Performance of Self-Report to Establish Cancer Diagnoses in Disaster Responders and Survivors, World Trade Center Health Registry, New York, 2001-2007.

Objective: Large-scale disasters may disrupt health surveillance systems, depriving health officials and researchers of timely and accurate information needed to assess disaster-related health effects and leading to use of less reliable self-reports of health outcomes. In particular, ascertainment of cancer in a population is ordinarily obtained through linkage of self-reported data with regional cancer registries, but exclusive reliance on these sources following a disaster may result in lengthy delays or loss of critical data. To assess the impact of such reliance, we validated self-reported cancer in a cohort of 59,340 responders and survivors of the World Trade Center disaster against data from 11 state cancer registries (SCRs).

Defining care provided for breast cancer based on medical record review or Medicare claims: information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Patterns of Care Study.

Background: Description of care patterns is important as evidence-based guidelines increasingly dictate care. We explore the level of agreement between claims and record abstraction for guideline concordant multidisciplinary breast cancer care.

Methods: From the U.

Examination of ancestral informative markers and self-reported race with tumor characteristics of breast cancer among Black and White women.

African American (AA) women have a higher mortality from breast cancer (BC) compared to European American (EA) women. This may be due to the higher proportion of AA women with tumors that are diagnosed at more advanced stages and are characterized as being estrogen receptor negative (ER-)/progesterone receptor negative (PR-). Our study sought to determine whether self-reported race and percent African ancestry were associated with BC tumor characteristics.

Self-reported skin rash or irritation symptoms among World Trade Center Health Registry participants.

Objectives: We described self-reported skin rash 2 to 3 and 5 to 6 years after 9/11 and examined its association with exposures to 9/11 dust/debris.

Methods: We analyzed a longitudinal study of New York City World Trade Center Health Registry participants who resided or worked in Lower Manhattan or worked in rescue/recovery in two surveys (W1 and W2).

Results: Among 42,025 participants, 12% reported post-9/11 skin rash at W1, 6% both times, 16% at W2.

Estrogen-related genes and their contribution to racial differences in breast cancer risk.

Racial differences in breast cancer risk, including the risks of hormone receptor subtypes of breast cancer, have been previously reported. We evaluated whether variation in genes related to estrogen metabolism (COMT, CYP1A1, CYP1B1, CYP17A1, CYP19A1, ESR1, GSTM1, GSTP1, GSTT1, HSD17B1, SULT1A1, and UGT1A1) contributes to breast cancer risk and/or racial differences in risk within the CARE study, a multi-centered, population-based case-control study of breast cancer. Genetic variation was assessed as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), haplotypes, and SNP-hormone therapy (HT) interactions within a subset of 1,644 cases and 1,451 controls, including 949 Black women (493 cases and 456 controls), sampled from the CARE study population.

Is ulcerative colitis associated with survival among older persons with colorectal cancer in the US? A population-based case-control study.

Background: While ulcerative colitis (UC) is a risk factor for colorectal cancer, the association of UC with survival after colorectal cancer has not been studied in an older population.

Aims: The objective of our study was to compare the survival of colorectal cancer between persons with and without UC.

Methods: All cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) in persons 67 and older residing in a SEER catchment area and enrolled in the Medicare between 1993 and 1999 were assessed.

Mortality among survivors of the Sept 11, 2001, World Trade Center disaster: results from the World Trade Center Health Registry cohort.

Background: The Sept 11, 2001 (9/11) World Trade Center (WTC) disaster has been associated with several subacute and chronic health effects, but whether excess mortality after 9/11 has occurred is unknown. We tested whether excess mortality has occurred in people exposed to the WTC disaster.

Methods: In this observational cohort study, deaths occurring in 2003-09 in WTC Health Registry participants residing in New York City were identified through linkage to New York City vital records and the National Death Index.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine among men with prostate cancer in a rural setting.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and predictors of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among rural patients with localized prostate cancer. The study also examined the participants' disclosure of CAM use to their physicians. Baseline and 6-month follow-up data were taken from a study examining the factors that influence treatment choice and quality of life among men diagnosed with and being treated for localized prostate cancer residing in rural southwest Georgia (N = 321).

