Tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer mortality and air pollution exposure in Tuscany, Italy: Bayesian Health Impact Assessment and Global Sensitivity Analysis on a sub-regional scale.

Outdoor air pollution is a significant risk factor for tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer. This study employs a Bayesian approach to evaluate TBL cancer mortality due to air pollution in Tuscany, Central Italy, in 2023. Using locally validated data, we assessed the impact of fine particulate matter (PM and PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO) in terms of attributable deaths and years of life lost (YLL).

Inflammatory Potential of the Diet and Risk of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Association between dietary factors and the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been studied extensively. However, identification of deleterious dietary patterns merits further study.

Aim: To investigate the risk of developing Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) according to the inflammatory score of the diet (ISD) in the multinational European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Upgrading your best chances: postdiagnosis smoking cessation boosts life expectancy of patients with cancer - a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundTobacco use is linked to increased cancer risk, and people who smoke represent a large proportion of newly diagnosed patients with cancer. The fact that smoking cessation at the time of diagnosis can improve the patient's life expectancy is still not broadly understood. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the survival benefits obtainable by quitting smoking on diagnosis.

Prediagnostic Plasma Nutrimetabolomics and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Nested Case-Control Analysis Within the EPIC Study.

: Nutrimetabolomics may reveal novel insights into early metabolic alterations and the role of dietary exposures on prostate cancer (PCa) risk. We aimed to prospectively investigate the associations between plasma metabolite concentrations and PCa risk, including clinically relevant tumor subtypes. : We used a targeted and large-scale metabolomics approach to analyze plasma samples of 851 matched PCa case-control pairs from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Single-modality endocrine therapy versus radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery in women aged 70 years and older with luminal A-like early breast cancer (EUROPA): a preplanned interim analysis of a phase 3, non-inferiority, randomised trial.

Background: Optimal therapy following breast-conserving surgery in older adults with low-risk, early-stage breast cancer remains uncertain. The EUROPA trial aims to compare the effects of radiotherapy and endocrine therapy as single-modality treatments on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and ipsilateral breast tumour recurrence (IBTR) outcomes in this population.

Methods: This non-inferiority, phase 3, randomised study was conducted at 18 academic hospitals across Italy (17 centres) and Slovenia (one centre).

Examining causal relationships between educational attainment and type 2 diabetes using genetic analysis: findings from the EPIC-InterAct study through Mendelian randomisation.

Introduction: Observational studies have shown that more educated people are at lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, robust study designs are needed to investigate the likelihood that such a relationship is causal. This study used genetic instruments for education to estimate the effect of education on T2D using the Mendelian randomisation (MR) approach.

Associations of milk, dairy products, calcium and vitamin D intake with risk of developing Parkinson´s disease within the EPIC4ND cohort.

Literature indicates a potential association between dairy consumption and risk of Parkinson´s disease (PD), especially among men, yet the results remain inconclusive. We investigated this association in a large prospective European cohort. Dietary and non-dietary data was collected from 183,225 participants of the EPIC-for-Neurodegenerative-Diseases (EPIC4ND) cohort, a sub-cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Delay of Melanoma Diagnosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Several studies have described how the restrictive measures due to COVID-19 have delayed melanoma diagnoses, resulting in an increased rate of more severe cases. Summarizing the sparse results in this context might help to understand the real impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on melanoma. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate how the clinical and prognostic factors of new melanoma diagnoses changed after COVID-19.

Thin-layer cervical sample evaluation: Conventional light microscopy versus digital whole-slide imaging.

Background: Whole-slide imaging (WSI) has been adopted in many fields of pathology for education, quality assurance, and remote diagnostics. In 2021, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) updated guidelines to support pathology laboratories regarding the WSI systems validation process. However, the majority of published literature refers to histopathology rather than cytology.

Nutritional quality of diet characterized by the Nutri-Score profiling system and cardiovascular disease risk: a prospective study in 7 European countries.

