Gastric cancer in individuals with Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Purpose: Li-Fraumeni syndrome is a rare hereditary cancer syndrome associated with germline mutations in the TP53 gene. Although sarcomas, brain tumors, leukemias, breast and adrenal cortical carcinomas are typically recognized as Li-Fraumeni syndrome-associated tumors, the occurrence of gastrointestinal neoplasms has not been fully evaluated. In this analysis, we investigated the frequency and characteristics of gastric cancer in Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Health status of the oldest adult survivors of cancer during childhood.

Background: Young adult survivors of childhood cancer have an increased risk for treatment-related morbidity and mortality. In this study, the authors assessed how treatment for childhood cancer affects older-adult health and health practices.

Methods: One hundred seven adults treated for childhood cancer between 1947 and 1968, known to have survived past age 50 years, were identified from a single-institution cohort established in 1975.

Effects of green tea extract on lung cancer A549 cells: proteomic identification of proteins associated with cell migration.

Green tea polyphenols exhibit multiple antitumor activities, and the mechanisms of action are not completely understood. Previously, we reported that green tea extract (GTE)-induced actin remolding is associated with increased cell adhesion and decreased motility in A549 lung cancer cells. To identify the cellular targets responsible for green tea-induced actin remodeling, we performed 2-DE LC-MS/MS of A549 cells before and after GTE exposure.

Long-term smoking cessation outcomes among childhood cancer survivors in the Partnership for Health Study.

Purpose: Partnership for Health (PFH) was found to increase smoking cessation among smokers in the Childhood Cancer Survivors Study (CCSS) at the 8- and 12-month postbaseline follow-up. This report provides outcomes at 2 to 6 years postbaseline; the primary outcome is a four-category smoking status variable (quit at all follow-ups, quit at final follow-up only, smoker at all follow-ups, and smoker at final follow-up only); quit attempts among those who reported smoking at the final follow-up is a secondary outcome.

Methods: PFH was a randomized control trial with two conditions, peer phone counseling (PC) and self-help (SH), that involved smokers (n = 796) enrolled in the CCSS cohort.

F18-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography screening in Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Context: Individuals with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) have an inherited cancer predisposition to a diverse array of malignancies beginning early in life; survivors of one cancer have a markedly elevated risk of additional primary tumors. The underlying genetic defect in the majority of the families is a germline mutation in the TP53 tumor suppressor gene. The diversity of tumors and rarity of families have contributed to the difficulty in devising effective screening recommendations for members of LFS kindreds.

Prevalence of pathogenic BRCA1 mutation carriers in 5 US racial/ethnic groups.

Context: Information on the prevalence of pathogenic BRCA1 mutation carriers in racial/ethnic minority populations is limited.

Objective: To estimate BRCA1 carrier prevalence in Hispanic, African American, and Asian American female breast cancer patients compared with non-Hispanic white patients with and without Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.

Design, Setting, And Participants: We estimated race/ethnicity-specific prevalence of BRCA1 in a population-based, multiethnic series of female breast cancer patients younger than 65 years at diagnosis who were enrolled at the Northern California site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry during the period 1996-2005.

Overview of Cancer Control Research in Korean Americans.

Eighteen noteworthy manuscripts published between 1995 and 2002 were found in a literature search under the terms "Koreans" and "cancer." These articles cover a variety of subjects, from specific cancers to screening behaviors to religious and cultural influences, all of which should be considered in developing prevention and screening strategies.

Green tea induces annexin-I expression in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells: involvement of annexin-I in actin remodeling.

Green tea polyphenols exhibit multiple antitumor activities in various in vitro and in vivo tumor models, and the mechanisms of action are not clear. Previously, we found that green tea extract (GTE) regulates actin remodeling in different cell culture systems. Actin remodeling plays an important role in cancer cell morphology, cell adhesion, motility, and invasion.

Availability of smoking prevention and cessation services for childhood cancer survivors.