Developing a claim-based version of the ACE-27 comorbidity index: a comparison with medical record review.

Objectives: The adult comorbidity evaluation (ACE-27) is a medical record-based comorbidity index that predicts survival among various types of cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the medical record-based ACE-27 instrument to a newly developed administrative claim-based ACE-27 measure.

Study Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study of 4,300 breast and prostate cancer patients from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Patterns of Care Study.

Crohn's disease and small bowel adenocarcinoma: a population-based case-control study.

Background: Although Crohn's disease (CD) is thought to predispose to adenocarcinomas of the small bowel, the association has not been well studied in an older population.

Aims: The objective of our study was to evaluate the association of CD with small bowel cancer in a population-based case-control study.

Methods: All cases of small bowel cancer in persons 67 and older in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results catchment area and in the Medicare claims data base were compared with cancer-free controls residing in the same geographic area.

Is inflammatory bowel disease an important risk factor among older persons with colorectal cancer in the United States? A population-based case-control study.

Background: While ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are thought to predispose to colorectal cancer (CRC), the association has not been well studied in an older population.

Aims: The objective of our study was to evaluate the association of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease and colorectal cancer in a population-based, case-control study. We also wished to estimate the incidence rates of colorectal cancer among older individuals with UC/CD.

The effect of race and rural residence on prostate cancer treatment choice among men in Georgia.

Objective: To analyze differences for prostate cancer by race and in rural areas.

Methods: We studied 516 men younger than 75 years old with incident prostate cancer during 2005-08 in 33 counties in Southwest Georgia (SWGA), a rural area of 700,000 (40% African American). Treatment data were abstracted from medical records, and interviews conducted with 314 men.

Genome-wide copy number alterations in subtypes of invasive breast cancers in young white and African American women.

Genomic copy number alterations (CNA) are common in breast cancer. Identifying characteristic CNAs associated with specific breast cancer subtypes is a critical step in defining potential mechanisms of disease initiation and progression. We used genome-wide array comparative genomic hybridization to identify distinctive CNAs in breast cancer subtypes from 259 young (diagnosed with breast cancer at <55 years) African American (AA) and Caucasian American (CA) women originally enrolled in a larger population-based study.

Breast cancer risk and ovariectomy, hysterectomy, and tubal sterilization in the women's contraceptive and reproductive experiences study.

Removal or impairment of ovaries before menopause may affect a woman's breast cancer risk by altering her cumulative exposure to ovarian hormones. The Women's Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study, a population-based, multicenter case-control study of incident invasive breast cancer, recruited women aged 35-64 years (4,490 cases and 4,611 controls) who provided data on ovariectomy, hysterectomy, and tubal sterilization during in-person interviews. Controls were frequency-matched to cases by age, race, and study site.

A case-control study of body mass index and breast cancer risk in white and African-American women.

Objective: Large body size has been associated with decreased risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women but with increased risk in postmenopausal women. Limited information is available about African-American women and differences by estrogen and progesterone receptor status.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Women's Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study among 3,997 white and African-American breast cancer case patients diagnosed in 1994 to 1998 and 4,041 control participants ages 35 to 64 years.

Assessment of a commercial searchable population directory as a means of selecting controls for case-control studies.

We explored the feasibility of using SalesGenie, a commercially available database, as a potential alternative to traditional methods of selecting controls for population-based case-control studies. An attractive feature of this particular database is that it permits a search within specific age ranges, geographic locations, and household income. Information on 1,068 cases reported to the California Cancer Registry between 2001 and 2005 was entered manually into the SalesGenie Web-based search engine.

The epidemiology of triple-negative breast cancer, including race.

Objective: Predictors of intrinsic breast cancer subtypes, including the triple-negative (TN) subtype, are largely unknown. We evaluated whether anthropometrics, demographics, and reproductive history were associated with distinct breast cancer subtypes.

Methods: Invasive breast tumors from a population-based case-control study of 476 (116 black and 360 white) Atlanta women aged 20-54, diagnosed between 1990 and 1992, were centrally reviewed and immunohistochemically analyzed for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2); then grouped [TN (ER-PR-HER2-); ER-PR-HER2+; ER/PR+HER2+; ER/PR+HER2- (case-only reference group)].