Background: Nutri-Score is a scientifically validated 5-color front-of-pack nutrition label reflecting the nutrient profile of foods. It has been implemented in several European countries on a voluntary basis, pending the revision of the European labeling regulation. Hence, scientific evidence is needed regarding the ability of the nutrient profile underlying the Nutri-Score (uNS-NPS, 2023-updated version) to characterize healthier foods.

Barriers and opportunities for the expansion of smoke- and aerosol-free environment policies in Europe.

Introduction: Comprehensive legislation covering the use of all types of tobacco and nicotine products to provide a smoke- and aerosol-free environment (SAFE) should be part of strategies aimed at phasing out tobacco use. There is a need to identify challenges and opportunities for advancing SAFE policies and their implementation. This study aims to identify barriers and opportunities to extend, enforce, and comply with SAFE policies in Europe.

Gut Microbial Metabolites and Future Risk of Parkinson's Disease: A Metabolome-Wide Association Study.

Background: Alterations in gut microbiota are observed in Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies on microbiota-derived metabolites in PD were small-scale and post-diagnosis, raising concerns about reverse causality.

Objectives: Our goal was to prospectively investigate the association between plasma microbial metabolites and PD risk within a metabolomics framework.

Non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL-PCBs) dietary exposure is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between dietary exposures to dioxins, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) and non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (NDL-PCBs) and the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Methods: This prospective cohort study with a median 11.7 years of follow-up, included 318,416 individuals recruited in 21 centers in eight countries.

Sex- and site-specific associations of circulating lipocalin 2 and incident colorectal cancer: Results from the EPIC cohort.

Experimental research has uncovered lipocalin 2 (LCN2) as a novel biomarker implicated in the modulation of intestinal inflammation, metabolic homeostasis, and colon carcinogenesis. However, evidence from human research has been scant. We, therefore, explored the association of pre-diagnostic circulating LCN2 concentrations with incident colorectal cancer (CRC) in a nested case-control study within the in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

Subclinical cardiac damage monitoring in breast cancer patients treated with an anthracycline-based chemotherapy receiving left-sided breast radiation therapy: subgroup analysis from a phase 3 trial.

Objective: This study, derived from the phase 3 SAFE trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT2236806), explores subclinical cardiac damage in breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy and left-sided breast radiation therapy (RT).

Materials And Methods: Eligible patients were randomized to a cardioprotective pharmacological therapy (bisoprolol, ramipril, or both) or placebo, with cardiac surveillance at multiple time-point using standard and 3-dimensional echocardiography.

Multi-day vs single-day dexamethasone for the prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Over the past decade, several randomized controlled trials have compared single-day dexamethasone (dexamethasone-sparing) regimens to the current standard multi-day dexamethasone antiemetic regimen for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to compare the efficacy and safety of dexamethasone-sparing regimens to standard multi-day dexamethasone, used for the prophylaxis of CINV.

Methods: Ovid Medline and Embase were searched from database inception to March 2024.

Best practices for expansion of smoke-free and aerosol-free environments in Europe: Protocol for the consultation to experts.

Smoke-free legislation has been shown to positively impact reducing secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, especially in countries that have implemented comprehensive legislation rather than partial bans. Also, secondhand aerosols (SHA) that come from the heating of tobacco or liquids, with or without nicotine, in electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) have been proven to increase levels of harmful substances in the air. Therefore, protection against SHS and SHA exposure and expansion of smoke- and aerosol-free environments (SAFE) should be taken into account when creating or trying to expand or enforce clean air policies.

Degree of food processing and breast cancer risk: a prospective study in 9 European countries.

Unlabelled: Recent epidemiological studies have suggested a positive association between ultra-processed food consumption and breast cancer risk, although some studies also reported no association. Furthermore, the evidence regarding the associations between intake of food with lower degrees of processing and breast cancer risk is limited. Thus, we investigated the associations between dietary intake by degree of food processing and breast cancer risk, overall and by breast cancer subtypes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.