Associations of keratinocyte cancers with snp variants in the sonic hedgehog pathway.

Background: Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) pathway dysregulation is implicated in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) development. To evaluate the possible wider role of SHH gene variants in skin carcinogenesis, we assessed associations of genes in the SHH pathway with lifetime development of any keratinocyte cancer (KC), and with developing either BCCs or squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) exclusively, in a 25-year prospective, population-based study of 1,621 Australians.

Methods: We genotyped 795 unrelated adults with available blood samples: 311 cases with any KC (186 developing BCCs-only, 55 SCCs-only, 70 BCCs and SCCs) and 484 controls.

Dietary behaviours, weight loss attempts and change in waist circumference: 15-year longitudinal study in Australian adults.

Background And Objectives: Dietary behaviours are suitable as clearly identifiable targets of dietary counselling to prevent weight gain. We therefore investigated associations between dietary behaviours, weight loss attempts and waist circumference change.

Methods And Study Design: Participants were a community-based sample population residing in Nambour, Australia, including 1,317 adults, aged 25-75 years at baseline.

A prospective study of measured body size and height and risk of keratinocyte cancers and melanoma.

Background: The potential influence of measured body weight and height on keratinocyte skin cancer risk has scarcely been studied. Some evidence indicates melanoma risk increases as self-reported height increases, but an association with body mass index (BMI) is less certain.

Methods: We measured body weight and height of 1171 Australian men and women in a community-based skin cancer study in Queensland and prospectively examined the association of BMI, body surface area (BSA) and height and incidence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma while accounting for skin phenotype, sun exposure, clinical/cutaneous signs of chronic photodamage and other risk factors.

Cancers in Australia in 2010 attributable to modifiable factors: summary and conclusions.

Objective: To estimate the numbers and proportions of cancers occurring in Australia in 2010 attributable to modifiable causal factors.

Methods: We estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) of cancers associated with exposure to 13 causal factors using standard formulae incorporating exposure prevalence and relative risk data. We also calculated the potential impact of changing exposure to some factors.

Cancers in Australia in 2010 attributable to the consumption of red and processed meat.

Objectives: To estimate the proportion and numbers of cancers in Australia in 2010 attributable to consuming red/processed meat.

Methods: We estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) for cancers causally associated with red/processed meat consumption (colon, rectum) using standard formulae incorporating prevalence of consumption (1995 National Nutrition Survey), relative risks associated with consumption and cancer incidence. We also estimated the proportion change in cancer incidence (potential impact fraction [PIF]) that might have occurred under two hypothetical interventions whereby Australian adults reduced their consumption of red/processed meat from prevailing levels to ≤100 g or ≤65 g per day, respectively.

Cancers in Australia in 2010 attributable to inadequate consumption of fruit, non-starchy vegetables and dietary fibre.

Objectives: To estimate the number and proportion of cancers occurring in Australia in 2010 attributable to consumption deficits in fruit, non-starchy vegetables and dietary fibre.

Methods: We estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) for cancers causally associated with inadequate intake of fruit and non-starchy vegetables (oral cavity, pharynx, oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, stomach, larynx); inadequate intake of fruit (lung); and insufficient intake of fibre (colorectum). We used standard formulae incorporating prevalence of exposure (1995 National Nutrition Survey) and relative risks from independent studies.

Cancers in Australia in 2010 attributable to modifiable factors: introduction and overview.

Objective: To describe the approach underpinning a national project to estimate the numbers and proportions of cancers occurring in Australia in 2010 that are attributable to modifiable causal factors.

Methods: We estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) (or prevented fraction) of cancers associated with exposure to causal (or preventive) factors using standard formulae. Where possible, we also estimated the potential impact on cancer incidence resulting from changes in prevalence of exposure.

Black Tea Consumption and Risk of Skin Cancer: An 11-Year Prospective Study.

Tea consumption has been shown to protect against skin carcinogenesis in laboratory-based studies; however, epidemiological evidence is limited and inconsistent. This prospective study examined the association between black tea consumption and the incidence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Usual black tea consumption was estimated from food frequency questionnaires completed in 1992, 1994, and 1996 by 1,325 Australian adults.

Prospective study of patterns of surgical management in adults with primary cutaneous melanoma at high risk of spread, in Queensland, Australia.

Background: Knowledge of variation in diagnosis and surgery in high-risk primary melanoma patients is limited. We assessed frequency and determinants of diagnostic procedures, wide local excision (WLE) and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).

Methods: People in Queensland newly diagnosed with melanoma, clinical stage 1b or 2, were recruited prospectively.

Supportive care needs, anxiety, depression and quality of life amongst newly diagnosed patients with localised invasive cutaneous melanoma in Queensland, Australia.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to determine levels of supportive care needs, anxiety, depression and symptoms amongst patients newly diagnosed with localised invasive primary melanoma and if these varied amongst patients who had a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). We also considered quality of life compared with general population norms.

Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with clinical stage IB-II invasive melanoma were ascertained through Queensland hospitals, specialist clinics and pathology laboratories.

Nomograms to predict recurrence and survival in stage IIIB and IIIC melanoma after therapeutic lymphadenectomy.

Background: Current staging algorithms in melanoma patients undergoing therapeutic lymph node dissection (LND) fail to accurately distinguish long-term survivors from those at risk of rapid relapse. Our goal was to establish and validate nomograms for predicting both recurrence and survival after LND.

Methods: A prospective cohort of stage IIIB and IIIC melanoma patients was ascertained from a tertiary hospital in Brisbane, Australia.

Effects of sunscreen on skin cancer and photoaging.

Application of sunscreen to the skin is widely used as an adjunct strategy, along with wearing protective clothing and seeking shade, to protect against skin cancer and photoaging that result from excessive sun exposure. Many epidemiological studies of case-control and cohort study design have studied the effects of sunscreen use on skin cancer, and more recently photoaging, but their findings have been mostly uninformative. This review of results of randomized controlled trials shows that the evidence, though limited, supports beneficial effects of sunscreen application on the occurrence of skin cancers and skin photoaging.

Dietary phyto-oestrogens and the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers: findings from two Australian case-control studies.

Phyto-oestrogens have been suggested to have a protective effect on hormone-sensitive cancers. However, few studies have investigated the association between dietary phyto-oestrogens and gynaecological cancers. In the present study, we analysed data from two population-based case-control studies of ovarian (1366 cases and 1414 controls) and endometrial (1288 cases and 1435 controls) cancers.

Plasma omega-3 and omega-6 concentrations and risk of cutaneous basal and squamous cell carcinomas in Australian adults.

Laboratory-based evidence suggests that omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids may affect skin photocarcinogenesis, but epidemiologic evidence is inconsistent. In 1,191 White Australian adults, we prospectively investigated associations between baseline plasma concentrations of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and cutaneous basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated on the basis of number of histologically confirmed tumors diagnosed during follow-up (1997-2007).

Caffeine intake and risk of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin in an 11-year prospective study.

Purpose: Caffeine may repair skin damage induced by excessive exposure to ultraviolet light. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between caffeine intake and incidence of basal cell (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We also assessed the associations between coffee consumption and incidence of these skin cancers.

Vitamin D intake in Australian adults and the modeled effects of milk and breakfast cereal fortification.

Objective: Vitamin D intake from foods or supplements is a safe and attractive means to improve vitamin D status of populations. The aim of this study was to help identify population subgroups that would benefit most from efforts to increase intake. To do so, we investigated which personal characteristics are associated with vitamin D intake in an Australian population and modeled possible effects of expanded food fortification practices.

Patients undergoing lymphadenectomy for stage III melanomas of known or unknown primary site do not differ in outcome.

The outcome of patients with palpable melanoma metastases in lymph nodes in the presence (metastatic melanoma of known primary site, MKP) or absence (metastatic melanoma of unknown primary site, MUP) of an identifiable primary tumour remains controversial. Some of the previous studies contained large case series that included historical patients. We aimed to compare outcomes of those with MUPs versus MKPs with palpable lymph node invasion, after staging with modern imaging technology.

Sunscreen and prevention of skin aging: a randomized trial.

Background: Sunscreen use and dietary antioxidants are advocated as preventives of skin aging, but supporting evidence is lacking.

Objective: To determine whether regular use of sunscreen compared with discretionary use or β-carotene supplements compared with placebo retard skin aging, measured by degree of photoaging.

Design: Randomized, controlled, community-based intervention.

Dietary antioxidants and risk of Barrett's esophagus and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus in an Australian population.

While dietary antioxidants are emerging as potentially modifiable risk factors for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), studies on dietary antioxidants and its precursor Barrett's esophagus (BE) are limited. The present study extends previous work on BE by investigating risks of nondysplastic BE, dysplastic BE and EAC associated with intake of antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, β-carotene, and selenium. Age and sex matched control subjects (n=577 for BE; n=1,507 for EAC) were sampled from an Australian population register.

Intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and risk of basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin: a longitudinal community-based study in Australian adults.

Intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may modify the risk of basal and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (BCC and SCC), but population-based evidence is limited and inconsistent. We examined prospectively associations between intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids estimated from food frequency questionnaires and BCC and SCC incidence among 1322 randomly selected adults in Nambour, Australia. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated based on histologically confirmed tumors diagnosed between 1997 and 2007.

Validation of skin surface microtopography as a measure of skin photoaging in a subtropical population aged 40 and over.

Background: Evidence suggests that skin surface microtopography is a valid measure of photoaging among young adults, but whether this applies to older adults is unknown.

Methods: We investigated the association between degree of photoaging as measured by histological dermal elastosis and skin microtopography grades by decade of age from 40 to 89 years in a community sample in Australia. Skin surface replicas and punch biopsies were taken from 664 participants of the Nambour Skin Cancer Study.

Estimated intake of dietary phyto-oestrogens in Australian women and evaluation of correlates of phyto-oestrogen intake.

The role of dietary phyto-oestrogens in health has been of continued interest and debate, but data available on the distribution of intake in the Australian diet are scarce. Therefore, we aimed to estimate phyto-oestrogen consumption in Australian women, describe the pattern of intake and identify correlates of high phyto-oestrogen intake. Study participants were 2078 control women (18-79 years) from two population-based case-control studies on gynaecological cancers (2002-2007).

Dietary patterns and risk of oesophageal cancers: a population-based case-control study.

Epidemiological studies investigating the association between dietary intake and oesophageal cancer have mostly focused on nutrients and food groups instead of dietary patterns. We conducted a population-based case-control study, which included 365 oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC), 426 oesophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (OGJAC) and 303 oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cases, with frequency matched on age, sex and geographical location to 1580 controls. Data on demographic, lifestyle and dietary factors were collected using self-administered questionnaires.

Serum omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and cutaneous p53 expression in an Australian population.

Background: There is some evidence from experimental studies that long-chain n-3 and n-6 fatty acids may be able to modify early skin carcinogenesis, but whether this applies in the general population is not known.

Methods: We investigated associations between serum polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations and p53 expression in normal skin, as a biomarker of early UV-induced carcinogenesis, in an unselected sample of Australian adults. Participants in the Nambour Skin Cancer Prevention Trial provided a dorsal hand punch biopsy which was used for immunohistochemical assessment of p53 immunoreactivity.