The purpose of the present review is to give an overview of the association between alcohol intake and the risk of developing cancer. Two large-scale expert reports; the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)/American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR) report from 2007, including its continuous update project, and the International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC) monograph from 2012 have extensively reviewed this association in the last decade. We summarize and compare their findings, as well as relate these to the public health impact, with a particular focus on region-specific drinking patterns and disease tendencies. Our findings show that alcohol intake is strongly linked to the risk of developing cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, colorectum (in men), and female breast. The two expert reports diverge on the evidence for an association with liver cancer and colorectal cancer in women, which the IARC grades as convincing, but the WCRF/AICR as probable. Despite these discrepancies, there does, however, not seem to be any doubt, that the Population Attributable Fraction of alcohol in relation to cancer is large. As alcohol intake varies largely worldwide, so does, however, also the Population Attributable Fractions, ranging from 10% in Europe to almost 0% in countries where alcohol use is banned. Given the World Health Organization's prediction, that alcohol intake is increasing, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and steadily high in high-income countries, the need for preventive efforts to curb the number of alcohol-related cancers seems growing, as well as the need for taking a region- and gender-specific approach in both future campaigns as well as future research. The review acknowledges the potential beneficial effects of small doses of alcohol in relation to ischaemic heart disease, but a discussion of this lies without the scope of the present study.
*Alcohol Drinking ; Breast Neoplasms/epidemiology/etiology/mortality ; Colorectal Neoplasms/epidemiology/etiology/mortality ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/epidemiology/etiology/mortality ; Male ; Mouth Neoplasms/epidemiology/etiology/mortality ; Neoplasms/epidemiology/*etiology/mortality ; Public Health ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors

OBJECTIVETo explore the application value of correspondence analysis in ecological study.

METHODSWe adopted correspondence analysis method to analyze the relationship between the amount of food intake in some cities in China and the male gastric carcinoma mortality.

RESULTSAccording to scatter plots of row and column points, there were regional differences among the male gastric carcinoma mortality in different cities of China.

CONCLUSIONThe scatter plot of row and column points indicated directly that there were regional differences among the male gastric carcinoma mortality in different cities of China. Males from the Southern part of the country ate more rice and salt, less wheaten food and fewer light vegetables than those from the northern parts, suggesting that there might be some carcinogenic factors in some food stuff involved.

Carcinoma ; etiology ; mortality ; China ; epidemiology ; Diet Surveys ; Humans ; Male ; Stomach Neoplasms ; etiology ; mortality

Fibromyalgia syndrome after comprehensive treatment of breast cancer is rare and seldom reported. Here we present a case of a 50-year-old female patient,who was admitted to the hospital because of generalized fibromyalgia for 3 months and brain metastasis after the right breast carcinoma surgery for 1 month, and the clinical diagnosis was brain metastasis from breast carcinoma combined with fibromyalgia syndrome. The fibromyalgia were relieved with proper symptomatic treatment but the patient eventually died of tumor progression.
Brain Neoplasms ; mortality ; secondary ; Breast Neoplasms ; complications ; mortality ; therapy ; Carcinoma ; mortality ; therapy ; Female ; Fibromyalgia ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Middle Aged

Aged ; Cause of Death ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; mortality ; Male ; Peptic Ulcer Hemorrhage ; etiology ; mortality ; Postoperative Period

Since the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops in cirrhotic liver and is often multicentric, liver transplantation (LT) seems to be a rational approach for the treatment of HCC. Current selection criteria of LT for HCC are Milan criteria (single nodule < or = 5 cm , or < or = 3 nodules and Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/etiology/*mortality/*surgery ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/*complications ; Liver Neoplasms/etiology/*mortality/*surgery ; *Liver Transplantation ; Salvage Therapy ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo determine whether there was excessive risk of cancer among workers exposed to chrysotile fiber alone by applying a meta-analysis technique.

METHODSAll data meeting the criteria of cohort studies on cancer mortality among workers exposed only to chrysotile were incorporated into meta-analysis. Pooled standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for main cancer sites were calculated using two approaches of unweighted ratio and random effect model. The heterogeneity and its sources of the results were examined with a Q-statistic and Z-score test. The dose-response effect as reflected in the percentage of all deaths due to mesothelioma served as a proxy measure of chrysotile exposure.

RESULTSA cohort of twenty six workers exposed to chrysotile alone was summarized. The significantly elevated meta-SMRs for all deaths (1.27), all cancers (1.28), cancers of respiratory organs (2.51), cancers of lung (2.35) and cancers of stomach (1.24) were observed. The significantly elevated meta-SMRs for lung cancer within occupational strata were observed among textile workers (3.55), asbestos product manufacturers (3.30), miners and millers (2.24), cement product workers (1.22), and for stomach cancer among asbestos product manufacturers (1.49). Meta-SMRs for cancers at other sites were not significant. Meta-SMR for lung cancer showed an increasing trend with an elevated percentage of all deaths from mesothelioma, but no such trend for stomach cancer.

CONCLUSIONThere are excessive risks of lung cancer and mesothelioma among workers exposed to chrysotile fiber alone, and likely no convincing indication of an etiological association between chrysotile exposure and cancers at other sites.

