Implementing Mailed Colorectal Cancer Fecal Screening Tests in Real-World Primary Care Settings: Promising Implementation Practices and Opportunities for Improvement.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening reduces morbidity and mortality, but screening rates in the USA remain suboptimal. The Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) was established in 2009 to increase screening among groups disproportionately affected. The CRCCP utilizes implementation science to support health system change as a strategy to reduce disparities in CRC screening by directing resources to primary care clinics to implement evidence-based interventions (EBIs) proven to increase CRC screening.

Geographic Examination of COVID-19 Test Percent Positivity and Proportional Change in Cancer Screening Volume, National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Introduction: In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant declines in cancer screening, including among women served by the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). This study examined the spatial association between state-based COVID-19 test percent positivity and proportional change in NBCCEDP screening volume.

Methods: Using the COVID-19 Diagnostic Laboratory Testing dataset, we calculated state-based monthly COVID-19 test percent positivity from July through December 2020 and categorized rates into low, medium, and high groups.

Evaluating Uptake of Evidence-Based Interventions in 355 Clinics Partnering With the Colorectal Cancer Control Program, 2015-2018.

Purpose And Objectives: Colorectal cancer screening rates remain suboptimal in the US. The Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seeks to increase screening in health system clinics through implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) and supporting activities (SAs). This program provided an opportunity to assess the uptake of EBIs and SAs in 355 clinics that participated from 2015 to 2018.

Weight cycling and cancer incidence in a large prospective US cohort.

Weight cycling, which consists of repeated cycles of intentional weight loss and regain, is common among individuals who try to lose weight. Some evidence suggests that weight cycling may affect biological processes that could contribute to carcinogenesis, but whether it is associated with cancer risk is unclear. Using 62,792 men and 69,520 women enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort in 1992, we examined the association between weight cycling and cancer incidence.

Oophorectomy and hysterectomy and cancer incidence in the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort.

Objective: To examine associations of simple hysterectomy and hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO), relative to no surgery, with total and site-specific cancer risk in the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort.

Methods: We examined associations of hysterectomy with BSO and simple hysterectomy with total and site-specific cancer risk in 66,802 postmenopausal women from the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort.

Results: During a median follow-up of 13.

No association of plasma levels of adiponectin and c-peptide with risk of aggressive prostate cancer in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.

Background: Obesity is associated with a higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer and alters circulating levels of insulin and adiponectin, two hormones that influence biologic processes implicated in carcinogenesis. Results of some studies showed associations of circulating levels of adiponectin, insulin, and c-peptide (a marker of insulin secretion) with aggressive prostate cancer, but the size of these studies was limited.

Methods: A nested case-control study of 272 aggressive prostate cancer cases [Gleason score ≥ 7 (4+3) or T3-T4] and 272 age- and race-matched controls from the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort was conducted to determine the associations of prediagnostic plasma levels of c-peptide and adiponectin with risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

Body weight in early adulthood, adult weight gain, and risk of endometrial cancer in women not using postmenopausal hormones.

Purpose: High body mass index (BMI) measured in middle age or later is an established risk factor for endometrial cancer. However, whether BMI measured in early adulthood and adult weight change are associated with endometrial cancer risk is less clear, particularly among nonusers of postmenopausal hormones (PMH).

Methods: These associations were investigated among women in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.

Obesity-related markers and breast cancer in CPS-II Nutrition Cohort.

Low circulating levels of adiponectin and high levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), C-reactive protein (CRP), and C-peptide have been shown to be related to postmenopausal breast cancer risk, and to partially mediate the obesity-postmenopausal breast cancer association; however, data from prospective studies, especially those limited to non-users of postmenopausal hormones, are sparse. To further evaluate these associations, we measured these markers in a case-control study nested in the Cancer Prevention Study-II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort. Plasma samples from 302 postmenopausal breast cancer cases and matched controls were analyzed.

Active smoking and breast cancer risk: original cohort data and meta-analysis.

Background: The relationship between active cigarette smoking and breast cancer risk remains controversial because of unresolved issues of confounding and dose response.

Methods: To investigate these issues further, we analyzed data from 73 388 women in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort. Analyses were based on 3721 invasive breast cancer case patients identified during a median follow-up of 13.

Tubal sterilization and breast cancer incidence: results from the cancer prevention study II nutrition cohort and meta-analysis.

Tubal sterilization is a common form of contraception in the United States and is hypothesized to be associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. However, prior observational studies have reported inconsistent results. We investigated the association between tubal sterilization and breast cancer risk among 77,249 postmenopausal, cancer-free women in the Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort, enrolled in 21 states in the United States during 1992-1993.

Increased genetic vulnerability to smoking at CHRNA5 in early-onset smokers.

Context: Recent studies have shown an association between cigarettes per day (CPD) and a nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism in CHRNA5, rs16969968.

Objective: To determine whether the association between rs16969968 and smoking is modified by age at onset of regular smoking.

Data Sources: Primary data.

Weight cycling and risk of endometrial cancer.

Background: Obesity, as measured by body mass index (BMI), is an established risk factor for endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women. Weight cycling, which consists of repeated cycles of weight loss followed by regain, occurs frequently in overweight and obese women. It is unclear whether weight cycling is associated with risk of endometrial cancer independent of BMI.

Weight cycling and mortality in a large prospective US study.

Weight cycling has been associated with an increased risk of death in some studies, but few studies differentiated weight cycling initiated by intentional weight loss from that initiated by illness. The association of weight cycling with death was examined among 55,983 men and 66,655 women in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort from 1992 to 2008. A weight cycle was defined as an intentional loss of 10 or more pounds (≥4.

Prospective studies of body mass index with head and neck cancer incidence and mortality.

Background: Results of a pooled analysis of case-control studies show a higher risk of head and neck cancer (HNC) associated with a low body mass index (BMI) and a lower risk associated with being overweight or obese compared with being normal weight. However, these results are prone to bias due to residual confounding by smoking, a strong risk factor, and possible weight loss prior to diagnosis. Using prospectively collected data from the Cancer Prevention Study-II cohort and the Nutrition cohort, we examined the association of BMI with HNC mortality and incidence, overall and by smoking status.

High levels of folate from supplements and fortification are not associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Background & Aims: Folate intake has been inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk in several prospective epidemiologic studies. However, no study fully assessed the influence of the high levels of folate that are frequently consumed in the United States as a result of mandatory folate fortification, which was fully implemented in 1998, and the recent increase in use of folate-containing supplements. There is evidence that consumption of high levels of folic acid, the form of folate used for fortification and in supplements, has different effects on biochemical pathways than natural folates and might promote carcinogenesis.

Multiple independent loci at chromosome 15q25.1 affect smoking quantity: a meta-analysis and comparison with lung cancer and COPD.

Recently, genetic association findings for nicotine dependence, smoking behavior, and smoking-related diseases converged to implicate the chromosome 15q25.1 region, which includes the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 cholinergic nicotinic receptor subunit genes. In particular, association with the nonsynonymous CHRNA5 SNP rs16969968 and correlates has been replicated in several independent studies.

Folate and other one-carbon metabolism-related nutrients and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.

Background: Epidemiologic studies of the association of folate intake with breast cancer risk have been inconclusive, and few have investigated how related nutrients modify this association.

Objective: We investigated the association of dietary (food folate plus folic acid from fortification) and total folate (food folate, folic acid from fortification, and folic acid from supplements), vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, methionine, and alcohol intakes with postmenopausal breast cancer among women in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. The modification of the folate associations by the other nutrients was also investigated.

HNF1B and JAZF1 genes, diabetes, and prostate cancer risk.

Background: Epidemiologic studies have shown that men with type II diabetes have a lower risk of prostate cancer than non-diabetic men. Recently, common variants in two genes, HNF1B and JAZF1, were found to be associated with both of these diseases.

Methods: We examined whether the relationship between HNF1B and JAZF1 variants and decreased prostate cancer risk may potentially be mediated through diabetes in two large prospective studies, the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort and the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

No association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in one-carbon metabolism genes with prostate cancer risk.

One-carbon metabolism mediates the interconversion of folates for the synthesis of precursors used in DNA synthesis, repair, and methylation. Inadequate folate nutrition or compromised metabolism can disrupt these processes and facilitate carcinogenesis. In this study, we investigated associations of 39 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 9 one-carbon metabolism genes with risk of prostate cancer using 1,144 cases and 1,144 controls from the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort.

Nicotinic receptor gene variants influence susceptibility to heavy smoking.

Heavy smoking is a strong predictor of nicotine dependence, which is a major impediment to smoking cessation. Although both heavy smoking and nicotine dependence are highly heritable, previous attempts to identify genes influencing these phenotypes have been largely unsuccessful until very recently. We studied 1,452 heavy smokers (defined as smoking at least 30 cigarettes per day for at least 5 years) and 1,395 light smokers (defined as smoking <5 cigarettes per day for at least 1 year) to investigate the association of common variants in nicotinic receptor subunit genes with smoking behavior.

L-arginine chlorination results in the formation of a nonselective nitric-oxide synthase inhibitor.

Reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and impaired vascular function are the key pathological characteristics of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis. We have recently found that leukocyte-derived hypochlorous acid is able to react with the nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) substrate L-arginine to produce chlorinated L-arginine (cl-L-Arg). Interestingly, cl-L-Arg potently inhibits the formation of NO metabolites in cultured endothelial cells.

Cholangiocyte endothelin 1 and transforming growth factor beta1 production in rat experimental hepatopulmonary syndrome.

Background & Aims: Hepatic production and release of endothelin 1 plays a central role in experimental hepatopulmonary syndrome after common bile duct ligation by stimulating pulmonary endothelial nitric oxide production. In thioacetamide-induced nonbiliary cirrhosis, hepatic endothelin 1 production and release do not occur, and hepatopulmonary syndrome does not develop. However, the source and regulation of hepatic endothelin 1 after common bile duct ligation are not fully characterized.

Fibroblast growth factor mediates hypoxia-induced endothelin-- a receptor expression in lung artery smooth muscle cells.

We have previously demonstrated that endothelin (ET)-1 and its subtype A receptor (ET-AR) expression are increased in lung under hypoxic conditions and that activation of ET-AR by ET-1 is a major mediator of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in the rat. The present study tested the hypothesis that the hypoxia-responsive tyrosine kinase receptor-activating growth factors fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-1, FGF-2, and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB stimulate expression of the ET-AR in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Quiescent rat PASMCs were incubated under hypoxia (1% O2), or with FGF-1, FGF-2, PDGF-BB, vascular endothelial growth factor, ET-1, angiotensin II, or atrial natriuretic peptide under normoxic conditions for 24 h.

Dietary salt supplementation selectively downregulates NPR-C receptor expression in kidney independently of ANP.

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) has negative modulatory effects on a variety of pathophysiological mechanisms; i.e., it inhibits hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling and facilitates natriuresis and vasorelaxation in NaCl-supplemented subjects.