Objective: To characterize the smoking-related services available to childhood cancer survivors and describe organizational characteristics that were related to institutions' capacity to provide smoking services.

Methods: Institutions affiliated with the Children's Oncology Group were surveyed from 2003 to 2004.

Results: Of the 132 responding institutions, 85% assessed the smoking status of their cancer survivors intermittingly, but only 3% assessed smoking status at every visit, as recommended by the PHS guidelines.

Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training's legacy. The first 5 years.

The Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training (AANCART) is the first special populations network for Asian Americans on a national basis and includes collaborating organizations from Boston, New York, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Sacramento (where it is headquartered at the University of California, Davis). NCI funding of AANCART in 2000 brought together investigators and leaders from 9 cities across 6 states to establish an infrastructure for addressing cancer awareness, research, and training. Since 2000, AANCART has conducted needs assessments, held community awareness activities and trainings, trained trainees, sponsored National Asian American Cancer Control Academies, and produced presentations, publications, and grants.

A process evaluation of a telephone-based peer-delivered smoking cessation intervention for adult survivors of childhood cancer: the partnership for health study.

Objective: We report on the process evaluation of an efficacious national smoking cessation intervention for adult survivors of childhood cancer. We examine associations between intervention implementation characteristics and study outcomes, as well as participant characteristics related to level of involvement in the intervention.

Methods: The study was conducted at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1999-2001.

Breast and ovarian cancer in relatives of cancer patients, with and without BRCA mutations.

Background: First-degree relatives of patients with breast or ovarian cancer have increased risks for these cancers. Little is known about how their risks vary with the patient's cancer site, carrier status for predisposing genetic mutations, or age at cancer diagnosis.

Methods: We evaluated breast and ovarian cancer incidence in 2,935 female first-degree relatives of non-Hispanic White female patients with incident invasive cancers of the breast (n = 669) or ovary (n = 339) who were recruited from a population-based cancer registry in northern California.

Prevalence of early onset colorectal cancer in 397 patients with classic Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Background & Aims: Hereditary colorectal cancer is associated most commonly with the hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer or familial adenomatous polyposis syndromes. We investigated the prevalence of early onset colorectal cancer and the frequency of p53 germline mutations in 64 families from a Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) registry.

Methods: Patients with documented colorectal cancer and a diagnosis at or before age 50 were included.

Health insurance coverage in survivors of childhood cancer: the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Purpose: To examine the prevalence and predictors of health insurance coverage and the difficulties obtaining coverage in a large cohort of childhood cancer survivors.

Patients And Methods: This study included 12,358 5-year survivors of childhood cancer and 3,553 sibling controls participating in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. Data were collected by surveys distributed in 1994 (baseline) and 2000 (follow-up).

Peer-delivered smoking counseling for childhood cancer survivors increases rate of cessation: the partnership for health study.

Purpose: Cancer survivors smoke at rates that are only slightly lower than the general population. This article reports on the final outcomes of Partnership for Health, a smoking cessation intervention for smokers in the Childhood Cancer Survivors Study (CCSS).

Methods: This study is a randomized control trial with follow-up at 8 and 12 months that involved smokers (n = 796) enrolled onto the CCSS cohort.

The extract of huanglian, a medicinal herb, induces cell growth arrest and apoptosis by upregulation of interferon-beta and TNF-alpha in human breast cancer cells.

Huanglian (Coptidis rhizoma), a widely used herb in traditional Chinese medicine, has been shown recently to possess anticancer activities. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the anticancer effect of the herb is poorly understood. Specifically, whether huanglian extract affects the expression of cancer-related genes has not been defined.

Familial gastrointestinal stromal tumor syndrome: phenotypic and molecular features in a kindred.

Purpose: Members of a family with hereditary gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and a germline KIT oncogene mutation were evaluated for other potential syndrome manifestations. A tumor from the proband was analyzed to compare features with sporadic GISTs.

