Physical activity and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the NIH-AARP diet and health study.

Background: Although physical activity has been associated with reduced breast cancer risk, whether this association varies across breast cancer subtypes or is modified by reproductive and lifestyle factors is unclear.

Methods: We examined physical activity in relation to postmenopausal breast cancer risk in 182,862 U.S.

Two estrogen-related variants in CYP19A1 and endometrial cancer risk: a pooled analysis in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium.

Common variants in CYP19A1 (the A alleles of rs749292 and rs727479) have been associated with a 10% to 20% increase in circulating estrogen levels in postmenopausal women. We hypothesized that the presence of one or both A alleles in these single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) is associated with increased endometrial cancer risk. We tested this hypothesis in a large pooled analysis of 4,998 endometrial cancer cases and 8,285 controls from 10 studies in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium.

Menopausal hormone therapy and risk of colorectal cancer.

We evaluated colorectal cancer risk associated with the duration and recency of specific menopausal hormone therapy formulations (i.e., unopposed estrogen versus estrogen plus progestin) and regimens (i.

Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and endometrial cancer risk in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Consistent with a strong hormonal etiology, endometrial cancer is thought to be influenced by both obesity and physical activity. Although obesity has been consistently related to risk, associations with physical activity have been inconclusive. We examined relationships of activity patterns with endometrial cancer incidence in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort, which included 109,621 women, ages 50-71, without cancer history, who in 1995-1996 completed a mailed baseline questionnaire capturing daily routine and vigorous (defined as any period of >or=20 min of activity at work or home causing increases in breathing, heart rate, or sweating) physical activity.

Ectopic hepatic parenchyma attached to the diaphragm: simulating a pulmonary mass in a cat.

A case of an ectopic lobe of the liver connected to a normal diaphragm is described. A 9-year-old, castrated male cat underwent thoracotomy for a pulmonary mass. The removed mass was attached to the diaphragm that histologically was ectopic liver.

Prospective study of physical activity and the risk of ovarian cancer.

Background: Available studies on physical activity and ovarian cancer have produced inconsistent findings, with some previous studies reporting a positive association between vigorous physical activity and ovarian cancer risk.

Methods: We prospectively investigated the relations of self-reported moderate and vigorous physical activity to ovarian cancer in a cohort of 96,216 US women aged 51-72 years at baseline, followed from 1996-1997 to 31 December 2003.

Results: During seven years of follow-up, we documented 309 cases of epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

Menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study Cohort.

Background: Results from the Women's Health Initiative trial raise new questions regarding the effects of estrogen therapy (ET) and estrogen plus progestin therapy (EPT) on breast cancer risk.

Methods: We analyzed data from 126,638 females, ages 50 to 71 years at baseline, who completed two questionnaires (1995--1996 and 1996--1997) as part of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Cohort Study and in whom 3,657 incident breast cancers were identified through June 30, 2002. Hormone-associated relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of breast cancer were estimated via multivariable regression models.

Prospective study of physical activity and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Introduction: To prospectively examine the relation of total, vigorous and non-vigorous physical activity to postmenopausal breast cancer risk.

Methods: We studied 32,269 women enrolled in the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project Follow-up Study. Usual physical activity (including household, occupational and leisure activities) throughout the previous year was assessed at baseline using a self-administered questionnaire.

Menstrual and reproductive factors in association with lung cancer in female lifetime nonsmokers.

Cigarette smoking is irrefutably the strongest risk factor for lung cancer; however, approximately 25% of cases worldwide occur among nonsmokers. The age-adjusted annual incidence rate of lung cancer in Shanghai, a region where relatively few women smoke cigarettes, is one of the highest in the world. To help further elucidate the etiology of lung cancer among nonsmokers, the authors examined hormonal factors among women who were lifetime nonsmokers.

Prospective evaluation of risk factors for male breast cancer.

Most risk factors for male breast cancer have been derived from retrospective studies that may reflect selective recall. In the prospective National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, we studied 324 920 men, among whom 121 developed breast cancer. Men who reported a first-degree relative with breast cancer had an increased risk of breast cancer (relative risk [RR] = 1.

Insulin-like growth factors, their binding proteins, and prostate cancer risk: analysis of individual patient data from 12 prospective studies.

Background: Some, but not all, published results have shown an association between circulating blood levels of some insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and their binding proteins (IGFBPs) and the subsequent risk for prostate cancer.

Purpose: To assess the association between levels of IGFs and IGFBPs and the subsequent risk for prostate cancer.

Data Sources: Studies identified in PubMed, Web of Science, and CancerLit.

Risk of subsequent endometrial carcinoma associated with endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia classification of endometrial biopsies.

Background: Histopathologic diagnosis of endometrial biopsies is used to estimate the risk of progression to carcinoma and guide clinical management. Problems with the widely used World Health Organization (WHO) system for classifying endometrial hyperplasia (EH) have prompted the development of an alternative system based on endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN). The authors estimated progression risk associated with EIN among endometrial biopsies in a nested case-control study of EH progression.

