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Biomedical subjects

B Modan

Publications and source records attributed to B Modan.

257 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiology in health policy.

As a problem-oriented discipline that deals quantitatively with sickness and health, the needs of populations, and the effectiveness of health services, epidemiology can make a considerable contribution to decision-making on health policy. Examples are presented to illustrate the use of the epidemiologic approach at national, regional and local community levels, and its potential contribution to decisions concerning the allocation of resources and the determination of program priorities.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiology of breast cancer. Preventive aspects.

Descriptive data demonstrate a marked variation in the incidence of breast cancer in distinct populations, which is closely linked to socioeconomic status and correlated with a differential age-specific incidence pattern and time trends. These suggest a westernization effect, and the possible existence of two distinct disease entities--pre- and postmenopausal. Known risk factors may be defined in a number of ways. From a preventive standpoint, a practical classification is suggested whereby risk factors are grouped as preventable, modifiable, unapproachable or spurious. The only risk factors which seem definite at present are estrogen exposure, family history and radiation, with the possible contribution of benign breast disease, replacement hormones, and diet. The only preventable factors are radiation and possibly long-term hormonal replacement, but their contribution to the disease indicence in the population is minimal. Two theoretically modifiable factors are diet and age at first birth, but the latter cannot be easily influenced, and the effect of dietary modification is still unsubstantiated.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

In vitro radiosensitivity of fibroblasts from thyroid and skin cancer patients treated with X-rays for tinea capitis.

To investigate the hypothesis that persons who developed thyroid or skin cancer subsequent to scalp irradiation for tinea capitis are particularly sensitive to radiation, possibly because of a high frequency of ataxia-telangiectasia, we used an in vitro cell survival assay to evaluate radiosensitivity of their fibroblast cell strains. Study subjects were selected from a cohort of 10,834 Israelis irradiated during childhood for tinea capitis. Skin fibroblasts were obtained from thyroid and skin cancer patients (cases) as well as a sample of subjects who did not have cancer (controls). Fibroblasts were cultured and then loss of colony-forming ability as a result of acute X-irradiation was evaluated. Comparison of survival curve parameters (mean inverse of the slope and the dose needed to reduce colony survival to 10%) between 12 thyroid cancer and 12 control strains showed no differences (P > 0.5). A slightly increased radiation sensitivity of the skin cancer cases compared with their controls was observed. Although based on few subjects (14 cases and 11 controls), the findings were similar whether the mean inverse of the slope (P = 0.06) or the dose needed to reduce colony survival to 10% (P = 0.05) was evaluated. However, because of the small size of the study and potential errors inherent in survival assays, our finding that cell strains derived from patients who developed skin cancer exhibit enhanced radiosensitivity should be viewed as preliminary and interpreted cautiously.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Could the 185delAG BRCA1 mutation be an ancient Jewish mutation?

A predominant mutation within the BRCA1 predisposition gene, 185delAG, has been detected in about 1% of the Ashkenazi population, considered a high-risk group for breast and ovarian cancers. We examined 639 unrelated healthy Jews of Iraqi extraction, a presumed low-risk group, for the existence of this mutation. Three individuals were identified as 185delAG mutation carriers, and haplotype analysis of the Iraqi mutation carriers revealed that 2 of the Iraqis shared a common haplotype with 6 Ashkenazi mutation carriers, and 1 had a haplotype which differed by a single marker. This study suggests that the BRCA1 185delAG mutation also occurs in populations considered at low-risk for breast and ovarian cancers, and that it might have occurred prior to the dispersion of the Jewish people in the Diaspora, at least at the time of Christ.

Adult↗