Obesity is associated with atypia in breast ductal lavage of women with proliferative breast disease.

Background: Benign proliferative breast disease without atypia slightly increases breast cancer risk but there are currently few clinical options for breast cancer prevention in this group of women.

Methods: We conducted a pilot study of women with a past diagnosis of proliferative breast disease with a goal to determine if the characteristics of cells obtained by breast ductal lavage were related to nutritional factors.

Results: There were 57 women who enrolled.

5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms and the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Filipino children.

Background: 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a critical enzyme in folate metabolism. Polymorphisms at the C677T and A1298C loci are associated with reduced activity; consequently more folate substrates are shunted toward thymidylate and DNA synthesis. Several studies have reported a reduced risk of developing ALL in children with MTHFR polymorphisms.

Quality of life as a predictor of weight loss in obese, early-stage breast cancer survivors.

Purpose/objectives: To investigate whether quality of life (QOL) assessed before weight loss intervention predicts weight loss and, in turn, what the effect of weight loss is on QOL measures after 12 months in early-stage breast cancer survivors.

Design: A clinical trial of a weight loss intervention in breast cancer survivors.

Setting: Community-wide recruitment in Detroit, MI.

Genetic determinants of bone mass do not relate with breast cancer risk in US white and African-American women.

Introduction: The association between high bone mass and increased breast cancer risk has been established. Identification of polymorphisms and the resultant variant receptors suggests the possibility of differential effects on hormone responsive genes when complexed with the hormones. Both estrogen receptor-alpha (ER) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms have been associated with bone density.

Impact of a genetic variant in CYP3A4 on risk and clinical presentation of prostate cancer among white and African-American men.

Genes involved in androgen metabolism are strong candidates for having an important role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. CYP3A4, a protein in the cytochrome P-450 supergene family, facilitates the oxidative deactivation of testosterone. In previous studies, patients with the G variant of a genetic polymorphism in CYP3A4 had prostate cancers with clinically aggressive characteristics at diagnosis.

The relationship between blood leptin level and bone density is specific to ethnicity and menopausal status.

Leptin, the obesity hormone, has been linked to bone mineralization and tumorigenesis. In addition, both bone mineral density (BMD) and postmenopausal breast cancer are associated with obesity, but the interrelationships between obesity, leptin, BMD, and breast cancer are not yet clear. In particular, there is little published research comparing white and black women in terms of these variables.

Relationship of psychiatric diagnosis and weight loss maintenance in obese breast cancer survivors.

Objective: Obese breast cancer survivors are a unique population for weight loss counseling because both obesity and a diagnosis of breast cancer can increase the risk of depression. In this pilot study, weight loss maintenance was examined in obese breast cancer survivors with relationship to psychiatric diagnosis.

Research Methods And Procedures: Forty-eight subjects were enrolled.

Combining weight-loss counseling with the weight watchers plan for obese breast cancer survivors.

Objective: The objective was to develop effective weight-loss methods for women who have had breast cancer, because obesity may result in an adverse prognosis.

Research Methods And Procedures: This randomized pilot study tested an individualized approach toward weight loss in obese women who have had a diagnosis of breast cancer. An individualized approach was applied either alone or combined with the commercial Weight Watchers program.

A Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Moexipril in Mild to Moderate Hypertension.

This placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter study examined the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, moexipril, in lowering blood pressure in mildly to moderately hypertensive patients. Patients were initially randomized into four groups, two of which received moexipril 7.5 mg per day and two received moexipril 15 mg per day, for first 12 weeks of treatment.