Asbestos, Serpentine ; adverse effects ; Cohort Studies ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; etiology ; mortality ; Mesothelioma ; etiology ; mortality ; Neoplasms ; chemically induced ; mortality ; Occupational Exposure ; Occupational Health ; Risk Assessment ; Stomach Neoplasms ; etiology ; mortality

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Data on the epidemiology of alcoholic cirrhosis, especially in Asian countries, are limited. We compared the temporal evolution of patterns of alcoholic and nonalcoholic cirrhosis over the last decade. METHODS: We retrospectively examined the inpatient datasets of five referral centers during 2002 and 2011. The study included patients who were admitted due to specific complications of liver cirrhosis. We compared the causes of hospital admissions and in-hospital deaths between patients with alcoholic and nonalcoholic cirrhosis. RESULTS: Among the included 2,799 hospitalizations (2,165 patients), 1,496 (1,143 patients) were from 2002, and 1,303 (1,022 patients) were from 2011. Over time, there was a reduction in the rate of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) as a cause of hospitalization and an increase in the rate of hepatocellular carcinoma. Deaths that were attributable to HE or spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) significantly decreased, whereas those due to hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) significantly increased over time in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. However, in patients with nonalcoholic cirrhosis, hepatic failure and HRS remained the principal causes of in-hospital death during both time periods. CONCLUSIONS: The major causes of in-hospital deaths have evolved from acute cirrhotic complications, including HE or SBP to HRS in alcoholic cirrhosis, whereas those have remained unchanged in nonalcoholic cirrhosis during the last decade.
Aged ; Asia/epidemiology ; Bacterial Infections/etiology/mortality ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/etiology/mortality ; Cause of Death ; Female ; Hepatic Encephalopathy/etiology/mortality ; Hepatorenal Syndrome/etiology/mortality ; Hospital Mortality/*trends ; Hospitalization/*trends ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/*complications/mortality ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/*complications/mortality ; Liver Neoplasms/etiology/mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peritonitis/microbiology/mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo prospective examine the relationship between smoking, quitting and mortality in older Chinese men by in Xi'an, China.

METHODSThe design was a cohort analytic study. One thousand two hundred and sixty-eight retired male military veterans aged 60 or older were examined in 1987. At baseline, there were 388 never-smokers, 461 former smokers and 419 current smokers. Main outcome measure was all-cause and tobacco-associated mortality.

RESULTSThrough 1999, 299 had died, 943 were alive and 26 lost. The mean follow-up time was 11 years and total person-year of follow-up was 14 163. After adjusting for age, blood pressure, body mass index, total cholesterol, triglycerides, alcohol intake, exercise and existing diseases, using Cox proportional hazard regression model, the relative risks (95% confidence intervals) for ever-smoking, deaths resulting from all causes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer and coronary heart disease (CHD) were 1.34 (1.02 - 1.76), 3.23 (0.95 - 10.91), 2.31 (0.95 - 5.61) and 1.60 (0.81 - 3.19) respectively. The risks increased significantly with increasing amount and duration of smoking. Compared with current smokers, former smokers had lower risks of total mortality (excess risk reduction of 56%) and from CHD death (93%), but had higher risks for COPD death (excess risk increased 174%).

CONCLUSIONSSmoking is a major cause of death in older Chinese men and quitting can save lives. These results showing that higher risks of COPD death in former smokers with or without existing diagnosed COPD at baseline than those in current smokers could be explained by either the "healthy smoker effect" or the "ill quitter effect" or both. Early recognition of the significance of COPD symptoms followed by prompt quitting should be emphasized as strategies in the control of the growing tobacco epidemic.

Aged ; China ; Cohort Studies ; Coronary Disease ; etiology ; mortality ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; etiology ; mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; etiology ; mortality ; Risk Factors ; Smoking ; adverse effects ; mortality ; Smoking Cessation ; Survival Rate ; Veterans

OBJECTIVETo summarize the clinical experiences in treating primary tracheal tumors by surgery.

METHODSThe clinical data concerning 70 surgically treated patients between 1968 and 2001 were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTSThere were 39 sleeve tracheal resections, 13 carinal resections, 10 lateral tracheal wall resections, 5 local enucleations, and 1 pneumonectomy. The tumors in 2 patients were unresectable. The morbidity rate was 31% (22/70) and operative 30-day mortality for resection with primary reconstruction was 8% (4/52). The tumors were benign in 14 and malignant in 56 cases. The most common malignant tumors were adenoidcystic carcinoma (45%) and squamous cell carcinoma (23%). The cases of benign tracheal tumors were followed up for an average of 5.7 years. After resection for malignant tumors, the overall 5- and 10-year survival rates were 64% (21/33) and 54% (14/26), respectively.

CONCLUSIONSSurgical resection is the most effective treatment of tracheal tumors. Tracheal resection and reconstruction is the treatment of choice for primary tracheal tumors. Benign tumors should be resected conservatively with preservation of tracheal parenchyma. The reduction of operative complications are key points of good surgical results.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Prognosis ; Tracheal Neoplasms ; mortality ; surgery

Chernobyl Nuclear Accident ; Humans ; Japan ; epidemiology ; Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced ; etiology ; mortality ; Nuclear Warfare ; Radiation Dosage ; Radiation Injuries ; etiology ; mortality ; Radioactive Hazard Release ; Risk ; Ukraine ; epidemiology