Cancer

Linking Sucrose to Hyperlipidemia and Cancer

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In rats.  But it’s the behavior of the sugar industry rats that is more disturbing.

Read the entire study here.

Our study contributes to a wider body of literature documenting industry manipulation of science. Industries seeking to influence regulation have a history of funding research resulting in industry-favorable interpretations of controversial evidence related to health effects of smoking [15,16], therapeutic effects of pharmaceutical drugs [17,18], the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and weight gain or obesity [5], and the causes of climate change, [19] among other issues. The tobacco industry also has a long history of conducting research on the health effects of its products that is often decades ahead of the general scientific community and not publishing results that do not support its agenda [20–23]. This paper provides empirical data suggesting that the sugar industry has a similar history of conducting, but not publishing studies with results that are counter to its commercial interests.

Gastric Cancer Risk Doubled With Long-term PPI Use

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Source: Gastric Cancer Risk Doubled With Long-term PPI Use

The study was published online October 31 in Gut.

The researchers point out, however, that this was an observational study, which can’t prove cause and effect.

A strength of the study is its use of data from a large population-based database with complete information on subsequent diagnoses and drug prescriptions, which minimizes selection, information, and recall biases, the researchers say. Use of strict exclusion criteria as well as propensity score adjustment to control for potential confounders and restricting the sample to patients with successful H pylori eradication are other strengths.

In terms of study weaknesses, the researchers  lacked information on some risk factors, such as diet, family history, and socioeconomic status.  And despite the large sample of more than 63,000 H pylori–infected patients, the small number of gastric cancer cases did not allow for any “meaningful evaluation of the dosage effect and role of different PPIs,” the researchers say.

American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR): CRU: Report: Obesity and 3 Daily Alcoholic Drinks Increase Liver Cancer Risk

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The report also reaffirms the clear link between alcohol consumption and liver cancer, and for the first time quantifies the amount at which risk for liver cancer rises. “We now have a little more precision on the alcohol-liver cancer link,” said Hursting. “Getting above three drinks a day seems to dramatically impact the tumorigenic process and increase risk.”

via American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR): CRU: Report: Obesity and 3 Daily Alcoholic Drinks Increase Liver Cancer Risk.

More coffee!  Less beer!

 

OncoBriefs: Hookah Risk

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OncoBriefs: Hookah Risk, Brain Cancer, Lung Cancer.

Urinary concentration of the benzene metabolite S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA) was more than four times greater in hookah smokers and two times greater in people exposed to secondhand hookah smoke, when compared with people who had no exposure. The findings put a damper on enthusiasm for hookah as a safer alternative to cigarettes, as reported online in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

Sleep Apnea Linked to Cancer

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Sleep Apnea Linked to Cancer.

Moderate-to-severe OSA was associated with a 2.5-fold higher likelihood of incident cancer (95% CI 1.2-5.0) after adjustment for obesity and a full range of other factors, Nathaniel Marshall, PhD, of the University of Sydney Nursing School in Australia, and colleagues found.

Cancer mortality was 3.4 times more common (95% CI 1.1-10.2) in those with sleep apnea than with no sleep apnea during 20 years of follow-up, they reported in the April 15 issue of theJournal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Pancreatitis May Confer Higher Risk for Cancer

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In an effort to quantify the relationship between acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, Agarwal and colleagues reviewed inpatient and outpatient records for 495,504 patients who received care through the Veterans Health Administration from 2000 through 2007. The authors identified 5,720 patients who had one or more episodes of acute pancreatitis, 710 of whom subsequently had diagnoses of pancreatic cancer.

Median follow-up was 60 months for the entire cohort, 26 months for patients who developed pancreatic cancer, and 60 months for patients who did not develop pancreatic cancer.

The patient cohort was predominately male (89%). A third of the patients smoked, a fourth had a history of heavy alcohol use, and 3% had a history of gallstones.

The 710 patients included 86 who had one or more episodes of acute pancreatitis prior to cancer diagnosis. The authors found that 76 of the 86 patients had a least one episode of acute pancreatitis within 2 years of cancer diagnosis.

In 69 of the 76 cases, the preceding pancreatitis occurred within a year of pancreatic cancer diagnosis. In fewer than half of the cases (N=34), acute pancreatitis preceded pancreatic cancer diagnosis by 2 months or less.

via Pancreatitis May Confer Higher Risk for Cancer.

Nipple Aspirate Test Is Not An Alternative To Mammography

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BACKGROUND: A nipple aspirate device is a type of pump used to collect fluid from a woman\’s breast. A nipple aspirate test can determine whether the fluid collected from the breast contains any abnormal cells.

RECOMMENDATION: Do not use a nipple aspirate test as a substitute for mammography or by itself for breast cancer screening or diagnosis.

via Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products > Nipple Aspirate Test: Safety Communication – Breast Cancer Screening Test Is Not An Alternative To Mammography.