Cancer outcomes research in a rural area: a multi-institution partnership model.

Whereas, most cancer research data come from high-profile academic centers, little is known about the outcomes of cancer care in rural communities. We summarize the experience of building a multi-institution partnership to develop a cancer outcomes research infrastructure in Southwest Georgia (SWGA), a primarily rural 33-county area with over 700,000 residents. The partnership includes eight institutions: the Emory University in Atlanta, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Georgia Comprehensive Center Registry (the Registry), the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition (the Coalition), and the four community cancer centers located within the SWGA region.

Secular trends in mortality from common cancers in the United States by educational attainment, 1993-2001.

Background: Death rates for the four major cancer sites (lung, breast, prostate, and colon and rectum) have declined steadily in the United States among persons aged 25-64 years since the early 1990s. We used national data to examine these trends in relation to educational attainment.

Methods: We calculated age-standardized death rates for each of the four cancers by level of education among 25- to 64-year-old non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black men and women for 1993 through 2001 using data on approximately 86% of US deaths from the National Center for Health Statistics, education level as recorded on the death certificate, and population data from the US Bureau of Census Current Population Survey.

Cancer mortality in the United States by education level and race.

Background: Although both race and socioeconomic status are well known to influence mortality patterns in the United States, few studies have examined the simultaneous influence of these factors on cancer incidence and mortality. We examined relationships among race, education level, and mortality from cancers of the lung, breast, prostate, colon and rectum, and all sites combined in contemporary US vital statistics.

Methods: Age-adjusted cancer death rates (with 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) were calculated for 137,708 deaths among 119,376,196 individuals aged 25-64 years, using race and education information from death certificates and population denominator data from the US Bureau of the Census, for 47 states and Washington, DC, in 2001.

Factors associated with advanced disease stage at diagnosis in a population-based study of patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer.

Breast cancer is diagnosed at a younger age and a more advanced stage in African-American women than in White women. The authors investigated the effects of several factors, including race, on stage of breast cancer in women aged 20-54 years living in Atlanta, Georgia, and diagnosed between 1990 and 1992. A total of 251 African-American and 580 White women were interviewed and their medical records reviewed.

Benefit of screening mammography in reducing the rate of late-stage breast cancer diagnoses (United States).

Objective: We studied the benefit of modern mammography screening in community settings, evaluating age-related differences in rates of late-stage breast cancer detection.

Methods: Our multicenter population-based case-control study included 931 black and white women with incident breast cancer (American Joint Commission on Cancer Stage IIB or higher) diagnosed 1994-1998 and 4,016 randomly sampled controls never diagnosed with breast cancer. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) estimated the relative rate of late-stage diagnosis in screened and non-screened women.

Relationship between established breast cancer risk factors and risk of seven different histologic types of invasive breast cancer.

Background: Important differences in the contributions of certain exposures to the risks of ductal versus lobular breast carcinomas have been observed, but few studies have evaluated the relationships between established breast cancer risk factors and other histologic types.

Methods: Information on family history of cancer and reproductive, hormonal, anthropometric, and lifestyle characteristics were collected in a multicenter population-based case-control study consisting of 3,463 ductal, 274 lobular, 261 ductal-lobular, 91 medullary, 77 tubular, 70 comedo, and 61 mucinous invasive breast carcinoma cases (ages 35-64 years, newly diagnosed 1994-1998) and 4,682 controls. Associations between each of these histologic types and various exposures were evaluated using polytomous regression.

Lifetime recreational exercise activity and breast cancer risk among black women and white women.

Background: Physical inactivity is a potentially modifiable breast cancer risk factor. Because few data on this relationship exist for black women, we examined the relationship between breast cancer risk and lifetime and time- or age-specific measures of recreational exercise activity among white women and among black women.

Methods: The Women's Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study was a multicenter population-based case-control study of black women and white women aged 35-64 years with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer.

Occupation, pesticide exposure and risk of multiple myeloma.

Objectives: This population-based case-control study examined the relationship between occupation, living or working on a farm, pesticide exposure, and the risk of multiple myeloma.

Methods: The study included 573 persons newly diagnosed with myeloma and 2131 controls. Information was obtained on sociodemographic factors, occupational history, and history of living and working on a farm.