5 (1 votes)Article Opinions: 2 posts
A new analysis of published and unpublished studies concludes that risk for ovarian cancer is associated with increasing height. It also finds that among women who have never used hormone therapy for the menopause, the risk for developing the disease is also tied to increasing body mass index, BMI, a measure of obesity.
The Collaborative Group on Epidemiological Studies of Ovarian Cancer, based at the University of Oxford in the UK, write about their findings in a paper published online in PLoS Medicine this week.
The findings are important because in high-income countries, height and BMI (a person's weight in kilos divided by the square of their height in metres), have been increasing by about 1 cm and 1 kg/m2 respectively every decade.
Among its conclusions, the Collaborative Group, which comprises some 100 internationally based researchers in addition to the team at Oxford, suggests:
"If all other relevant factors had remained constant, then these increases in height and weight would be associated with a 3% increase in ovarian cancer incidence per decade."
The authors decided to carry out the study because, as they explained in their background information, only about half the studies that have collected information on how women's height and BMI might link to their risk of developing ovarian cancer have published results, plus, their findings are inconsistent.
So for their analysis they brought together all the worldwide data they could get their hands on, including published and unpublished results.
Altogether, their analysis included 47 epidemiological studies from 14 countries with individual patient data on a total of 25,157 women with ovarian cancer and 81,311 women without ovarian cancer.
The results showed there was a significant increase in risk for developing ovarian cancer for every 5 cm increase in height.
This link remained strong even when other factors were taken into account, such as age, whether the participant had reached menopause or not, education, smoking status, alcohol consumption, use of oral contraception, use of menopausal hormone therapy, and having close relatives with ovarian or breast cancer.
However, the researchers found that for BMI, the risk depended on whether women had ever taken menopausal hormone therapy, and not on 11 other factors examined.
The results showed that for every 5-point increase in BMI, the risk for ovarian cancer was 10% higher in women who had never taken menopausal hormone therapy:this was not the case for women who had previously taken the therapy.
Cancer Research UK funded the study, but played no part in designing, carrying out, or publishing it.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. It is often referred to as the "silent killer", because unfortunately the symptoms, such as abdominal pain and swelling, do not emerge until the disease has reached a late stage.
Fewer than one third of ovarian cancers are detected before the cancer has spread beyond the ovaries, considerably reducing the odds that treatment will be successful.
Increasing age, not having used oral contraceptives, having fewer children, and use of menopausal hormone therapy are recognized risk factors for increasing the chance of developing the disease, with the first two having the biggest impact.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
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poniedziałek, 23 kwietnia 2012
Womb Cancer Deaths Rise 20%, UK
5 (2 votes)
Deaths from womb cancer (cancer of the uterus) in the UK have gone up by nearly 20% in the last ten years. The trend follows a steep rise in the number of women diagnosed with cancer of the uterus, and is accompanied by improvements in survival rates, according to new figures from Cancer Research UK released on Thursday.
Since the late 1990s, deaths from womb cancer have gone up from 3.1 per 100,000 to 3.7 per 100,000 women in the UK.
The disease now claims around 1,900 lives in the UK every year, compared to fewer than 1,500 back then.
These figures follow a sharp rise in the incidence of womb cancer. In the mid 1990s, 13.7 per 100,000 women received a diagnosis of this disease, compared to 19.6 some ten years later, a rise of 43%.
Before this period, incidence of womb cancer in the UK had been constant, and deaths had been falling.
There is some good news in the new figures: survival rates continue to improve. 77% of women now survive the disease for at least five years.
However, despite the fact survival is higher than before, because of the growth in numbers of women developing the disease, more are dying from it than before.
Many experts believe obesity is a big factor in the increase in womb cancer rates: research suggests that obesity doubles the risk of developing the disease.
Professor Jonathan Ledermann is a gynaecological cancer expert with Cancer Research UK. He said in a statement:
"It's hugely troubling that more women are dying from womb cancer, but we shouldn't let this cloud the fact that the chances of surviving the disease are still better than ever."
He says the reason the chances of surviving ovarian cancer have improved so much is because women's cancer care has advanced and is much better organized.
For instance, more women are using one-stop clinics for help with post-menopausal bleeding, and treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have much improved.
