High-BMI at diagnosis is associated with inferior survival in patients with osteosarcoma: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Background: Body mass index (BMI), at diagnosis has been associated with lower survival and increased toxicity in cancer patients. We analyzed the effect of BMI at diagnosis on therapy related toxicities and outcome in pediatric osteosarcoma patients treated on Children's Oncology Group (COG) trial INT0133.

Procedures: All patients enrolled on COG-INT0133 with height, weight and toxicity information were eligible.

Genetic polymorphisms associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness and coronary artery calcification in women of the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study.

Menopausal hormone treatment (MHT) may limit progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD) but poses a thrombosis risk. To test targeted candidate gene variation for association with subclinical CVD defined by carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) and coronary artery calcification (CAC), 610 women participating in the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS), a clinical trial of MHT to prevent progression of CVD, were genotyped for 13,229 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within 764 genes from anticoagulant, procoagulant, fibrinolytic, or innate immunity pathways. According to linear regression, proportion of European ancestry correlated negatively, but age at enrollment and pulse pressure correlated positively with CIMT.

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant vascular dysplasia characterized by epistaxis, mucocutaneous telangiectasias, and arteriovenous malformations (AVM) in the brain, lung, liver, gastrointestinal tract, or spine. While pregnant women with HHT are known to have increased risks due to pulmonary AVMs, little is known about any increased risk for fetal birth defects or other adverse pregnancy outcomes. To investigate potential increased risk, individuals with a clinical diagnosis of HHT were asked to complete a survey composed of four sections: demographics, personal history of HHT, personal history of birth defects (modeled after state registries), and reproductive history.

Accounting for model uncertainty in estimating global burden of disease.

Objective: To illustrate the effects of failing to account for model uncertainty when modelling is used to estimate the global burden of disease, with specific application to childhood deaths from rotavirus infection.

Methods: To estimate the global burden of rotavirus infection, different random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression models were constructed by varying the stratification criteria and including different combinations of covariates. Bayesian model averaging was used to combine the results across models and to provide a measure of uncertainty that reflects the choice of model and the sampling variability.

Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency and smoking as risk factors for mismatch repair deficient colorectal cancer: a study from the colon cancer family registry.

In a previous study, alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency alleles were found to be over represented among individuals with microsatellite unstable (MSI-high) colorectal cancers, and this was most significant in former or current smokers. We evaluated this association in a larger case-control study, stratified by microsatellite instability phenotypes. Concordant with prior observations, gender (female) and smoking history were positively associated with colorectal cancers having an MSI-high phenotype.