Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is a pediatric cancer coendemic with malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting an etiological link between them. However, previous cross-sectional studies of limited geographic areas have not found a convincing association. We used spatially detailed data from the Epidemiology of Burkitt Lymphoma in East African Children and Minors (EMBLEM) study to assess this relationship.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlatelet counts are decreased in Plasmodium falciparum malaria, which is aetiologically linked with endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL). However, the pattern of platelet counts in eBL cases is unknown. We studied platelet counts in 582 eBL cases and 2 248 controls enrolled in a case-control study in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya (2010-2016).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is an aggressive childhood B-cell lymphoma associated with Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections. Variation in the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system is suspected to play a role, but assessments using less accurate serology-based HLA typing techniques in small studies yielded conflicting results. We studied 200 eBL cases and 400 controls aged 0-15 years enrolled in northern Uganda and typed by accurate high-resolution HLA sequencing methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
January 2020
Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is the most common childhood cancer in sub-Saharan African countries, however, few epidemiologic studies have been undertaken and none attempted enrolling cases from multiple countries. We therefore conducted a population-based case-control study of eBL in children aged 0-15 years old in six regions in Northern Uganda, Northern Tanzania and Western Kenya, enrolling 862 suspected cases and 2,934 population controls (response rates 98.5-100%), and processing ~40,000 vials of samples using standardized protocols.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPopulations in sub-Saharan Africa have historically been exposed to intense selection from chronic infection with falciparum malaria. Interestingly, populations with the highest malaria intensity can be identified by the increased occurrence of endemic Burkitt Lymphoma (eBL), a pediatric cancer that affects populations with intense malaria exposure, in the so called "eBL belt" in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the effects of intense malaria exposure and sub-Saharan populations' genetic histories remain poorly explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe burden of () malaria in Kenya is decreasing; however, it is still one of the top 10 causes of morbidity, particularly in regions of western Kenya. Between April 2015 and June 2016, we enrolled 965 apparently healthy children aged 0-15 years in former Nyanza and Western Provinces in Kenya to characterize the demographic, geographic, and household risk factors of asymptomatic malaria as part of an epidemiologic study to investigate the risk factors for endemic Burkitt lymphoma. The children were sampled using a stratified, multistage cluster sampling survey design.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Plasmodium falciparum malaria is an important cause of morbidity in northern Uganda. This study was undertaken to assess village-, household-, and individual-level risk factors of asymptomatic falciparum malaria in children in 12 villages in northern Uganda.
Methods: Between 10/2011 and 02/2014, 1006 apparently healthy children under 16 years old were enrolled in 12 villages using a stratified, multi-stage, cluster survey design and assessed for P.
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is linked to several cancers, including endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL), but causal variants are unknown. We recently reported novel sequence variants in the LMP-1 gene and promoter in EBV genomes sequenced from 13 of 14 BL biopsies. Alignments of the novel sequence variants for 114 published EBV genomes, including 27 from BL cases, revealed four LMP-1 variant patterns, designated A to D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBurkitt lymphoma (BL), the most common pediatric cancer in sub-Saharan Africa, is a malignancy of antigen-experienced B lymphocytes. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) of the immunoglobulin heavy () and light chain (/) loci was performed on genomic DNA from 51 primary BL tumors: 19 from Uganda and 32 from Ghana. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis and tumor RNA sequencing (RNAseq) was performed on the Ugandan tumors to confirm and extend the findings from the HTS of tumor DNA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria infection is suspected to cause endemic Burkitt Lymphoma (eBL), but the evidence remains unsettled. An inverse relationship between sickle cell trait (SCT) and eBL, which supports that between malaria and eBL, has been reported before, but in small studies with low power. We investigated this hypothesis in children in a population-based study in northern Uganda using Mendelian Randomization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Falciparum malaria is an important risk factor for African Burkitt lymphoma (BL), but few studies have evaluated malaria patterns in healthy BL-age children in populations where both diseases are endemic. To obtain accurate current data, patterns of asymptomatic malaria were investigated in northern Uganda, where BL is endemic.
Methods: Between 2011 and 2015, 1150 apparently healthy children under 15 years old were sampled from 100 villages in northern Uganda using a stratified, multi-stage, cluster survey design.
Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a malignant disease, which is frequently found in areas with holoendemic Plasmodium falciparum malaria. We have previously found that the VAR2CSA protein is present on malaria-infected erythrocytes and facilitates a highly specific binding to the placenta. ofCS is absent in other non-malignant tissues and thus VAR2CSA generally facilitates parasite sequestration and accumulation in pregnant women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurvival with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has greatly improved due to effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). As infectious complications have declined, malignancy now accounts for over one-third of deaths among people living with HIV (PLWH). Based on practices in the general population, cancer screening of PLWH can decrease both morbidity and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInternational patterns suggest germ cell testicular cancer (GCTC) incidence may be lower in lower latitudes. To investigate this possibility, we examined GCTC incidence by latitude (population centroid in 2000) for men ≥15 years within two reasonably homogeneous countries, the United States and Australia. In the United States, we examined age-adjusted incidence/latitude trends using data from states (2001-2010) and local-area registries (1980-2011).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To evaluate changes in cancer mortality burden over time by assessing temporal trends in life expectation for Australian residents diagnosed with cancer.
Methods: The study cohort consisted of all people diagnosed with cancer in the period 1990-2000 and aged 15-89 years (n = 1,275,978), with mortality follow-up to 31 December 2010. Flexible parametric survival models incorporating background age-sex-year-specific population mortality rates were applied to generate the observed survival curves for all cancers combined and selected major cancer types.
Epstein Barr virus (EBV) sequence variation is thought to contribute to Burkitt lymphoma (BL), but lack of data from primary BL tumors hampers efforts to test this hypothesis. We directly sequenced EBV from 12 BL biopsies from Ghana, Brazil, and Argentina, aligned the obtained reads to the wild-type (WT) EBV reference sequence, and compared them with 100 published EBV genomes from normal and diseased people from around the world. The 12 BL EBVs were Type 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Communication of relevant prognostic information is critical in helping patients understand the implications of their cancer diagnosis. We describe measures of prognosis to help communicate relevant prognostic information to improve patients' understanding of the implications of their cancer diagnosis.
Setting: Australia-wide population-based cancer registry cohort.
Greenland remains a highly endemic area for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This is in sharp contrast to other modern societies, such as Denmark. To address this discrepancy, we investigated the natural history of HBV infection in Greenland by estimating the age-specific incidence of HBV infection, the proportion of chronic carriers, and the rates of hepatitis B surface antigen seroclearance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpironolactone, an aldosterone-antagonist, is associated with gynecomastia. Digoxin, which can also cause gynecomastia, has been associated with increased incidence of breast and uterus cancers. We therefore postulated that spironolactone use might also increase these cancer risks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is linked to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) infection geographically, but evidence from individual-level studies is limited. We investigated this issue among 354 childhood eBL cases and 384 age-, sex-, and location-matched controls enrolled in Ghana from 1965 to 1994. Immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and immunoglobulin G3 (IgG3) antibodies to antigens diagnostic of recent infection Pf histidine-rich protein-II (HRP-II) and 6NANP, Pf-vaccine candidates SE36 and 42-kDa region of the 3D7 Pf merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1), and tetanus toxoid were measured by indirect enzyme-linked immunoassay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Digoxin use is associated with increased incidence of breast and uterus cancers. We postulated that digoxin use might affect tumor characteristics and increase relapse risk in women with breast cancer.
Methods: Incident breast cancer cases in Danish women (n = 49,312; 1995 to 2008) were identified.
Objectives: Bottle-feeding has been suggested to increase the risk of pyloric stenosis (PS). However, large population-based studies are needed. We examined the effect of bottle-feeding during the first 4 months after birth, by using detailed data about the timing of first exposure to bottle-feeding and extensive confounder information.
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