Association of traffic-related hazardous air pollutants and cervical dysplasia in an urban multiethnic population: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a necessary cause in the development of cervical cancer; however, not all women infected with HPV develop cervical cancer indicating that other risk factors are involved. Our objective was to determine the association between exposure to ambient levels of common traffic-related air toxics and cervical dysplasia, a precursor lesion for cervical cancer.

Methods: The study sample consisted of women enrolled in a Phase II clinical trial to evaluate diagnostic techniques for cervical disease in Houston, Texas.

Sociodemographic factors associated with pap test adherence and cervical dysplasia in surgically sterilized women.

Background: Routine dysplasia screening decreases the rates of cervical cancer. Since many women seek gynecological care to secure contraception, it was hypothesized that sterilized women will be less likely to undergo routine cervical cancer screening. Prior studies tried to evaluate this relationship, but results were conflicting.

A pooled multisite analysis of the effects of female reproductive hormones on glioma risk.

Purpose: The association between female reproductive factors and glioma risk is unclear, but most published studies have been limited by small sample size. We conducted a pooled multisite study of pre- and postmenopausal women, investigating the effect of female reproductive factors, including hormonal medications.

Methods: Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs) assessing the effects of female reproductive factors and female hormonal medications in glioma cases and unrelated controls.

Genetic markers in a multi-ethnic sample for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk.

Genome-wide association studies have identified multiple risk loci for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but mostly in European/White populations, despite Hispanics having a greater risk. We re-examined single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of known associations with childhood ALL and known human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region lymphoma risk markers in a multi-ethnic population. Significant associations were found in two ARID5B variants (rs7089424 and rs10821936).

Uncovering nativity disparities in cancer patterns: Multiple imputation strategy to handle missing nativity data in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data file.

Background: Although birthplace data are routinely collected in the participating Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries, such data are missing in a nonrandom manner for a large percentage of cases. This hinders analysis of nativity-related cancer disparities. In the current study, the authors evaluated multiple imputation of nativity status among Hispanic patients diagnosed with cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancer and demonstrated the effect of multiple imputation on apparent nativity disparities in survival.

Pediatric and adult malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors: an analysis of data from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results program.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are rare soft tissue sarcomas that arise predominantly from Schwann cells. Despite the fact that MPNSTs have high local recurrence rates and are generally associated with poor prognosis, little is known about prognostic factors or effective clinical management for this tumor type. The purpose of this study was to describe the distributions of patient and tumor characteristics and to identify predictors of cause-specific survival among MPNST cases reported to SEER between 1973 and 2008.

Using a Bayesian hierarchical model for identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk in case-parent triads.

Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a condition that arises from complex etiologies. The absence of consistent environmental risk factors and the presence of modest familial associations suggest ALL is a complex trait with an underlying genetic component. The identification of genetic factors associated with disease is complicated by complex genetic covariance structures and multiple testing issues.

Clinical implications of the cervical Papanicolaou test results in the management of anal warts in HIV-infected women.

The Papanicolaou test (or Pap test) has long been used as a screening tool to detect cervical precancerous/cancerous lesions. However, studies on the use of this test to predict both the presence and change in size of genital warts are limited. We examined whether cervical Papanicolaou test results are associated with the size of the largest anal wart over time in HIV-infected women in an on-going cohort study in the US.

The role of media and the Internet on vaccine adverse event reporting: a case study of human papillomavirus vaccination.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the temporal association of print media coverage and Internet search activity with adverse events reports associated with the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil (HPV4) and the meningitis vaccine Menactra (MNQ) among United States adolescents.

Methods: We used moderated linear regression to test the relationships between print media reports in top circulating newspapers, Internet search activity, and reports to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) for HPV4 and MNQ during the first 2.5 years after Food and Drug Administration approval.

Potential role of gastrointestinal microbiota composition in prostate cancer risk.

Background: Among men in the U.S., prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death.

Comparing the Performance of Hybrid Capture II and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for the Identification of Cervical Dysplasia in the Screening and Diagnostic Settings.

Objective: Both PCR and Hybrid Capture II (HCII) have been used for identifying cervical dysplasia; however, comparisons on the performance between these two tests show inconsistent results. We evaluated the performance of HCII and PCR MY09/11 in both screening and diagnostic populations in sub-sample of 1,675 non-pregnant women from a cohort in three clinical centers in the United States and Canada.

Methods: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and concordance between the two tests were calculated.

Anti-human-cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin G levels in glioma risk and prognosis.

The role of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in glioma development and progression remains controversial. The purpose of our study was to assess the potential associations between anti-HCMV antibodies (immunoglobulin G [IgG] and immunoglobulin M [IgM]) and glioma risk and prognosis using data from the Harris County Case-Control Study. Multivariable logistic regression models were utilized to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between glioma status and antibody levels among glioma cases (n = 362) and cancer-free controls (n = 462).

Gene-environment interactions and the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: exploring the role of maternal folate genes and folic Acid fortification.

Few studies have evaluated the interaction of folic acid fortification and folate metabolic genes on the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Because folate status is influenced by both intake and genetic variation, the objective of this study was to explore maternal folate metabolic gene-folic acid fortification interactions and the risk of childhood ALL. The study population consisted of 120 ALL case-parent triads recruited from Texas Children's Cancer Center between 2003 and 2010.

Antihistamine use and immunoglobulin E levels in glioma risk and prognosis.

Objective: An inverse association between personal history of allergies/asthma and glioma risk has been fairly consistently reported in the epidemiologic literature. However, the role of regular antihistamine use remains controversial due to a small number of studies reporting contradictory findings. We evaluated the association between regular use of oral antihistamines and glioma risk, adjusting for a number of relevant factors (e.

Nativity disparities in late-stage diagnosis and cause-specific survival among Hispanic women with invasive cervical cancer: an analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data.

Purpose: While cervical cancer screening and risk behaviors have been found to vary among US- and foreign-born Hispanic women, many cancer epidemiology studies have conceptualized Hispanics as a homogenous group. Here, we examine differences in cervical cancer stage at diagnosis and survival among Hispanic women by nativity.

Methods: We use data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, 1998-2008.

Comparison of the accuracy of Hybrid Capture II and polymerase chain reaction in detecting clinically important cervical dysplasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The effectiveness of screening programs for cervical cancer has benefited from the inclusion of Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA assays; which assay to choose, however, is not clear based on previous reviews. Our review addressed test accuracy of Hybrid Capture II (HCII) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays based on studies with stronger designs and with more clinically relevant outcomes. We searched OvidMedline, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library for English language studies comparing both tests, published 1985-2012, with cervical dysplasia defined by the Bethesda classification.

Allergies, atopy, immune-related factors and childhood rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a highly malignant tumor of developing muscle that can occur anywhere in the body. Due to its rarity, relatively little is known about the epidemiology of RMS. Atopic disease is hypothesized to be protective against several malignancies; however, to our knowledge, there have been no assessments of atopy and childhood RMS.

Integration of epidemiology, immunobiology, and translational research for brain tumors.

We recently identified a pivotal role for the host type I interferon (IFN) pathway in immunosurveillance against de novo mouse glioma development, especially through the regulation of immature myeloid cells (IMCs) in the glioma microenvironment. The present paper summarizes our published work in a number of areas. We have identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in human IFN genes that dictate altered prognosis of patients with glioma.

Associations between human herpesvirus-6, human papillomavirus and cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer (CxCa) is the second most common cancer among women globally. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is thought to be a necessary, but not sufficient, causal factor in CxCa development. Why some women are able to clear HPV infection with no adverse effects, whereas others develop cancer, remains unclear.

Anal cancer incidence and survival: comparing the greater San-Francisco bay area to other SEER cancer registries.

The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus, anal canal, and anorectum (SCCA) has increased over time. However, there are still no national guidelines on screening for SCCA among high-risk populations. Providers at University of California, San Francisco have been at the forefront of providing anal dysplasia screening.

Maternal and offspring xenobiotic metabolism haplotypes and the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Discovering genetic predictors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) necessitates the evaluation of novel factors including maternal genetic effects, which are a proxy for the intrauterine environment, and robust epidemiologic study designs. Therefore, we evaluated five maternal and offspring xenobiotic metabolism haplotypes and the risk of childhood ALL among 120 case-parent triads. Two of the five haplotypes were significantly associated with risk: GSTM3/GSTM4 (P=0.

The Childhood Leukemia International Consortium.

Background: Acute leukemia is the most common cancer in children under 15 years of age; 80% are acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 17% are acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Childhood leukemia shows further diversity based on cytogenetic and molecular characteristics, which may relate to distinct etiologies. Case-control studies conducted worldwide, particularly of ALL, have collected a wealth of data on potential risk factors and in some studies, biospecimens.

Nativity differences in behaviors associated with high-risk HPV infection among Hispanic women in Houston, Texas, USA.

While Hispanics in the U.S. are a population with significant within-group heterogeneity, epidemiologic studies often aggregate Hispanics into one homogenous group without considering differences by nativity.