One patient who has benefited from these improvements is 56-year-old womb cancer survivor, Sharon Robinson from London. She told Cancer Research UK when she first had bleeding she thought it might be to do with menopause, but when it got more serious she went to the doctor and found out it was womb cancer.
"Being told I had cancer was terrifying, as I knew it meant having my womb removed followed by weeks of radiotherapy. But in the end it was all worth it because here I am today cancer free," said Robinson, who urges women who have symptoms like bleeding after the menopause to seek medical help straight away, because "spotting cancer early save lives".
However, the figures don't tell the full story, and there are many questions, as Ledermann points out:
"It's clear we're making great progress, but we don't yet fully understand what's driving up cases of womb cancer, so there's still lots more to do."
Sara Hiom, director of information at Cancer Research UK, said:
"Maintaining a healthy bodyweight can halve a woman's risk of womb cancer and is one of the best ways to protect against the disease."
Symptoms of womb cancer include abdominal pain, pain during sex, and abnormal vaginal bleeding, particularly in women who are past the menopause.
Hiom said these symptoms are not necessarily a sign of cancer, for instance they could indicate a more common condition such as fibroids or endometriosis, but, it's still important to have them checked out, because an early diagnosis increases the odds of survival.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Deaths from womb cancer (cancer of the uterus) in the UK have gone up by nearly 20% in the last ten years. The trend follows a steep rise in the number of women diagnosed with cancer of the uterus, and is accompanied by improvements in survival rates, according to new figures from Cancer Research UK released on Thursday.
Since the late 1990s, deaths from womb cancer have gone up from 3.1 per 100,000 to 3.7 per 100,000 women in the UK.
The disease now claims around 1,900 lives in the UK every year, compared to fewer than 1,500 back then.
These figures follow a sharp rise in the incidence of womb cancer. In the mid 1990s, 13.7 per 100,000 women received a diagnosis of this disease, compared to 19.6 some ten years later, a rise of 43%.
Before this period, incidence of womb cancer in the UK had been constant, and deaths had been falling.
There is some good news in the new figures: survival rates continue to improve. 77% of women now survive the disease for at least five years.
However, despite the fact survival is higher than before, because of the growth in numbers of women developing the disease, more are dying from it than before.
Many experts believe obesity is a big factor in the increase in womb cancer rates: research suggests that obesity doubles the risk of developing the disease.
Professor Jonathan Ledermann is a gynaecological cancer expert with Cancer Research UK. He said in a statement:
"It's hugely troubling that more women are dying from womb cancer, but we shouldn't let this cloud the fact that the chances of surviving the disease are still better than ever."
He says the reason the chances of surviving ovarian cancer have improved so much is because women's cancer care has advanced and is much better organized.
For instance, more women are using one-stop clinics for help with post-menopausal bleeding, and treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have much improved.
One patient who has benefited from these improvements is 56-year-old womb cancer survivor, Sharon Robinson from London. She told Cancer Research UK when she first had bleeding she thought it might be to do with menopause, but when it got more serious she went to the doctor and found out it was womb cancer.
"Being told I had cancer was terrifying, as I knew it meant having my womb removed followed by weeks of radiotherapy. But in the end it was all worth it because here I am today cancer free," said Robinson, who urges women who have symptoms like bleeding after the menopause to seek medical help straight away, because "spotting cancer early save lives".
However, the figures don't tell the full story, and there are many questions, as Ledermann points out:
"It's clear we're making great progress, but we don't yet fully understand what's driving up cases of womb cancer, so there's still lots more to do."
Sara Hiom, director of information at Cancer Research UK, said:
"Maintaining a healthy bodyweight can halve a woman's risk of womb cancer and is one of the best ways to protect against the disease."
Symptoms of womb cancer include abdominal pain, pain during sex, and abnormal vaginal bleeding, particularly in women who are past the menopause.
Hiom said these symptoms are not necessarily a sign of cancer, for instance they could indicate a more common condition such as fibroids or endometriosis, but, it's still important to have them checked out, because an early diagnosis increases the odds of survival.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Embarrassment, Social Stigma May Discourage Obese White Women From Seeking Colon Cancer Screening
A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers shows that obese white women may be less likely than normal-weight counterparts and African-Americans of any weight or gender to seek potentially lifesaving colon cancer screening tests.
Results of this study follow the same Johns Hopkins group's previous research suggesting that obese white women also are less likely to arrange for mammograms, which screen for breast cancer, and Pap smears, which search for early signs of cervical cancer.
"No group is perfect when it comes to screening, and overall rates of colonoscopy are low, but if you're obese, female and white, our data show you're probably even less likely to be screened," says study leader Nisa M. Maruthur, M.D., M.H.S., an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Maruthur notes that the reluctance to be screened is especially serious in this group because obesity is linked to higher risk for colon cancer and an increased risk of death from the disease.
"Being concerned about your weight usually is good, but here it appears to be keeping people from a test we know saves lives," she says. "Obese white women may avoid screening because they feel stigmatized and embarrassed to disrobe for the tests."
Despite evidence of the value of colonoscopy - a procedure that sends a flexible tube with a camera into the bowel to search for and guide removal of precancerous polyps and other tumors - only 20 percent of women and 24 percent of men over the age of 50 undergo the test, which is recommended by the United States Preventative Services Task Force for everyone between the ages of 50 and 75 on a periodic basis.
Another suggested test, fecal occult blood testing, which searches the stool for hidden blood that can be another sign of colon cancer, is also underused, with just 12 percent of American men and women using it.
Preventive care researchers have long tried to better understand barriers to colon cancer screening. Preparatory laxatives, anesthesia, fear of discomfort and embarrassment are known to discourage many.
In the new study, described in the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, the Johns Hopkins researchers added evidence that for white women, obesity appears to have a negative impact on screening rates. There was a hint in the data that the same may be true for obese white men, but Maruthur said research is needed to verify the suggestion.
Negative body image among obese white people may explain this association, which seems to be fostered particularly in white women, where the pressure to be thin appears to be more intense, Maruthur says. In an unrelated study she cited, for example, white and African-American women rated magazine images of "thin, average-weight and large" African-American and white women. White women rated large white women lower in interpersonal and career domains, while African-American women did not stigmatize large African-American women in this way.
Maruthur says if further studies confirm the negative relationship between obesity and screening in white women, outreach and education programs can be shaped to overcome it.
Maruthur says another barrier to screening among obese people may be their tendency to have higher rates of pressing health concerns, leading physicians to delay or put off discussions of preventive screening. However, the rates of those medical conditions are not likely higher for obese whites.
In the new study, Maruthur and her colleagues reviewed the medical literature and delved into data from 23 published studies that included information on body mass index (BMI) and colon cancer screening rates. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal weight, between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight and 30 or greater is considered obese.
While overall, the researchers found no link between higher BMI and lower rates of colon cancer screening, they did find the association in a subgroup of white women with a BMI between 30 and 34.9. They were 13 percent less likely to be screened when compared with normal-weight counterparts. Women who were the most obese - with a BMI of 40 or higher - were 27 percent less likely to be screened.
Lung Cancer Among Women Still Rising, UK
2 (1 votes)
Cases of lung cancer among women in the UK continue to rise, according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK on Friday.
The leading charity says the rate of lung cancer among women in the UK has risen from 22.2 in every 100,000 women in 1975, to 39.3 today.
In 1975 there were fewer than 8,000 cases of lung cancer diagnosed among UK women, in 2009 this figure was more than 18,000.
The disease is still more common among men in the UK, where there were more than 23,000 cases in 2009.
But unlike women, rates of lung cancer among men in the UK have been falling steeply. In 1975 the rate of lung cancer among men in the UK was 110 per 100,000, whereas now it is 58.8.
The figures also show nearly 35,000 people (19,410 men and 15,449 women) died from lung cancer in the UK in 2010.
The charity says the difference in lung cancer cases for men and women mirrors their different smoking patterns in previous two to three decades.
In the 1960s, around 45% of UK women were smokers; a prevalence that is clearly portrayed in today's popular American TV series "Mad Men", which is set in that era. Nowadays the prevalence of smoking among UK women is 20%.
During World War II and the rest of the 1940s, 65% of UK men were smokers, nowadays that figure has fallen to 22%.
Lung cancer was the most common cancer in the UK until the mid-1990s when it was overtaken by breast cancer. However, it still accounts for 11% of all new cancer cases among women, and 14% among men.
Anti-smoking measures, such as banning tobacco advertising and smoking in public places, has reduced the number of smokers in the UK. New measures recently introduced include banning large shops and supermarkets from displaying tobacco products. Smaller shops have to follow from 2015.
The UK government is about to consult on package branding. If this goes ahead, it would mean the colourful packaging of cigarettes, with unique company branding, would be replaced by a uniform colour, size and shape.
The EU is also considering introducing large picture warnings on both sides of the pack.
Cancer Research UK says these measures should reduce one of the remaining ways that tobacco is marketed to children.
Jean King, director of tobacco control at Cancer Research UK told the press it was crucial to end the "packet racket", and put all cigarettes in plain packs with large health warnings:
"It's vital that the UK closes one of the last remaining loopholes that portrays smoking as something glamorous and normal, rather than the lethal product it truly is."
She said no one wants children to take up smoking, and putting cigarettes in plain packs will give them one less reason to do so.
Cancer Research UK's information director, Sarah Hiom, said:
"... it's never too late to give up smoking - you will reduce your risk of developing lung cancer and other serious diseases. Your GP or local pharmacy can advise you where to find your local NHS support services."
Hiom said for every five cases of lung cancer, four are a direct result of smoking. But, she added, this also means one out of five is not, so if you have a cough that lasts for more than three weeks, or a long-standing cough that gets worse, go and get it checked out.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Cases of lung cancer among women in the UK continue to rise, according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK on Friday.
The leading charity says the rate of lung cancer among women in the UK has risen from 22.2 in every 100,000 women in 1975, to 39.3 today.
In 1975 there were fewer than 8,000 cases of lung cancer diagnosed among UK women, in 2009 this figure was more than 18,000.
The disease is still more common among men in the UK, where there were more than 23,000 cases in 2009.
But unlike women, rates of lung cancer among men in the UK have been falling steeply. In 1975 the rate of lung cancer among men in the UK was 110 per 100,000, whereas now it is 58.8.
The figures also show nearly 35,000 people (19,410 men and 15,449 women) died from lung cancer in the UK in 2010.
The charity says the difference in lung cancer cases for men and women mirrors their different smoking patterns in previous two to three decades.
In the 1960s, around 45% of UK women were smokers; a prevalence that is clearly portrayed in today's popular American TV series "Mad Men", which is set in that era. Nowadays the prevalence of smoking among UK women is 20%.
During World War II and the rest of the 1940s, 65% of UK men were smokers, nowadays that figure has fallen to 22%.
Lung cancer was the most common cancer in the UK until the mid-1990s when it was overtaken by breast cancer. However, it still accounts for 11% of all new cancer cases among women, and 14% among men.
Anti-smoking measures, such as banning tobacco advertising and smoking in public places, has reduced the number of smokers in the UK. New measures recently introduced include banning large shops and supermarkets from displaying tobacco products. Smaller shops have to follow from 2015.
The UK government is about to consult on package branding. If this goes ahead, it would mean the colourful packaging of cigarettes, with unique company branding, would be replaced by a uniform colour, size and shape.
The EU is also considering introducing large picture warnings on both sides of the pack.
Cancer Research UK says these measures should reduce one of the remaining ways that tobacco is marketed to children.
Jean King, director of tobacco control at Cancer Research UK told the press it was crucial to end the "packet racket", and put all cigarettes in plain packs with large health warnings:
"It's vital that the UK closes one of the last remaining loopholes that portrays smoking as something glamorous and normal, rather than the lethal product it truly is."
She said no one wants children to take up smoking, and putting cigarettes in plain packs will give them one less reason to do so.
Cancer Research UK's information director, Sarah Hiom, said:
"... it's never too late to give up smoking - you will reduce your risk of developing lung cancer and other serious diseases. Your GP or local pharmacy can advise you where to find your local NHS support services."
Hiom said for every five cases of lung cancer, four are a direct result of smoking. But, she added, this also means one out of five is not, so if you have a cough that lasts for more than three weeks, or a long-standing cough that gets worse, go and get it checked out.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
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