin and statins and GC.

Methods: A pooled analysis of seven case-control studies within the Stomach Cancer Pooling Project, including 3220 cases and 9752 controls, was conducted.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Pancreatic cancer risk has been associated with increased serum cholesterol level, which is in turn partially influenced by diet. This study aimed at evaluating the association between pancreatic cancer risk and the adherence to a plant-based cholesterol-lowering diet.

Methods: Data were derived from an Italian case-control study including 258 pancreatic cancer patients and 551 controls.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Endogenous and exogenous hormonal factors have been associated with female breast, genital, and colorectal cancer risk. The aim of the present study is to conduct an evidence-based evaluation of the fraction of cancers attributable to and prevented by exogenous hormonal (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Curcumin has low absorption in the body but significantly interacts with gut microbiota, which is essential for overall health and plays a role in conditions like type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
  • * Restoring a healthy gut microbiome can improve blood sugar regulation and reduce insulin resistance, highlighting the potential of curcumin in managing metabolic disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Tobacco smoking is still frequent in Italy and a major cause of cancer globally. We estimated the burden of smoking-related cancer in Italy.

Methods: To calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF), we adopted a counterfactual scenario for which all individuals never smoked.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study evaluated how different medically assisted reproduction (MAR) strategies, like ovarian stimulation with insemination and various IVF techniques, affect the risk of multiple births over a 15-year period in Lombardy, Italy.
  • - Out of 30,900 births after MAR, 15.6% were multiple births, but this rate decreased significantly from 22.0% in 2007 to 8.7% in 2022, particularly due to changes in IVF practices.
  • - First line treatments had a stable multiple birth rate, while IVF-related multiple births saw a sharp decline, illustrating the impact of legislative changes on reproductive strategies in Italy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Physical activity (PA) has an established role in the promotion of health and fitness and the prevention of disease. Expected overall benefits include reduction of all-cause morbidity and death, weight control, improved quality of life, improved bone health and decreased falls of elderly subjects, , deeper cognition, and reduced risk of depression, anxiety, and sleeplessness. Currently, PA is a mainstay in the management of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and bone health.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) incidence has been decreasing over the last decades; however, there are uncertainties in trends and proportional distribution of the diffuse type.

Methods: GC incidence data were extracted from the population-based Friuli Venezia Giulia Cancer Registry. GC types (diffuse vs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Prebiotics may influence the risk of hormone-related female cancers by modulating the gut microbiota involved in estrogen metabolism. We evaluated the association of fiber-type prebiotic intake with breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. Data derived from a network of Italian hospital-based case-control studies (1991-2006), including 2560 cases of cancer of the breast (n = 2588 control participants), 454 of the endometrium (n = 908 control participants), and 1031 of the ovary (n = 2411 control participants).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Invasive lobular cancer (ILC) is the most common of the breast cancer special types, accounting for up to 15% of all breast malignancies. The distinctive biological features of ILC include the loss of the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin, which drives the tumor's peculiar discohesive growth pattern, with cells arranged in single file and dispersed throughout the stroma. Typically, such tumors originate in the lobules, are more commonly bilateral compared to invasive ductal cancer (IDC) and require a more accurate diagnostic examination through imaging.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Consensus statements are important in medicine and public health, but not all use solid evidence to support their claims.
  • Some statements rely on expert panels, which can be biased if many members share the same opinions or interests, especially without a thorough review of evidence.
  • A recent case about COVID-19 showed that many panel members had strong connections to groups pushing for strict COVID measures without revealing these biases, highlighting the need for clear conflicts of interest to ensure trustworthiness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: High consumption of fruits and vegetables decrease the risk of bladder cancer (BC). The evidence of specific fruits and vegetables and the BC risk is still limited.

Methods: Fruit and vegetable consumptions in relation to BC risk was examined by pooling individual participant data from case-control studies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Several case-control, cohort studies, and meta-analyses found a moderate association between ultraprocessed food consumption and the risk of colorectal and a few other cancers. The evidence is, however, not consistent. A reason for such inconsistence is that the NOVA classification of ultraprocessed foods may include unfavorable but also favorable dietary components, and it may vary across different populations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF