Tana, a Healthcare Chatbot to Help Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic at a University Hospital in Argentina.

A Chatbot or Conversational Agent is a computer application that simulates the conversation with a human person (by text or voice), giving automated responses to people's needs. In the healthcare domain, chatbots can be beneficial to help patients, as a complement to care by health personnel, especially in times of high demand or constrained resources such as the COVID-19 Pandemic. In this paper we share the design and implementation of a healthcare chatbot called Tana at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires.

Vasectomy and Prostate Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Purpose Vasectomy is a commonly used form of male sterilization, and some studies have suggested that it may be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, including more aggressive forms of the disease. We investigated the prospective association of vasectomy with prostate cancer in a large European cohort, with a focus on high-grade and advanced-stage tumors, and death due to prostate cancer. Patients and Methods A total of 84,753 men from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), aged 35 to 79 years, provided information on vasectomy status (15% with vasectomy) at recruitment and were followed for incidence of prostate cancer and death.

Exposure to bacterial products lipopolysaccharide and flagellin and hepatocellular carcinoma: a nested case-control study.

Background: Leakage of bacterial products across the gut barrier may play a role in liver diseases which often precede the development of liver cancer. However, human studies, particularly from prospective settings, are lacking.

Methods: We used a case-control study design nested within a large prospective cohort to assess the association between circulating levels of anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and anti-flagellin immunoglobulin A (IgA) and G (IgG) (reflecting long-term exposures to LPS and flagellin, respectively) and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Main nutrient patterns and colorectal cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study.

Background: Much of the current literature on diet-colorectal cancer (CRC) associations focused on studies of single foods/nutrients, whereas less is known about nutrient patterns. We investigated the association between major nutrient patterns and CRC risk in participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

Methods: Among 477 312 participants, intakes of 23 nutrients were estimated from validated dietary questionnaires.

Serum Endotoxins and Flagellin and Risk of Colorectal Cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Cohort.

Background: Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress are thought to be involved in colorectal cancer development. These processes may contribute to leakage of bacterial products, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and flagellin, across the gut barrier. The objective of this study, nested within a prospective cohort, was to examine associations between circulating LPS and flagellin serum antibody levels and colorectal cancer risk.

Acrylamide and Glycidamide Hemoglobin Adducts and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Nested Case-Control Study in Nonsmoking Postmenopausal Women from the EPIC Cohort.

Background: Acrylamide was classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans (group 2A)" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the fourth cause of cancer mortality in women. Five epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between EOC risk and dietary acrylamide intake assessed using food frequency questionnaires, and one nested case-control study evaluated hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide (HbAA) and its metabolite glycidamide (HbGA) and EOC risk; the results of these studies were inconsistent.

Inflammatory Markers and Risk of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer by Tumor Subtypes: The EPIC Cohort.

Background: Evidence suggests an etiologic role for inflammation in ovarian carcinogenesis and heterogeneity between tumor subtypes and anthropometric indices. Prospective studies on circulating inflammatory markers and epithelial invasive ovarian cancer (EOC) have predominantly investigated overall risk; data characterizing risk by tumor characteristics (histology, grade, stage, dualistic model of ovarian carcinogenesis) and anthropometric indices are sparse.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort to evaluate C-reactive protein (CRP), IL6, and EOC risk by tumor characteristics.

Plasma carotenoids, vitamin C, retinol and tocopherols levels and pancreatic cancer risk within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: a nested case-control study: plasma micronutrients and pancreatic cancer risk.

Evidence of a protective effect of several antioxidants and other nutrients on pancreatic cancer risk is inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the association for prediagnostic plasma levels of carotenoids, vitamin C, retinol and tocopherols with risk of pancreatic cancer in a case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). 446 incident exocrine pancreatic cancer cases were matched to 446 controls by age at blood collection, study center, sex, date and time of blood collection, fasting status and hormone use.

Prolactin determinants in healthy women: A large cross-sectional study within the EPIC cohort.

Background: Experimental and epidemiologic data suggest that higher circulating prolactin is associated with breast cancer risk; however, how various risk factors for breast cancer influence prolactin levels in healthy women is not clear.

Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional associations between several suggested reproductive and lifestyle risk factors for breast cancer and circulating prolactin among pre- and postmenopausal women, taking into account the use of current postmenopausal hormone therapy, among 2,560 controls from a breast cancer nested case-control study within the EPIC cohort.

Results: Adjusted geometric mean prolactin levels were significantly higher among premenopausal women, and among postmenopausal women using hormone therapy compared with nonusers (8.

Cross-sectional associations of objectively measured physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and anthropometry in European adults.

Objective: To quantify the independent associations between objectively measured physical activity (PA), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and anthropometry in European men and women.

Methods: 2,056 volunteers from 12 centers across Europe were fitted with a heart rate and movement sensor at 2 visits 4 months apart for a total of 8 days. CRF (ml/kg/min) was estimated from an 8 minute ramped step test.

A structural equation modelling approach to explore the role of B vitamins and immune markers in lung cancer risk.

The one-carbon metabolism (OCM) is considered key in maintaining DNA integrity and regulating gene expression, and may be involved in the process of carcinogenesis. Several B-vitamins and amino acids have been implicated in lung cancer risk, via the OCM directly as well as immune system activation. However it is unclear whether these factors act independently or through complex mechanisms.

Physical Activity and Mortality in Individuals With Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective Study and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Physical activity (PA) is considered a cornerstone of diabetes mellitus management to prevent complications, but conclusive evidence is lacking. METHODS This prospective cohort study and meta-analysis of existing studies investigated the association between PA and mortality in individuals with diabetes. In the EPIC study (European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition), a cohort was defined of 5859 individuals with diabetes at baseline.

Prediagnostic concentrations of plasma genistein and prostate cancer risk in 1,605 men with prostate cancer and 1,697 matched control participants in EPIC.

Purpose: Data from prospective epidemiological studies in Asian populations and from experimental studies in animals and cell lines suggest a possible protective association between dietary isoflavones and the development of prostate cancer. We examined the association between circulating concentrations of genistein and prostate cancer risk in a case-control study nested in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

Methods: Concentrations of the isoflavone genistein were measured in prediagnostic plasma samples for 1,605 prostate cancer cases and 1,697 matched control participants.

Coffee and tea consumption and the risk of ovarian cancer: a prospective cohort study and updated meta-analysis.

Background: In 2007 the World Cancer Research Fund Report concluded that there was limited and inconsistent evidence for an effect of coffee and tea consumption on the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Objective: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), we aimed to investigate whether coffee intakes, tea intakes, or both are associated with the risk of EOC.

Design: All women participating in the EPIC (n = 330,849) were included in this study.

Plasma cotinine levels and pancreatic cancer in the EPIC cohort study.

Smoking is an established risk factor for pancreatic cancer, previously investigated by the means of questionnaires. Using cotinine as a biomarker for tobacco exposure allows more accurate quantitative analyses to be performed. This study on pancreatic cancer, nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC cohort), included 146 cases and 146 matched controls.

Smoking, secondhand smoke, and cotinine levels in a subset of EPIC cohort.

Background: Several countries are discussing new legislation regarding the ban on smoking in public places, based on the growing evidence of the hazards of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure. The objective of the present study is to quantitatively assess the relationship between smoking, SHS, and serum cotinine levels in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Methods: From a study on lung cancer in the EPIC cohort, questionnaire information on smoking was collected at enrolment, and cotinine was measured in serum.