Cancer Detection and Prevention Volume 27 / Issue 6 (Nov-Dec 2003)

Table of Contents and Editor's Notes

The peer review process occasionally results in approval of controversial publications that do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the editors. Readers of the journal are encouraged to critically review and comment on presented data by submitting a "Letter to the Editor" that may be reprinted in a subsequent issue.

Trends in incidence rates for obesity-associated cancers in the US

Anthony P. Polednak, PhD

Age-standardized indicence ratres (ASIRs) for obesity associated cancers in 3 year periods (1973-1975 and 1997-1999) were evident for the kidney, and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and gastric cardia. Statistically significant increases in ASIRs continued for breast cancer in women 50 years and older. >>>

A dietary enzyme: α-methylacyl-CoA racemase/P504S is overexpressed in colon carcinoma

Zhong Jiang, MD, Gary R Fanger PhD, Barbara F Banner, MD, Bruce A Woda, MD, Paul Algate, PhD, Karen Dresser, BS, Jiangchun Xu, MD, PhD, Steven G. Reed, Kenneth L. Rock, MD, Peiguo G Chu, MD, PhD

A dietary enzyme expressed in adenomas and cancers of the colon provided information on a possible link between diet and colon cancer development and served as a possible molecular marker for precursor lesions of colon cancers. >>>

Predictability of lymph node metastases by preoperative nuclear morphometry in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue

Joji Sekine, DDS, PhD, Masataka Uehara, DDS, PhD, Katsumi Hideshima, CTI, MT, Akihiko Irie, DDS, PhD, Tsugio Inokuchi, DDS, PhD

In biopsy specimens from the margins of the tongue lesion the mean nuclear area and mean nuclear perimeter were significantly greater in cases with metastasized lymph nodes than in those that were node negative. >>>

Molecular and histopathologic predictors of distant failure in endometrial cancer

Andrea Mariani, MD, Thomas J. Sebo, MD, PhD, Maurice J. Webb, MD, Darren Riehle, BA, Jerry A. Katzmann, PhD, Gary L. Keeney, MD, Patrick C. Roche, PhD, Timothy G. Lesnick, MS, Karl C. Podratz, MD, PhD

Distant failures, and recurrences that develop outside the pelvis and vagina are used interchangeably throughout the text. These recurrences occur in 8% of patients who did not have radiotherapy and in 21% of those who had post-operative radiotherapy. These identified predictors consisted of p53>33%, cervical stromal invasion and lymphovascular invasion. Absence of these predictors was associated with distant failures in 3% of patients compared to 36% of patients with presence of at least 1 of these predictors. >>>

A randomized trial of telephone counseling to promote screening mammography in two HMOs

Roger Luckmann, MD, MPH, Judith A. Savageau, MPH, Lynn Clemow, PhD, Anne M. Stoddard, ScD, Mary E. Costanza, MD

Taylored telephone counseling (TTC) increased the use of mammography by 4.9% in one HMO and by 3.1% in the other group compared to the reminder control group. >>>

Effectiveness of a dynamic breast examination training model to improve clinical breast examination (CBE) skills

Gregory J. Gerling, MS, Alicia M. Weissman, MD, Geb W. Thomas, PhD, Edwin L. Dove, PhD

A breast examination training model with 15 dynamically controlled lumps of varying hardness in a silicone breast was used by 48 medical students. It increased lump detection by 1.3 lumps compared to 0.60 lumps through use of a traditional breast model. Dynamic model training decreased false positives compared to standard model training. >>>

Determinants of participation of women in a cervical cancer visual screening trial in rural south India

Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan, MD, Rajamanickam Rajkumar, MD, Silvina Arrossi, MSc, Rajapandian Theresa, DGO, Pulikattil Okkaru Esmy, MD, Cédric Mahé, PhD, Richard Muwonge, MSc, Donald Maxwell Parkin, MD, Jacob Cherian, FRCS

A group of 30,577 women accepted nurses to perform cervical cancer screening by visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) as well as for colposcopy and cryotherapy. >>>

Follow-up care of women with an abnormal cytology in a low-resource setting

Julia C. Gage, MPH, Catterina Ferreccio, MD, MPH, Miguel Gonzales, MD, Sylvia C. Robles, MD, MSc, Raul Arroyo, MD, Militza Huivín, Midwife

The San Martín province located in the Amazon region of Perú had 769,331 inhabitants in 1999 of whom 43% lived in poverty and 37% in rural areas. The region had 4.3 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants. 183 women with abnormal cytology were identified through medical records and laboratory registries. Only 25% received appropriate follow-up care. Authors conclude that follow-up care after abnormal cytology was very poor and could explain the lack of impact of cervical cancer screening in this region. >>>

Prevalence and persistence of human papillomavirus in postmenopausal age women

Elaine M. Smith, MPH, PhD, MBA, Justine M. Ritchie, PhD, Barcey T. Levy, PhD, MD, Wei Zhang, MS, Donghong Wang, MS, Thomas H. Haugen, PhD, MD, Lubomir P. Turek, MD

In postmenopausal women seeking routine gynecologic care, the prevalence of HPV was 14%, 6% of women had oncogenic types and 5.8% had persistent infection. Women with increased risk of HPV were divorced, separated, or widowed, or had a lower income, younger age at first pregnancy, greater number of sex partners, and a history of HPV-related disease. Past hormone replacement therapy (HRT) users had an elevated risk of HPV detection. >>>

Induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human cervix carcinoma cells during therapy by cisplatin

Daniela Schloffer, Marcel Horky, MD, Vladimir Kotala, Józefa Wesierska-Gadek

Chromatin fragmentation of apoptosis was observed in single cells after 3 h cisplatin (CP) therapy with simultaneous occurrence of cells undergoing or completing mitosis. Reduction of DNA labeling by about 20% was also noted. A 70% inhibition of DNA replication was observed after 6 h CP. >>>

Heilcobacter pylori seroprevalence in patients with cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma

Nicola Leone, Rinaldo Pellicano, Franco Brunello, Miguel Angel Cutufia, Mara Berrutti, Sharmila Fagoonee, Mario Rizzetto, Antonio Ponzetto

The prevalence of antibodies to H. pylori was significantly higher (78.2%) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than in controls (54%). Seroprevalence of antibodies to H. pylori with liver cirrhosis and HCC was more frequent than in controls. >>>

Characteristics and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma detected in sustained responders to interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C

Hidenori Toyoda, MD, Takashi Kumada, MD, Kazuhiko Hayashi, MD, Takashi Honda, MD, Kiyoshi Morita, MD, Daisaku Nishimura, MD, Kazumi Imada, MD, Masami Imoto, MD, Yuji Horiguchi, MD, Hiroshi Nakano, MD, Isao Nakano, MD, Yoshihide Fukuda, MD, for the Yon-Ken HCV-HCC Follow-up Study Group

In HCC patients with erradicated hepatitis C virus by interferon therapy (sustained responders) the tumors were often larger and less differentiated than in non-sustained responders. Well differentiated tumors were present in 70.3% of non-sustained responders and in 12.5% of sustained responders. There was no difference in overall survival between sustained and non-sustained responders, but disease-free survival was higher in sustained responders with HCC. >>>

Herbert E. Nieburgs, MD
Worcester, MA
2003