Components of socioeconomic risk associated with head and neck cancer: a population-based case-control study in Scotland.

The complex associations between socioeconomic circumstances and risk for head and neck cancer are under-explored. We investigated components of social class and their relative influence on the risk of head and neck cancers by studying 103 patients (age range 24-80 years) who had been diagnosed with cancer of the head and neck between April 2002 and December 2004, and 91 controls who were randomly selected from general practitioners' lists. Information about occupation, education, smoking, and alcohol consumption was collected at personal interview.

Improved survival from lung cancer in British Columbia compared to Scotland-are different treatment rates the whole story?

To explore possible causes of the poor survival of Scottish lung cancer patients, a retrospective registry-based audit was conducted comparing demography, treatment and survival of 3833 Scottish patients and 2073 from British Columbia (BC). Patients from Scotland were older, had a lower rate of pathological confirmation (74% vs 89%, p<0.001), but more squamous (51% vs 31%, p<0.

Predicting breast cancer risk: implications of a "weak" family history.

Published guidelines adopted in many countries recommend that women whose family history of breast cancer places them at a risk>or=1.7 times that of the age-matched general population, should be considered for inclusion in special surveillance programmes. However validation of risk assessment models has been called for as a matter of urgency.

Improved treatment and survival for lung cancer patients in South-East Scotland.

Introduction: Lung cancer survival in Scotland has historically been poor but many changes to the lung cancer services have been introduced and this study was conducted to investigate the impact of these changes on treatment and survival.

Methods: Data obtained from the Scottish Cancer Registry, South-East Scotland Cancer Network audit and Edinburgh Cancer Centre database were used to conduct a comparison of the management and outcomes of lung cancer patients from South-East Scotland diagnosed in 1995 and in 2002.

Results: Data on 971 patients diagnosed in 2002 and 927 in 1995 were analyzed and demonstrated that though the use of treatment overall had not changed (62% in 2002 versus 63% in 1995) the use of potentially curative radiotherapy (15 versus 5% chi p < 0.

What will be the radiotherapy machine capacity required for optimal delivery of radiotherapy in Scotland in 2015?

Aims: Lack of radiotherapy capacity has been cited as a reason for poor cancer outcomes reported in the United Kingdom. This modelling study was conducted to ensure sufficient capacity in the future and to aid health service planning.

Methods: The predicted changes in the incidence of each cancer type to 2015 were calculated using the age-period-cohort technique.

Analysis of referrals to a multi-disciplinary breast cancer genetics clinic: practical and economic considerations.

Analysis of activity was undertaken in an established regional clinic providing risk assessment, counselling, screening and management for women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer. The objectives were to determine: (1) how closely the route and pattern of referrals matched official guidelines (2) whether the previously recorded socio-economic imbalance among clinic clientele persisted and (3) the economic and practical consequences of committing resources to verification and extension of reported family histories. The findings were: (1) after some years of operation, the proportion of referrals direct from primary care had increased from less than 50% to over 75%, with a concomitant slight decrease in overall referral rate; (2) the socio-economic distribution of patients referred had become less selective and (3) extension and verification of reported family histories led to a redistribution of risk categories, increasing the proportion of referrals judged to be in the "low risk" category, from 25% (based on referral letter alone) to 41% (at the end of the process).

Impact of a cancer registry-based genealogy service to support clinical genetics services.

In collaboration with the network of genetics clinics in Scotland, a brief questionnaire was designed to gather data prospectively about the impact of information arising from pedigree research provided by Scottish Cancer Registry personnel. Pedigree research in Scotland is facilitated by access to public records of births, deaths, marriages, and historic census returns up to 1901, and enables the construction of accurate and extensive family pedigrees encompassing generations beyond the detailed knowledge of the proband. Subject to existing confidentiality guidelines, linkage of these pedigrees to cancer registration records results in a more comprehensive family history including the age at diagnosis of any cancer, multiple primary cancers, and cancers unreported from death certificates.

National study of cause-specific mortality in rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile chronic arthritis, and other rheumatic conditions: a 20 year followup study.

Objective: To quantify risks for cause-specific mortality among hospitalized patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA), and 4 other rheumatic conditions in a nationwide, population based cohort over a 20 year period.

Methods: All subjects were identified from Scottish hospital inpatient records from 1981 to 2000 and were followed up by computer linkage to the national registry of deaths. Expected mortality was calculated from national mortality rates and was related to the observed incidence by the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI).