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Biomedical subjects

Ann W Hsing

Publications and source records attributed to Ann W Hsing.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Risk factors for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in a low-risk population: a nationwide case-control study.

Recently, the incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) has been increasing in a number of developed (Western) countries. However, risk factors in these low-risk populations are poorly understood. In this nationwide population based case-control study in Denmark, we examined the relationship between selected medical conditions and subsequent ICC risk to provide additional clues to etiopathogenesis. All histologically confirmed ICC cases diagnosed in Denmark between 1978 and 1991 were identified from the Danish cancer registry. Population controls were selected from the central population registry and were matched 4:1 to cases on sex and year of birth. Cases and controls were linked to the Danish hospital discharge registry to obtain information on prior hospital diagnoses. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were derived using conditional logistic regression. A total of 764 ICC cases and 3,056 population controls were included in the study. Chronic liver diseases were significantly related to ICC: alcoholic liver disease (OR = 19.22, 95% CI = 5.55-66.54), unspecified cirrhosis (OR = 75.9, 95% CI 10.2-565.7). Bile duct diseases were also associated with risk: cholangitis (OR = 6.3, 95% CI = 2.3-17.5), choledocholithiasis (OR = 23.97, 95% CI = 2.9-198.9), cholecystolithiasis (OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 2.0-7.99), though gallbladder removal did not change risk (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 0.65-3.7). Among other conditions, chronic inflammatory bowel disease (OR = 4.7, 95% CI = 1.65-13.9) was significantly associated with ICC. Diabetes was associated with risk in the year prior to diagnosis of ICC (OR = 3.02, 95% CI = 1.05-8.69). Obesity was unrelated to risk. These results confirm that prior bile duct diseases increase risk of ICC and suggest that alcoholic liver disease and diabetes may also increase risk.

Aged↗

Rising prostate cancer rates in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates in South Korea are relatively low, but rising steadily. METHODS: We examined age-standardized incidence and mortality trends of prostate cancer in South Korea to gain further insight into prostate cancer etiology. RESULTS: Although prostate cancer incidence has been low (7.9 per 100,000 man-years), it has increased up to 28.2% between 1996-1998 and 1999-2001. Prostate cancer mortality increased 12.7-fold over a 20-year period. Despite the increase in prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates, marked differences in rates remain for Koreans, Korean Americans, and Caucasian Americans. CONCLUSIONS: The rising rates of prostate cancer in South Korea cannot be attributed entirely to PSA screening due to the low PSA screening prevalence; this trend is most likely related to increased westernization among Koreans. Interdisciplinary epidemiological studies incorporating the collection of biological samples are needed to clarify the extent to which lifestyle and genetic factors contribute to the observed racial disparity.

Age Distribution↗

Impact of classification of hilar cholangiocarcinomas (Klatskin tumors) on the incidence of intra- and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in the United States.

Cholangiocarcinomas are topographically categorized as intrahepatic or extrahepatic by the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O). Although hilar cholangiocarcinomas (Klatskin tumors) are extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, the second edition of the ICD-O (ICD-O-2) assigned them a histology code 8162/3, Klatskin, which was cross-referenced to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Recent studies in the United States that included this code (8162/3, Klatskin) with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma reported an increasing incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and a decreasing incidence of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. To investigate the impact of this misclassification on site-specific cholangiocarcinoma incidence rates, we calculated annual percent changes (APCs) with data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program using a Poisson regression model that was age-adjusted to the year 2000 U.S. population. All statistical tests were two-sided. During 1992-2000, when SEER used ICD-O-2, 1710 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, 1371 extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, and 269 hilar cholangiocarcinomas identified by code 8162/3, Klatskin were diagnosed. Ninety-one percent (246 of 269) of the hilar cholangiocarcinomas were incorrectly coded as intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, resulting in an overestimation of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma incidence by 13% and underestimation of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas incidence by 15%. However, even after the exclusion of tumors that were coded to the histology code 8162/3, Klatskin, age-adjusted annual intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma incidence increased during this period (APC = 4%, 95% confidence interval = 2% to 6%, P<.001).

Adult↗

Tea drinking and the risk of biliary tract cancers and biliary stones: a population-based case-control study in Shanghai, China.

Biliary tract cancers, encompassing tumors of the gallbladder, extrahepatic bile ducts and ampulla of Vater, are rare but highly fatal malignancies. Apart from gallstones, etiologic factors for biliary tract cancer are not clearly defined. Several epidemiologic studies have suggested that consumption of tea, especially green tea, is protective against a variety of cancers, including gastrointestinal malignancies. As part of a large population-based case-control study of biliary tract disease in Shanghai, China, we evaluated the effects of tea consumption on the risk of biliary tract cancers and biliary stones. The study included 627 incident cases with biliary tract cancer, 1,037 cases with biliary stones and 959 randomly selected controls. Study subjects were interviewed to ascertain data on demographic, medical and dietary factors, including tea consumption. Forty-one percent of the controls were ever tea drinkers, defined as those who consumed at least 1 cup of tea per day for at least 6 months. After adjustment for age, education and body mass index, among women, ever tea drinkers had significantly reduced risks of biliary stones (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.54-0.98) and gallbladder cancer (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.38-0.83). The inverse relationship between tea consumption and gallbladder cancer risk was independent of gallstone disease. Among men, tea drinkers were more likely to be cigarette smokers, and the risk estimates were generally below 1.0, but were not statistically significant. Further studies are needed to confirm these results in other populations and clarify the hormonal and other mechanisms that may be involved.

Adult↗

CYP17 MspA1 polymorphism and risk of biliary tract cancers and gallstones: a population-based study in Shanghai, China.

Biliary tract cancers, encompassing cancers of the gallbladder, extrahepatic bile duct and ampulla of Vater, are rare but highly fatal malignancies. Other than gallstones, little is known about the risk factors for biliary tract cancers. Endogenous estrogens are thought to play a role in the etiology of gallstones and gallbladder cancer, since both conditions predominate in females and are associated with parity and obesity. In view of reports linking the CYP17 MspA1 polymorphism to high circulating levels of estrogens and a predisposition to other hormonally related cancers, we examined the relationship between CYP17 MspA1 variants and risk of biliary disease in a population-based case-control study in Shanghai. The study included 446 cancer cases (254 gallbladder, 139 extrahepatic bile duct, 53 ampullary cancers), 929 biliary stone cases (691 gallbladder, 238 bile duct) and 818 population controls. Genomic DNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes was used for genotyping. Relative to those with the A2/A2 genotype, A1 carriers (A1/A1 and A1/A2 genotypes) had an increased risk of gallbladder cancer (odds ratio (OR) = 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1-2.1). In addition, women with the A1 allele and high parity (> or =3) had a 3-fold risk of gallbladder cancer (OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.6-6.9), compared to those with the A2/A2 genotype and lower parity, with the highest risk seen for those also having biliary stones (OR = 4.6, 95% CI = 1.8-11.7, P(interaction) = 0.04). The A1 allele was not associated with a higher risk of gallstones except among those with body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 kg/m2 (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 2.0-4.8, P(interaction) = 0.02) and among those with a history of diabetes (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.4-4.3, P interaction = 0.09). No clear relation was seen between the CYP17 polymorphism and cancers of the bile duct or ampulla of Vater. The association of the CYP17 MspA1 polymorphism with an increased risk of gallbladder cancer, as well as biliary stones among overweight and diabetic individuals, suggests an interplay between genetic and hormonal risk factors in gallbladder disease.

Adult↗

Prostate cancer epidemiology.

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among men in most western populations, and it is the second leading cause of cancer death among U.S. men. Despite its high morbidity, the etiology of prostate cancer remains largely unknown. Advancing age, race, and a family history of prostate cancer are the only established risk factors. Many putative risk factors, including androgens, diet, physical activity, sexual factors, inflammation, and obesity, have been implicated, but their roles in prostate cancer etiology remain unclear. It is estimated that as much as 42% of the risk of prostate cancer may be accounted for by genetic influences, including individual and combined effects of rare, highly penetrant genes, more common weakly penetrant genes, and genes acting in concert with each other. Numerous genetic variants in the androgen biosynthesis/metabolism, carcinogen metabolism, DNA repair, and chronic inflammation pathways, have been explored, but the results are largely inconclusive. The pathogenesis of prostate cancer likely involves interplay between environmental and genetic factors. To unravel these complex relationships, large well-designed interdisciplinary epidemiologic studies are needed. With newly available molecular tools, a new generation of large-scale multidisciplinary population-based studies is beginning to investigate gene-gene and gene-environment interactions. Results of these studies may lead to better detection, treatment, and, ultimately, prevention of prostate cancer.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

Resampling-based multiple hypothesis testing procedures for genetic case-control association studies.

