A strong association between inactive aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) and risk of esophageal cancer has been demonstrated in East Asian drinkers. An alcohol flushing questionnaire asking about past and current tendency for facial flushing to occur after drinking a glass (≈180 mL) of beer predicts the presence of inactive ALDH2 among Japanese ...

OBJECTIVE: In order to provide an updated quantification of the association between alcohol drinking and epithelial ovarian cancer risk, we conducted a meta-analysis of published observational studies. METHODS: Using PubMed, we performed a literature search of all case-control and cohort studies published as original articles in English up to September ...

The objectives of this study were to (1) examine the relationship between total trihalomethanes (TTHM) levels in public water supplies and risk of development of kidney cancer and (2) determine whether hardness levels in drinking water modify the effects of TTHM on risk of kidney cancer induction. A matched case-control ...

Data sourcesPubMed and Medline.Study selectionRelevant studies were identified through a systematic bibliographic search. The databases were searched up to June 2009. If there were additional articles listed in the reference sections of those articles, these additional articles were also obtained and reviewed. Inclusion criteria included the availability of original data ...

The mechanisms leading to the constitutive activation of NF-κB in cancers and the pathways upstream and downstream of this activation are not fully understood. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Yamagishi et al. demonstrate that Polycomb-mediated silencing of miR-31 is implicated in the aberrant activation of NF-κB signaling in tumors.

Proinflammatory cytokines produced in the tumor microenvironment facilitate tumor development and metastatic progression. In particular, TNF-α promotes cancer invasion and angiogenesis associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT); however, the mechanisms underlying its induction of EMT in cancer cells remain unclear. Here we show that EMT and cancer stemness properties induced by ...

A large body of literature sustains the association between long-lasting caregiving for impaired significant others and increased health risk. Depression, elevated heart rate, and blood pressure at rest are key measures of health risk, mostly cardiovascular, which have been generally studied in caregivers of patients affected by dementia or chronic ...

Cancer cells with stem cell characteristics are harbored by most tumors, and are characterized by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) - which promotes invasive growth and metastasis - chemoresistance, and the capacity to reconstitute new tumors. Hence, the control or destruction of cancer stem cells should be a major goal of cancer ...

Significance: Extensive research during the last quarter century has revealed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced in the body, primarily by the mitochondria, play a major role in various cell-signaling pathways. Most risk factors associated with chronic diseases (e.g., cancer), such as stress, tobacco, environmental pollutants, radiation, viral infection, diet, ...

Synthetic oleanane triterpenoids are novel agents which have shown strong antitumorigenic activity against a wide range of cancer types in vitro. The objective of the present study was to determine the anticancer activity of methyl-2-cyano-3, 12-dioxooleana-1, 9(11)-dien-28-oate (CDDO-Me) derived from CDDO, a synthetic analog of oleanolic acid, and its mechanism ...

Chemoprevention is an approach to decrease cancer morbidity and mortality through inhibition of carcinogenesis and prevention of disease progression. Although the trans stilbene derivative resveratrol has chemopreventive properties, its action is compromised by weak non-specific effects on many biological targets. Replacement of the stilbene ethylenic bridge of resveratrol with a ...

Cervical cancer is the second commonest cancer in women. Inactivation of tumor suppressor genes underlies the transformation and progression of cervical cancer. Previously, we reported MAFIP can inhibit the growth of human cervical cancer HeLa cells. In this study, MAFIP was found to be down-regulated in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia tissues. ...

Gastric cancer remains one of the major health problems worldwide. Chemotherapy is an important therapeutic modality for gastric cancer, but the success rate of this treatment is limited because of chemoresistance. The ubiquitously expressed transcription factor NF-κB has been suggested to be associated with chemoresistance of gastric cancer. Agents that ...

Epidemiological and experimental evidence has emerged that a dysregulated inflammation is associated with most of the tumors. Recent studies have begun to unravel molecular pathways linking inflammation and cancer. The identification of transcription factors such as NF-kappaB, STAT3, HIF-1 alpha and their gene products such as COX-2, cytokines, chemokines and ...

Inflammation is a fundamental protective response that sometimes goes awry and becomes a major cofactor in the pathogenesis of many chronic human diseases, including cancer. Here we review the evolutionary relationship and opposing functions of the transcription factor NF-κB in inflammation and cancer. Although it seems to fulfill a distinctly ...

The process of chronic inflammation is a common link which connects different kinds of environmental pollutants and infections with tumorigenesis. Transcription factor NF-κB is a common final target for many inflammatory and cell proliferation pathways, independent of the source of stimuli (e.g., cytokines, growth factors, environmental carcinogens, radiation, hypoxia, bacteria, ...

Cancer is a disease characterized by dysregulation of multiple genes and is associated with symptoms such as cachexia, anorexia, fatigue, depression, neuropathic pain, anxiety, cognitive impairment, sleep disorders and delirium (acute confusion state) in medically ill patients. These symptoms are caused by either the cancer itself or the cancer treatment. ...

OBJECTIVE: This study examines associations between caregiving styles and caregivers' and patients' attachment orientations among couples facing advanced cancer. Four caregiving styles were examined: proximate, sensitive, controlling, and compulsive. METHOD: A total of 110 patients with advanced gastrointestinal or lung cancer and their spouse caregivers were recruited. Measures included: the ...

Purpose/Objectives: To describe the experiences of cancer survivors and caregivers with healthcare providers in the context of the Internet as a source of health information.Research Approach: Qualitative description.Setting: Online cancer communities hosted by the Association of Cancer Online Resources.Participants: Purposive sample of 488 cancer survivors, with varying cancer types and ...

To explore the new and complex phenomenon of distance caregiving in the advanced cancer population. Qualitative. A large comprehensive cancer center in the midwestern region of the United States. 14 distance caregivers of parents with advanced cancer. Patients with advanced lung, gastrointestinal, and gynecologic malignancies consented to have their distance ...

OBJECTIVE: Advanced cancer family caregivers who have good relationships with other family members and with patient's health care providers (PHCPs) have less emotional distress than caregivers with poor relationships. Given a history of different experiences in medical settings among Whites and African Americans, we examined moderation effects by race. METHODS: ...

Evidence from laboratory studies suggests that chronic inflammation plays an important role in prostate cancer aetiology. This has resulted in speculation that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may protect against prostate cancer development. We analysed data from a cross-sectional case-control study (n(cases) = 1,016; n(controls) = 5,043), nested within a UK-wide population-based ...

The aims were to determine whether prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-detected prostate cancers progress to higher Gleason score during the preclinical screen-detectable phase, and, if so, to estimate the proportion of tumours with progressive potential. We developed two multi-state Markov chain models to represent the natural history of two tumour populations, one ...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric validation of the Quality of Life and FAMCARE scales in Turkish family caregivers of cancer patients. METHODS: This is a descriptive study involving 100 family caregivers of cancer patients. The validity and reliability study of the scales was performed ...

BACKGROUND:: Husbands, as the primary providers of support for women with breast cancer, can experience significant burden and role strain, but also perceive positive aspects to the caregiving. Little is known about the specific caregiving tasks husbands perform, for how long, or how burden and positive aspects relate to later ...

Phytochemicals present in tea, particularly polyphenols, have anticancer properties against several cancer types. However, studies elucidating the role and the mechanism(s) of action of tea polyphenols in cervical cancer are sparse. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of antiproliferative and apoptotic actions exerted by tea polyphenols on human papilloma ...

Since the introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in the late 1980s, more prostate cancers have been detected, and at an earlier stage. As a consequence, the majority of prostate cancers are now detected years before the emergence of clinically evident disease, which usually represents locally advanced or metastatic cancer. ...

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between green tea consumption and gastric cancer development. Methods: A population-based case-control study including 200 cases and 200 controls was conducted in the southwest area of China from May 2010 to February 2011. A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect ...

Alcohol drinking is considered a risk factor for esophageal cancer, and exposure to high levels of acetaldehyde, the principal metabolite of alcohol, may be responsible. Individuals homozygous for the *2 variant allele of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) are unable to metabolize acetaldehyde, which prevents them from alcohol drinking, whereas those ...

Several epidemiological studies have correlated the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) with reduced risk of ovarian cancer, the most lethal gynecological cancer, diagnosed usually in late stages of the disease. We have previously established that the pro-apoptotic cytokine melanoma differentiation associated gene-7/Interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24) is a crucial mediator of NSAID-induced ...

Distress may be heightened among members of cancer patient-caregiver dyads that are mismatched on smoking status (either the patient or caregiver smokes, but the other does not), negatively affecting quality of life (QoL). The purpose of this study was to examine associations between patient-caregiver smoking concordance, caregiver psychological adjustment, and ...

Background. Although cancer has been considered as a chronic disease for those diagnosed, the long-term impact of cancer on the family caregivers' quality of life (QOL) remains unknown. Thus, the current study aimed: (a) to characterize family caregivers of cancer survivors, (b) to describe the multidimensional aspects of QOL of ...

Recent studies have clearly linked nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB), a transcription factor that plays a central role in regulating immune and inflammatory responses, to tumor development, progression, and metastasis as well as tumor therapy resistance. However, it still remains largely unknown on how the tightly regulated NF-κB becomes constitutively activated in ...

Little is known about how caring for someone affects the caregiver's health behaviours. We explore behaviour changes and their determinants in caregivers of women with ovarian cancer. Caregivers of 101 women with ovarian cancer completed a questionnaire 1.5-6 years after their family member's cancer diagnosis, providing information about their current health ...

GRP78, a well characterized chaperone in the endoplasmic reticulum, is critical to the unfolded protein response. More recently, it has been identified on the cell surface, where it has many roles. On cancer cells, it functions as a signaling receptor coupled to proproliferative/antiapoptotic and promigratory mechanisms. In the current study, ...

Study Type - Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4 •  To investigate the relationship between pretreatment testosterone levels and pathological specimen characteristics, by prospectively examining serum androgen concentrations in a well-studied cohort of patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) for localized prostate cancer. •  A total of 107 patients with ...

Colorectal cancer is one of the complications of ulcerative colitis (UC) and the risk of cancer increases as the duration of the disease becomes longer. Surveillance colonoscopy has been considered to be important for the early detection and early treatment of colorectal cancer, especially in longstanding UC. Because it is ...

The interim analyses of the long-awaited erSPC and PlCo trial data have generated conflicting conclusions regarding the value of screening for prostate cancer based on measurements of PSA. We review the two publications and speculate on reasons underlying the contradicting conclusion of the two studies. The apparently negative results of ...

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been the main drive for early detection of prostate cancer (PCa), including in population-based screening as in the European Randomised Study for Screening of Prostate Cancer (ERSPC). The specificity of PSA to indicate men with biopsy detectable prostate cancer can be improved by adding information obtained ...

Given that screening for prostate cancer has the potential to reduce prostate cancer mortality at the expense of considerable overdiagnosis and overtreatment, the availability of core consumer information - correct, balanced and supportive of autonomous decision-making - is a must. We assessed the quality of consumer information available through the ...

To correlate a subjective blood-flow rating scale from contrast-enhanced colour Doppler (CECD) transrectal ultrasonography-targeted prostate biopsy with the histopathological outcome of the biopsy. In all, 760 men with a serum total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of ≥ 1.25 ng/mL and a free-to-total PSA ratio of < 18% were included. CECD-targeted ...

Outcomes of alternative (second-line) antiandrogen therapy in 112 patients with relapsing prostate cancer after first-line hormonal therapy were analyzed. A good response (prostate-specific antigen [PSA] decrease 50%) and a partial response (PSA decrease of 0–50%) by switching from bicalutamide (BCL) to flutamide (FLT) and from FLT to BCL were achieved ...

To describe the variation in PSA level by age group and screening round in the ERSPC centres and the variation in cancer detection rates in relation to the underlying prostate cancer incidence. Individual data on men invited for the first and second screening rounds according to protocol (excluding early recalls ...

Prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is frequently performed, counter to clinical practice guidelines. It was hypothesized that an e-mail-based intervention termed "spaced education" could reduce clinicians' inappropriate screening for prostate cancer. The study was conducted as an RCT. The study involved 95 primary care clinicians in eight Veterans ...

• To perform transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) with an ultrasonography (US) contrast agent to visualize prostate cancer. • To explore the possibility of targeted biopsy by studying the findings obtained by different cancerous tissue imaging modalities and evaluating needle biopsies from prostate cancer using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS). • In all, 41 ...

We previously reported that a single prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measured at ages 44-50 was highly predictive of subsequent prostate cancer diagnosis in an unscreened population. Here we report an additional 7 years of follow-up. This provides replication using an independent data set and allows estimates of the association between early ...

The major challenge in prostate cancer is to identify patients at higher risk of death and to distinguish them from those more likely to die from other causes. Stratification of patients into risk groups can be used to guide management decisions at each disease stage. This review discusses the measures, ...

BACKGROUND: A diagnosis of prostate cancer is not often predictive of death from prostate cancer because of competing causes of mortality. Identification of the risk of death from prostate cancer and death from all causes using information available at the time of baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurement appears to be ...

The benefits of prostate cancer screening on an individual level remain unevaluated. Between 1993 and 1999, a total of 43,987 men, aged 55-74 years, were included in the intervention arm of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) section in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Finland. A total ...

Prostate cancer antigen 3 (PCA3) holds promise in diagnosing prostate cancer (PCa), but no consensus has been reached on its clinical use. Multivariable predictive models have shown increased accuracy over individual risk factors. To compare the performance of the two available risk estimators incorporating PCA3 in the detection of PCa ...