Alcohol is a risk factor for cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, oesophagus, colorectum, liver, larynx and female breast, whereas its impact on other cancers remains controversial.
We investigated ...the effect of alcohol on 23 cancer types through a meta-analytic approach. We used dose-response meta-regression models and investigated potential sources of heterogeneity.
A total of 572 studies, including 486 538 cancer cases, were identified. Relative risks (RRs) for heavy drinkers compared with nondrinkers and occasional drinkers were 5.13 for oral and pharyngeal cancer, 4.95 for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, 1.44 for colorectal, 2.65 for laryngeal and 1.61 for breast cancer; for those neoplasms there was a clear dose-risk relationship. Heavy drinkers also had a significantly higher risk of cancer of the stomach (RR 1.21), liver (2.07), gallbladder (2.64), pancreas (1.19) and lung (1.15). There was indication of a positive association between alcohol consumption and risk of melanoma and prostate cancer. Alcohol consumption and risk of Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas were inversely associated.
Alcohol increases risk of cancer of oral cavity and pharynx, oesophagus, colorectum, liver, larynx and female breast. There is accumulating evidence that alcohol drinking is associated with some other cancers such as pancreas and prostate cancer and melanoma.
The incidence rates of esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (EGCA) have increased over recent years in several countries, and overweight/obesity has been suggested to play a major role in ...these trends. In fact, higher body mass index (BMI) has been positively associated with EGCA in several studies.
We conducted a meta-analysis of case–control and cohort studies on the BMI and EGCA updated to March 2011. We estimated overall relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for BMI between 25 and 30 and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, when compared with normo-weight subjects, using random-effects models.
We identified 22 studies, including almost 8000 EGCA cases. The overall RR was 1.71 (95% CI 1.50–1.96) for BMI between 25 and 30, and was 2.34 (95% CI 1.95–2.81) for BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. The continuous RR for an increment of 5 kg/m2 of BMI was 1.11 (95% CI 1.09–1.14). The association was stronger for esophageal adenocarcinoma (RR for BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 = 2.73, 95% CI 2.16–3.46) than for gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (RR for BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 = 1.93, 95% CI 1.52–2.45). No substantial differences emerged across strata of sex and geographic areas.
Overweight and obesity are strongly related to EGCA, particularly to espophageal adenocarcinoma.
Despite several studies support a positive association between heavy alcohol consumption and liver cancer risk, a consistent dose–risk relationship has not yet been established. We carried out a ...systematic review and a meta-analysis of the association between alcohol intake and liver cancer occurrence, following the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. We searched for cohort and nested case–control studies on the general population published before April 2013, using PubMed and EMBASE. Summary meta-analytic relative risks (RRs) were estimated using random-effect models. We included 16 articles (19 cohorts) for a total of 4445 incident cases and 5550 deaths from liver cancer. Compared with non-drinking, the pooled RRs were 0.91 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.81–1.02) for moderate drinking (<3 drinks per day) and 1.16 (95% CI, 1.01–1.34) for heavy drinking (≥3 drinks per day), with significant heterogeneity among studies. The dose–risk curve suggested a linear relationship with increasing alcohol intake in drinkers, with estimated excess risk of 46% for 50g of ethanol per day and 66% for 100g per day. This systematic review suggests a moderate detrimental role of consumption of 3 or more alcoholic drinks per day on liver cancer, and a lack of association with moderate drinking. Our results have to be taken with due caution on account of the possible limitations of the original studies included in the meta-analysis.
There is convincing evidence that alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer of the colorectum, breast, larynx, liver, esophagus, oral cavity and pharynx. Most of the data derive from studies ...that focused on the effect of moderate/high alcohol intakes, while little is known about light alcohol drinking (up to 1 drink/day).
We evaluated the association between light drinking and cancer of the colorectum, breast, larynx, liver, esophagus, oral cavity and pharynx, through a meta-analytic approach. We searched epidemiological studies using PubMed, ISI Web of Science and EMBASE, published before December 2010.
We included 222 articles comprising ∼92 000 light drinkers and 60 000 non-drinkers with cancer. Light drinking was associated with the risk of oropharyngeal cancer relative risk, RR = 1.17; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–1.29, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (RR = 1.30; 95% CI 1.09–1.56) and female breast cancer (RR = 1.05; 95% CI 1.02–1.08). We estimated that ∼5000 deaths from oropharyngeal cancer, 24 000 from esophageal SCC and 5000 from breast cancer were attributable to light drinking in 2004 worldwide. No association was found for colorectum, liver and larynx tumors.
Light drinking increases the risk of cancer of oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus and female breast.
Aims/hypothesis
The role of diet in the prevention of diabetes remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate two different dietary aspects, i.e. adherence to the Mediterranean diet and ...glycaemic load (GL), in relation to diabetes occurrence.
Methods
We analysed data from the Greek cohort of the population-based European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). From a total of 22,295 participants, actively followed for a median of 11.34 years, 2,330 cases of incident type 2 diabetes were recorded. All participants completed a validated, interviewer-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire at enrolment. From this information, we calculated a ten point Mediterranean diet score (MDS), reflecting adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet, as well as the dietary GL. We estimated HRs and the corresponding 95% CIs of diabetes using Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for potential confounders.
Results
A higher MDS was inversely associated with diabetes risk (HR 0.88 95% CI 0.78, 0.99 for MDS ≥6 vs MDS ≤3). GL was positively associated with diabetes (HR 1.21 95% CI 1.05, 1.40 for the highest vs the lowest GL quartile). A significant protection of about 20% was found for a diet with a high MDS and a low GL.
Conclusions/interpretation
A low GL diet that also adequately adheres to the principles of the traditional Mediterranean diet may reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes.
The risk of many cancers is higher in subjects with a family history (FH) of cancer at a concordant site. However, few studies investigated FH of cancer at discordant sites.
This study is based on a ...network of Italian and Swiss case–control studies on 13 cancer sites conducted between 1991 and 2009, and including more than 12 000 cases and 11 000 controls. We collected information on history of any cancer in first degree relatives, and age at diagnosis. Odds ratios (ORs) for FH were calculated by multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for major confounding factors.
All sites showed an excess risk in relation to FH of cancer at the same site. Increased risks were also found for oral and pharyngeal cancer and FH of laryngeal cancer (OR = 3.3), esophageal cancer and FH of oral and pharyngeal cancer (OR = 4.1), breast cancer and FH of colorectal cancer (OR = 1.5) and of hemolymphopoietic cancers (OR = 1.7), ovarian cancer and FH of breast cancer (OR = 2.3), and prostate cancer and FH of bladder cancer (OR = 3.4). For most cancer sites, the association with FH was stronger when the proband was affected at age <60 years.
Our results point to several potential cancer syndromes that appear among close relatives and may indicate the presence of genetic factors influencing multiple cancer sites.
Background
Epidemiological data on infant feeding practices and allergic diseases are controversial. The purpose of this study was to explore the association of early weaning with the occurrence of ...atopic dermatitis (AD).
Methods
We conducted a matched case–control study on incident physician‐diagnosed AD in early childhood including 451 cases and 451 controls. Data on several factors, including feeding practices, were collected through an interviewer‐administered questionnaire. Odds ratios (OR) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated through logistic regression models, conditioned on study center, age, sex, and period of interview, and adjusted for potential confounders.
Results
Early weaning, defined as the introduction of solid foods at 4 or 5 months of age, was inversely related to the risk of AD, with children weaned at 4 months having lower AD risk (OR = 0.41, 95% CI, 0.20–0.87) compared to those exclusively breastfed. Similar results were observed for weaning started at 5 months of age (OR = 0.39, 95% CI, 0.18–0.83). This association persisted when children with and without family history of allergy were considered separately. Prolonged partial breastfeeding (breastmilk plus milk formulas) was not associated with AD. Consistently, the introduction of a high number of different solid foods reduced the risk of AD (P trend = 0.02 at 4 months of age and P trend = 0.04 at 5 months).
Conclusion
Our data provide evidence against the preventing role of prolonged exclusive (but not partial) breastfeeding in AD occurrence and confirm recent results indicating a beneficial role of early weaning in AD.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been associated to diabetes and obesity, but a possible association with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its potential interaction with hepatitis is open to ...discussion.
We analysed data from an Italian case-control study, including 185 HCC cases and 404 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed from unconditional logistic regression models.
Among the MetS components, diabetes and obesity (i.e, body mass index (BMI)≥30 kg m(-2)) were positively associated to HCC risk, with ORs of 4.33 (95% CI, 1.89-9.86) and 1.97 (95% CI, 1.03-3.79), respectively. The ORs for the MetS were 4.06 (95% CI, 1.33-12.38) defining obesity as BMI≥25, and 1.92 (95% CI, 0.38-9.76) defining it as BMI≥30. The risk increased with the number of MetS components, up to an almost four-fold excess risk among subjects with ≥2 MetS factors. Among subjects without chronic infection with hepatitis B and/or C, the OR for those with ≥2 MetS components was over six-fold elevated. There was no consistent association in subjects with serological evidence of hepatitis B and/or C infection.
This study found that the risk of HCC increases with the number of MetS components in subjects not chronically infected with hepatitis viruses.
Lipases are promising enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of triacylglycerol ester bonds at the oil/water interface. Apart from allowing biocatalyst reuse, immobilization can also affect enzyme ...structure consequently influencing its activity, selectivity, and stability. The lipase from
sp. section
(CBMAI 1583) was successfully immobilized on supports bearing butyl, phenyl, octyl, octadecyl, and divinylbenzyl hydrophobic moieties wherein lipases were adsorbed through the highly hydrophobic opened active site. The highest activity in aqueous medium was observed for the enzyme adsorbed on octyl support, with a 150% hyperactivation regarding the soluble enzyme activity, and the highest adsorption strength was verified with the most hydrophobic support (octadecyl Sepabeads), requiring 5% Triton X-100 to desorb the enzyme from the support. Most of the derivatives presented improved properties such as higher stability to pH, temperature, and organic solvents than the covalently immobilized CNBr derivative (prepared under very mild experimental conditions and thus a reference mimicking free-enzyme behavior). A 30.8- and 46.3-fold thermostabilization was achieved in aqueous medium, respectively, by the octyl Sepharose and Toyopearl butyl derivatives at 60 °C, in relation to the CNBr derivative. The octyl- and phenyl-agarose derivatives retained 50% activity after four and seven cycles of
-nitrophenyl palmitate hydrolysis, respectively. Different derivatives exhibited different properties regarding their properties for fish oil hydrolysis in aqueous medium and ethanolysis in anhydrous medium. The most active derivative in ethanolysis of fish oil was the enzyme adsorbed on a surface covered by divinylbenzyl moieties and it was 50-fold more active than the enzyme adsorbed on octadecyl support. Despite having identical mechanisms of immobilization, different hydrophobic supports seem to promote different shapes of the adsorbed open active site of the lipase and hence different functional properties.
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