Cerebral palsy and anorexia nervosa.

Objective: To describe the management of a woman with cerebral palsy and anorexia nervosa.

Method: We carried out a literature search and gained consent and a history from the patient. We explored the etiological and ethical issues raised in this case.

PTEN expression in endometrial biopsies as a marker of progression to endometrial carcinoma.

Inactivation of PTEN tumor suppressor gene is common in endometrial carcinoma and its precursor, atypical endometrial hyperplasia (EH). We compared PTEN expression via immunohistochemistry in endometrial biopsies diagnosed as EH in 138 cases, who were diagnosed with EH and then endometrial carcinoma at least 1 year later (median, 6 years), and 241 individually matched controls, who were diagnosed with EH but did not progress to carcinoma during equivalent follow-up. We assessed PTEN status (normal versus null) in index biopsies containing EH to estimate the relative risk (RR) of developing endometrial carcinoma up to 25 years later.

Reproducibility of biopsy diagnoses of endometrial hyperplasia: evidence supporting a simplified classification.

Background: Identifying which categories in the World Health Organization classification of endometrial hyperplasia contribute to suboptimal reproducibility is clinically important.

Methods: A 2-member panel reviewed 209 endometrial biopsy/curettage specimens originally diagnosed as incident endometrial hyperplasia as part of a progression study. Original diagnoses included the following: disordered proliferative endometrium, simple hyperplasia, complex hyperplasia, and atypical hyperplasia; panel diagnoses also included negative and carcinoma.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and breast cancer risk in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Introduction: By inhibiting cyclooxygenase-2, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) decrease aromatase activity and might reduce breast cancer risk by suppressing estrogen synthesis. Epidemiologic evidence for a protective role of NSAIDs in breast cancer, however, is equivocal.

Methods: We tested NSAID use for its association with breast cancer incidence in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, where 127,383 female AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) members with no history of cancer, aged 51 to 72 years, completed a mailed questionnaire (1996 to 1997).

Barriers to adherence with glaucoma medications: a qualitative research study.

Purpose: Glaucoma is initially asymptomatic, but untreated can result in progressive visual field loss and eventual blindness. With adequate therapy progression can be halted, but poor adherence with medical therapy is a significant issue requiring further research. The aim of the present study was to gain a better understanding of the obstacles to, and the motivations for, adherence with glaucoma medication and explore potential methods to improve adherence.

Detection of hypo-N-glycosylation using mass spectrometry of transferrin.

Many congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) can be diagnosed by observing the extent of glycosylation of the abundant serum glycoprotein transferrin (Trf). Trf is an N-glycosylated protein with two asparagine glycation sites. CDG types I are those genetic defects which occur prior to transfer of the complex oligosaccharide to the acceptor asparagine in the cotranslated polypeptide chain.

Height, body mass index, and ovarian cancer: a pooled analysis of 12 cohort studies.

Background: Although many studies have investigated the association between anthropometry and ovarian cancer risk, results have been inconsistent.

Methods: The associations of height, body mass index (BMI), and ovarian cancer risk were examined in a pooled analysis of primary data from 12 prospective cohort studies from North America and Europe. The study population consisted of 531,583 women among whom 2,036 epithelial ovarian cancer cases were identified.

Screening for eating disorders in primary care: EDE-Q versus SCOFF.

Objective And Methods: The comparative validity of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) (22 items) and SCOFF (five items) in screening for cases of the more commonly occurring eating disorders was examined in a primary care sample of young adult women (n=257). Diagnoses were confirmed in a sub-group of interviewed participants (n=147).

Results: Twenty-five cases, primarily variants of bulimia nervosa (BN) not meeting formal diagnostic criteria, were identified in the interviewed sample.

Second-tier test for quantification of alloisoleucine and branched-chain amino acids in dried blood spots to improve newborn screening for maple syrup urine disease (MSUD).

Background: Newborn screening for maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) relies on finding increased concentrations of the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine, and valine by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). d-Alloisoleucine (allo-Ile) is the only pathognomonic marker of MSUD, but it cannot be identified by existing screening methods because it is not differentiated from isobaric amino acids. Furthermore, newborns receiving total parenteral nutrition often have increased concentrations of BCAAs.

Genetic variation in CYP17 and endometrial cancer risk.

Genetic variation in CYP17 is suspected to be related to endometrial cancer risk based on its role in the regulation of steroid and non-steroid hormone biosynthesis. Reported associations between CYP17 and higher levels of estradiol in some studies suggest that the C allele of a T-to-C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 5'UTR of CYP17 (rs743572) may be associated with an increased risk of hormone-related cancers. However, five relatively small epidemiologic studies of endometrial cancer have reported that women with the rs743572 C allele have a decreased risk of endometrial cancer.