In case-control studies of unrelated subjects, gene-based hypothesis tests consider whether any tested feature in a candidate gene--single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), haplotypes, or both--are associated with disease. Standard statistical tests are available that control the false-positive rate at the nominal level over all polymorphisms considered. However, more powerful tests can be constructed that use permutation resampling to account for correlations between polymorphisms and test statistics. A key question is whether the gain in power is large enough to justify the computational burden. We compared the computationally simple Simes Global Test to the min P test, which considers the permutation distribution of the minimum p-value from marginal tests of each SNP. In simulation studies incorporating empirical haplotype structures in 15 genes, the min P test controlled the type I error, and was modestly more powerful than the Simes test, by 2.1 percentage points on average. When disease susceptibility was conferred by a haplotype, the min P test sometimes, but not always, under-performed haplotype analysis. A resampling-based omnibus test combining the min P and haplotype frequency test controlled the type I error, and closely tracked the more powerful of the two component tests. This test achieved consistent gains in power (5.7 percentage points on average), compared to a simple Bonferroni test of Simes and haplotype analysis. Using data from the Shanghai Biliary Tract Cancer Study, the advantages of the newly proposed omnibus test were apparent in a population-based study of bile duct cancer and polymorphisms in the prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) gene.

Algorithms↗

Obesity, diabetes, and risk of prostate cancer: results from the prostate cancer prevention trial.

Studies on the relationship between obesity and prostate cancer incidence are inconsistent. In part, this inconsistency may be due to a differential effect of obesity on low-grade and high-grade cancer or confounding of the association of obesity with prostate cancer risk by diabetes. We investigated the associations of obesity and diabetes with low-grade and high-grade prostate cancer risk. Data were from 10,258 participants (1,936 prostate cancers) in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial who all had cancer presence or absence determined by prostate biopsy. Multiple logistic regression was used to model the risk of total prostate cancer, and polytomous logistic regression was used to model the risk of low-grade and high-grade prostate cancer. Compared with men with body mass index < 25, obese men (body mass index > or =30) had an 18% [odds ratio (OR), 0.82; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.69-0.98] decreased risk of low-grade prostate cancer (Gleason <7) and a 29% (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.01-1.67) increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer (Gleason > or =7) or, alternatively, a 78% (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.10-2.87) increased risk defining high-grade cancer as Gleason sum 8 to 10. Diabetes was associated with a 47% (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.34-0.83) reduced risk of low-grade prostate cancer and a 28% (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.55-0.94) reduced risk of high-grade prostate cancer. Associations of obesity or diabetes with cancer risk were not substantially changed by mutually statistical controlling for each other. Obesity increases the risk of high-grade but decreases the risk of low-grade prostate cancer, and this relationship is independent of the lower risk for prostate cancer among men with diabetes.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) gene polymorphisms and risk of biliary tract cancer and gallstones: a population-based study in Shanghai, China.

There is evidence that chronic inflammation predisposes to biliary tract cancer and that use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is protective. Although the mechanisms by which NSAIDs lower cancer risk remain unclear, NSAIDs reduce prostaglandin production by blocking prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2, commonly known as COX-2), an enzyme induced by proinflammatory stimuli that is often overexpressed in malignant tissue. Since variants in the PTGS2 gene may modify the expression or function of its encoded enzyme to modulate the inflammatory response in the biliary tract, we examined the associations of eight PTGS2 polymorphisms (-645C-->T; Ex3 -8G-->C; IVS5 -275T-->G; IVS7 +111T-->C; Ex10 +127T-->C; Ex10 +686 --->ATTAT-->TTATA; Ex10 +837T-->C; Ex10 -90C-->T) with biliary tract cancer and stones in a population-based case-control study conducted in Shanghai, China. Genotyping was performed for 411 patients with biliary tract cancer (237 gallbladder, 127 extrahepatic bile duct and 47 ampulla of Vater), 895 patients with biliary stones (673 gallbladder, 222 bile duct), and 786 healthy individuals randomly selected from the population. Significant associations were seen only between the Ex10 +837T-->C marker and bile duct cancer risk. Relative to individuals with the TT genotype, those carrying the C allele (TC or CC genotype) had a 1.8-fold (95% confidence interval: 1.2-2.7) risk of bile duct cancer. Inferred haplotypes including this risk-conferring allele were also associated with increased bile duct cancer risk of similar magnitude. Our results suggest that a common PTGS2 variant increases bile duct cancer risk. Further investigation is needed to confirm and extend our findings in studies of biliary tract cancer that more comprehensively examine PTGS2 and other inflammation-related genes.

Age Factors↗

[A survey on the diagnosis and treatment of biliary tract cancers in Shanghai].