Patients And Methods: Members of a kindred in which six relatives in four consecutive generations comprised an autosomal dominant pattern of documented GISTs and cutaneous lesions underwent physical examination, imaging studies, and germline KIT analysis.

Risk of new cancers after radiotherapy in long-term survivors of retinoblastoma: an extended follow-up.

Purpose: Many children diagnosed with retinoblastoma (Rb) survive into adulthood and are prone to subsequent cancers, particularly hereditary patients, who have germline Rb-1 mutations. We have extended the follow-up of a large cohort of Rb patients for 7 more years to provide new information on the risk of additional cancers after radiotherapy in long-term survivors.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed the risk of new cancers through 2000 in 1,601 Rb survivors, diagnosed from 1914 to 1984, at two US medical centers.

Oral contraceptive use and risk of early-onset breast cancer in carriers and noncarriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.

Background: Recent oral contraceptive use has been associated with a small increase in breast cancer risk and a substantial decrease in ovarian cancer risk. The effects on risks for women with germ line mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 are unclear.

Methods: Subjects were population-based samples of Caucasian women that comprised 1,156 incident cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed before age 40 (including 47 BRCA1 and 36 BRCA2 mutation carriers) and 815 controls from the San Francisco Bay area, California, Ontario, Canada, and Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.

Accuracy of cancer family histories: comparison of two breast cancer syndromes.

Cancer risk programs rely on accurately reported family history information. This study compares the accuracy with which cancer sites and ages at diagnosis are reported by Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) and hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOCS) families undergoing genetic testing. We analyzed the accuracy of 191 cancer diagnoses among first-degree (FDRs) and second-degree (SDRs) relatives reported by 32 LFS and 52 HBOCS participants in genetic testing programs.

Prevalence of BRCA1 mutation carriers among U.S. non-Hispanic Whites.

Data from several countries indicate that 1% to 2% of Ashkenazi Jews carry a pathogenic ancestral mutation of the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1. However, the prevalence of BRCA1 mutations among non-Ashkenazi Whites is uncertain. We estimated mutation carrier prevalence in U.

Ganoderma lucidum extracts inhibit growth and induce actin polymerization in bladder cancer cells in vitro.

This study was conducted to investigate chemopreventive effects of Ganoderma lucidum using a unique in vitro human urothelial cell (HUC) model consisted of HUC-PC cells and MTC-11 cells. Ethanol and water extracts of fruiting bodies and spores of the G. lucidum were used to examine growth inhibition, actin polymerization status, and impact of actin remodeling on cell migration and adhesion.

Multiple risk behaviors among smokers in the childhood cancer survivors study cohort.

The literature on health behaviors of young adult cancer survivors is very limited, and thus little is known about preventable risk factors in this population. This paper describes the prevalence of five behavioral risk factors among 541 young adult survivors of childhood cancers from the CCSS cohort who were identified as smokers and enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of a smoking cessation intervention. The relationship between presence of multiple risk factors and a number of smoking-related factors was examined.

Ganoderma lucidum spore extract inhibits endothelial and breast cancer cells in vitro.

This study was conducted to investigate the anti-proliferative activities of medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (Rei-shi or Mannentake). We have identified an alcohol extract from the spore of Ganoderma lucidum that inhibits the in vitro proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and MDA-MB231 human breast cancer cells. Further fractionation of the alcohol extract revealed that the ethyl acetate fraction inhibited both cell lines in a dose-dependent manner from 2 to 40 micro g/ml.

Older Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders dying of cancer use hospice less frequently than older white patients.

Purpose: Cancer is the leading cause of death among Asian Americans, yet little is known about their use of hospice care. We examined hospice use by Asian patients compared with white patients, and assessed whether utilization differs among those born in the United States or abroad.

Methods: We studied Asian and white Medicare beneficiaries registered in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program who died of primary lung, colorectal, prostate, breast, gastric, or liver cancer between 1988 and 1998.