OBJECTIVE: To survey the status of diagnosis and treatment of biliary tract cancer in Shanghai. METHODS: A clinical epidemiology investigation was carried out on 658 new cases of biliary duct cancers aged 35-74, that registered between June 1997 and May 2001 in urban Shanghai. Clinical findings were collected in 390 gallbladder cancer, 195 bile duct cancer and 73 ampullary cancer. RESULTS: Biliary tract cancers mainly occurred in elderly patients. Ratio of males to female was 1:2.61 in gallbladder cancer, while bile duct cancer and ampullary cancer were slightly more common in men. Association with gallstones was 68.5%, 43.1% and 22.4% for gallbladder cancer, bile duct cancer and ampullary cancer, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy rate of B-ultrasonography was 63.1% in gallbladder cancer. Incidental gallbladder cancer accounted for 20%, while stage IVA and IVB patients reached up to 43.6%. Misdiagnosis rate was still high in bile duct cancer and ampullary cancer, it was 19.1% and 47.1% respectively. In addition, most patients presented jaundice at diagnosis. 69 cases (18.2%) of gallbladder cancer, 50 cases (25.6%) of bile duct cancer and 54 cases (74%) of ampullary cancer underwent radical resection, the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 58.5%, 42.8% and 40.7%, 58%, 28.3% and 11.1%, 81.5%, 39.2% and 26.9%, respectively. 79 patients with bile duct cancer underwent palliative drainage, and most cases died within 1 year. Metal endo-prostheses or plastic stents were placed into the biliary tract in 38 patients. The median survival was about 7 months. CONCLUSIONS: It is difficult to make early diagnosis of biliary tract cancers. Standardization of the operation for gallbladder cancer must be respected. Surgical exploration should be undertaken when a bile duct cancer is suspected and there are no contraindications to surgery. Pancreatoduodenectomy should be recommended for ampullary cancer.

Biliary Tract Neoplasms↗

Genetic variants of DNA repair genes and prostate cancer: a population-based study.

As part of a population-based case-control study in Shanghai, China, we investigated whether variants in several DNA repair genes, either alone or in conjunction with other risk factors, are associated with prostate cancer risk. Genomic DNA from 162 patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer and 251 healthy men randomly selected from the population were typed for five nonsynonymous DNA repair markers. We found that the XRCC1-Arg399Gln AA and the MGMT-Leu84Phe CT+TT genotypes were associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer [odds ratio (OR), 2.18; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.99-4.81 and OR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.19-3.34, respectively]. In contrast, XRCC3-Thr241Met, XPD-Lys751Gln, and MGMT-Ile143Val markers showed no significant associations with risk, although due to the much lower frequency of their variant alleles in this population we cannot rule out small to modest effects. There was a significant interaction between the MGMT-84 marker and insulin resistance (P(interaction) = 0.046). Relative to men with the MGMT-84 CC genotype and a low insulin resistance (<0.097), those having the CT-TT genotype and a greater insulin resistance had a 5.4-fold risk (OR, 5.39; 95% CI, 2.46-11.82). In addition, for the XRCC3-241 marker, relative to men with the CC genotype and a low intake of preserved foods (<12.7 g/d), those harboring the CT+TT genotype and having a higher intake of preserved foods (>12.7 g/d), which contain nitrosamines and nitrosamine precursors, had a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer risk (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.13-6.06). In contrast, men with the CT+TT genotype and a low intake of preserved foods had a 69% reduction in risk (OR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.10-0.96; P(interaction) = 0.005). These results suggest that genetic variants in the DNA repair pathways may be involved in prostate cancer etiology and that other risk factors, including preserved foods and insulin resistance, may modulate prostate cancer risk in combination with genetic susceptibility in these repair pathways. Replication in larger studies is necessary to preclude chance findings, particularly those among subgroups, and clarify the mechanisms involved.

Aged↗

Aspirin use and risk of biliary tract cancer: a population-based study in Shanghai, China.

The association of gallbladder and bile duct cancers with gallstones, cholecystitis, and cholangitis suggest that chronic inflammation contributes to the carcinogenic process. However, the effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, on biliary tract cancer has not been well studied. In a population-based case-control study conducted in Shanghai, China, we examined the relationship between aspirin use and the risk of biliary disease. A total of 627 patients with biliary tract cancer, including cancers of the gallbladder (n = 368), extrahepatic bile duct (n = 191), and ampulla of Vater (n = 68); 1,037 patients with biliary stones; and 958 healthy adults were included in the study. Self-reported data on aspirin use was collected from study participants by in-person interview. The prevalence of aspirin use was low, with 5.7% of the population controls being regular users. After controlling for age, sex, education, and biliary stone status, aspirin use was associated with a reduced risk of gallbladder cancer [odds ratio (OR), 0.37; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.17-0.88]. An inverse relationship was also observed for frequency and duration of use and with younger age when starting use. In addition, there was a nonsignificant reduction in the risk of bile duct (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.19-1.19) and ampullary cancers (OR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.03-1.65) associated with aspirin use, whereas no clear association was seen with biliary stones (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.59-1.44). Further studies of biliary tract cancer in other populations are needed to confirm these results and to elucidate the mechanisms that underlie the reduced risk associated with use of aspirin and possibly other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Adult↗

[Tea consumption and risk of biliary tract cancers and gallstone disease: a population-based case-control study in Shanghai, China].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between tea consumption, biliary tract cancers and gallstone disease. METHODS: A population-based case-control study was conducted in urban Shanghai from 1 June 1997 to 31 May 2001 involving interviews with 627 new cases of biliary tract cancers (including 368 cases of gallbladder cancer, 191 cases of extrahepatic bile duct cancer and 68 cases of cancer of the ampulla of Vater) aged 35 to 74 years and 959 population controls frequency-matched to cases by gender and age in five-year group. 1037 patients of gallstone disease were selected from the same hospital. All subjects were interviewed in person by trained interviewers by use of a structured questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to calculate adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Compared with tea non-drinkers, current tea consumption was inversely associated with risk of gallbladder cancer, extrahepatic bile duct cancer and gallstone disease among females with OR of 0.57 (95% CI: 0.34-0.96), 0.53 (95% CI: 0.27-1.03) and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.51-0.99), respectively. OR declined with younger age at initiation of tea drinking and with longer duration of tea consumption (P for trend < 0.05). Among males, the corresponding OR were mostly below one, although not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Tea consumption may decrease the risk of cancers of the gallbladder and extrahepatic bile duct among females. The protective effect appears to be independent of gallstone disease.

Adult↗

Alterations of p16 and prognosis in biliary tract cancers from a population-based study in China.

PURPOSE: Biliary tract cancer is an uncommon malignancy with a poor survival rate. We evaluated p16 gene alteration as a prognostic marker for this disease. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We studied p16 gene alterations by sequencing, methylation, and loss of heterozygosity of chromosome 9p in 118 biliary tract carcinomas, including 68 gallbladder cancers, 33 extrahepatic bile duct cancers, and 17 ampullary cancers. Survival was evaluated in 57 patients with gallbladder carcinomas, 27 with bile duct carcinomas, and 16 with ampullary carcinomas with and without somatic p16 alterations detected by two different methods. RESULTS: p16 gene alterations including silent mutations were present in 61.8% gallbladder cancers, 54.5% bile duct cancers, and 70.6% ampullary cancers. p16 gene nonsilent mutations, p16 methylation, and loss of chromosome 9p21-22 that targets p14, p15, and p16 genes were present in 13 of 53 (24.5%), 8 of 54 (14.8%), and 32 of 44 (72.7%) gallbladder tumors; 5 of 25 (20.0%), 5 of 31 (16.1%), and 12 of 21 (57.1%) bile duct tumors; and 3 of 13 (23.1%), 6 of 15 (40.0%), and 8 of 16 (50.0%) ampullary tumors, respectively. The mean survival of patients with gallbladder cancers without p16 alterations was 21.5 +/- 14.8 months compared with 12.1 +/- 11.4 months for patients with p16 alterations (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Alteration of p16 gene alone or in combination with alterations of other tumor suppressor genes on chromosome 9p is a prognostic indicator in gallbladder carcinoma, with more favorable survival rates associated with carcinomas lacking p16 gene alterations.

Base Sequence↗

CYP17 polymorphisms in relation to risks of prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia: a population-based study in China.

Because androgens likely play a key role in prostate growth and prostate cancer development, variants of genes involved in androgen biosynthesis may be related to prostate cancer risk. The enzyme P450c17alpha, encoded by the CYP17 gene, catalyzes the conversion of progesterone and pregnenolone into precursors of potent androgens. In the 5' promoter region of the CYP17 gene, a T (A1 allele) to C substitution (A2 allele) has been hypothesized to increase CYP17 gene expression, resulting in higher levels of androgens. To investigate a possible role of CYP17 in prostate diseases, we evaluated the risk of prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in relation to variation in CYP17 genotype in a population-based case-control study conducted in Shanghai, China. The study included 174 prostate cancer cases, 182 BPH cases and 274 population controls. We observed no statistically significant overall associations of CYP17 genotypes with prostate cancer risk, although associations of the A1/A1 (odds ratio (OR) =1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83-2.48) and A1/A2 (OR 1.41, 95% CI 0.91-2.17) genotypes with prostate cancer were suggested. A similar association of the A1/A1 genotype with BPH was suggested. We found no associations of CYP17 genotypes with serum sex hormone levels or other biomarkers after correction for multiple comparisons. Large population-based studies are needed to clarify whether CYP17 plays a role in prostate cancer risk and whether genotype effects vary in different racial/ethnic and other subgroups.

Aged↗

Prostate carcinoma risk subsequent to diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a population-based cohort study in Sweden.

BACKGROUND: Pathologically, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is not considered a precursor for prostate carcinoma. However, because the two conditions share not only a similar hormonal environment within the prostate but also several common risk factors, it is possible that men with BPH may be at increased risk of prostate carcinoma due to these shared factors. METHODS: To elucidate this further, the authors used Swedish nationwide population-based record-linkage data to assess prostate carcinoma risk up to 26 years after the diagnosis of BPH among 86,626 men. RESULTS: Overall, relative to the general population, patients with BPH experienced little, if any, excess risk of prostate carcinoma (2% excess incidence after 10 years of follow-up). However, patients with BPH with and without surgical intervention experienced different prostate carcinoma risk patterns. Those undergoing transvesicular adenomectomy had a significant 22% lower incidence and a 23% lower mortality after the first 5 years of follow-up and those undergoing transurethral resection had a significant 10% higher incidence but a 17% lower mortality. In contrast, after the first 5 years, patients with BPH who did not receive surgical intervention experienced significant excesses of both prostate carcinoma incidence (18%) and mortality (77%). CONCLUSIONS: The differences in prostate carcinoma incidence and mortality by BPH treatment type suggest that factors related to treatment or health reasons underlying the selection of treatment influence subsequent prostate carcinoma risk. Further studies are needed to confirm the minimal excess risk of prostate carcinoma among BPH patients overall and the possible impact of BPH treatment methods on subsequent prostate carcinoma risk.

Aged↗

Insulin resistance and prostate cancer risk.

Because high waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and high serum insulin levels have been reported to be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, we assessed the relationship between insulin resistance and prostate cancer risk in Chinese men. We measured fasting serum glucose and insulin levels in 128 case and 306 control subjects and used the homeostasis model assessment to derive indices of insulin sensitivity and resistance. Relative to men in the lowest tertiles, men in the highest tertile of insulin sensitivity had a reduced risk of prostate cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 0.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.21 to 0.60), but men in the highest tertile of insulin resistance had an increased risk of prostate cancer (OR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.63 to 4.72). Considering insulin resistance and WHR together, the effect of insulin resistance was apparent in all tertiles of WHR, with men in the highest tertile of insulin resistance and WHR having the highest risk (OR = 8.21, 95% CI = 2.84 to 23.70). The associations between prostate cancer risk and insulin sensitivity or resistance were independent of total caloric intake and serum levels of insulin-like growth factors, sex hormones, and sex hormone-binding globulin. Because of the retrospective design of this study, the role of insulin resistance in prostate cancer needs to be confirmed in prospective studies.

Adult↗

Soy and isoflavone consumption in relation to prostate cancer risk in China.

This case-control study in China evaluated the effect of soy food consumption and isoflavones (genistein and daidzein) on the risk of prostate cancer. One hundred and thirty-three cases and 265 age- and residential community-matched controls between the ages of 50 and 89 years were interviewed in person between 1989 and 1992. Usual consumption of soy foods and isoflavones was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire developed in China and a nutrient database developed and validated in Asian-American populations. The age- and total calorie-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of prostate cancer risk comparing the highest tertile of tofu intake to the lowest tertile was 0.58 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.35-0.96]. There were also statistically significant associations comparing the highest quartile of intake of soy foods (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.28-0.95) and genistein (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.29-0.97) with the lowest quartiles. There was also an indication of a reduced risk associated with intake of daidzein (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.31-1.04 for the highest versus lowest quartile). Our results indicate a reduced risk of prostate cancer associated with consumption of soy foods and isoflavones. These findings should be confirmed in longitudinal follow-up studies in populations with varying risk of prostate cancer.

Aged↗