[en] Purpose: To evaluate whether complex radiotherapy (RT) planning was associated with improved outcomes in a cohort of elderly patients with unresected Stage I-II non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods and Materials: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry linked to Medicare claims, we identified 1998 patients aged >65 years with histologically confirmed, unresected stage I-II NSCLC. Patients were classified into an intermediate or complex RT planning group using Medicare physician codes. To address potential selection bias, we used propensity score modeling. Survival of patients who received intermediate and complex simulation was compared using Cox regression models adjusting for propensity scores and in a stratified and matched analysis according to propensity scores. Results: Overall, 25% of patients received complex RT planning. Complex RT planning was associated with better overall (hazard ratio 0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.75-0.95) and lung cancer-specific (hazard ratio 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.71-0.93) survival after controlling for propensity scores. Similarly, stratified and matched analyses showed better overall and lung cancer-specific survival of patients treated with complex RT planning. Conclusions: The use of complex RT planning is associated with improved survival among elderly patients with unresected Stage I-II NSCLC. These findings should be validated in prospective randomized controlled trials.

[en] The p53 tumor suppressor gene is commonly mutated in colorectal cancer. While the effect of p53 mutations on colorectal cancer prognosis has been heavily studied, less is known about how epidemiologic risk factors relate to p53 status, particularly in early colorectal neoplasia prior to clinically invasive colorectal cancer (including adenomas, carcinoma in situ (CIS), and intramucosal carcinoma). We examined p53 status, as measured by protein overexpression, in 157 cases with early colorectal neoplasia selected from three New York City colonoscopy clinics. After collecting paraffin-embedded tissue blocks, immunohistochemistry was performed using an anti-p53 monoclonal mouse IgG₂a [BP53-12-1] antibody. We analyzed whether p53 status was different for risk factors for colorectal neoplasia relative to a polyp-free control group (n = 508). p53 overexpression was found in 10.3%, 21.7%, and 34.9%, of adenomatous polyps, CIS, and intramucosal cases, respectively. Over 90% of the tumors with p53 overexpression were located in the distal colon and rectum. Heavy cigarette smoking (30+ years) was associated with cases not overexpressing p53 (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.1–2.9) but not with those cases overexpressing p53 (OR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.4–2.6). Heavy beer consumption (8+ bottles per week) was associated with cases overexpressing p53 (OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 1.3–12.0) but not with cases without p53 overexpression (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 0.7–3.7). Our findings that p53 overexpression in early colorectal neoplasia may be positively associated with alcohol intake and inversely associated with cigarette smoking are consistent with those of several studies of p53 expression and invasive cancer, and suggest that there may be relationships of smoking and alcohol with p53 early in the adenoma to carcinoma sequence

[en] Vitamin and mineral supplement use after a breast cancer diagnosis is common and controversial. Dosages used and the timing of initiation and/or discontinuation of supplements have not been clearly described. We prospectively examined changes in use of 17 vitamin/mineral supplements in the first six months following breast cancer diagnosis among 2,596 members (28% non-white) of Kaiser Permanente Northern California. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine demographic, clinical, and lifestyle predictors of initiation and discontinuation. Most women used vitamin/mineral supplements before (84%) and after (82%) diagnosis, with average doses far in excess of Institute of Medicine reference intakes. Over half (60.2%) reported initiating a vitamin/mineral following diagnosis, 46.3% discontinuing a vitamin/mineral, 65.6% using a vitamin/mineral continuously, and only 7.2% not using any vitamin/mineral supplement before or after diagnosis. The most commonly initiated supplements were calcium (38.2%), vitamin D (32.01%), vitamin B6 (12.3%) and magnesium (11.31%); the most commonly discontinued supplements were multivitamins (17.14%), vitamin C (15.97%) and vitamin E (45.62%). Higher education, higher intake of fruits/vegetables, and receipt of chemotherapy were associated with initiation (p-values <0.05). Younger age and breast-conserving surgery were associated with discontinuation (p-values <0.05). In this large cohort of ethnically diverse breast cancer patients, high numbers of women used vitamin/mineral supplements in the 6 months following breast cancer diagnosis, often at high doses and in combination with other supplements. The immediate period after diagnosis is a critical time for clinicians to counsel women on supplement use

[en] Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are mammary carcinogens in animal studies, and a few epidemiologic studies have suggested a link between elevated levels of PAH-DNA adducts and breast cancer incidence. An association between PAH-DNA adducts and survival among breast cancer cases has not been previously reported. We conducted a survival analysis among women with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer between 1996 and 1997, enrolled in the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project. DNA was isolated from blood samples that were obtained from cases shortly after diagnosis and assayed for PAH-DNA adducts using ELISA. Among the 722 cases with PAH-DNA adduct measurements, 97 deaths (13.4%) from all causes and 54 deaths (7.5%) due to breast cancer were reported to National Death Index (NDI) by December 31, 2002. Using Cox proportional hazards models and controlling for age at diagnosis, we did not find evidence that all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR)=0.88; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57-1.37), or breast cancer mortality (HR=1.20; 95% CI: 0.63-2.28) was strongly associated with detectable PAH-DNA adduct levels compared with non-detectable adducts; additionally, no dose-response association was observed. Among a subgroup with treatment data (n=520), adducts were associated with over a two-fold higher mortality among those receiving radiation, but mortality for adducts was reduced among hormone therapy users. Results from this large population-based study do not provide strong support for an association between detectable PAH-DNA adducts and survival among women with breast cancer, except perhaps among those receiving radiation treatment

[en] Purpose: The benefits of adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) for breast cancer may be counterbalanced by the risk of cardiac toxicity. We studied the cardiac effects of RT and the impact of pre-existing cardiac risk factors (CRFs) in a population-based sample of older patients with breast cancer. Methods and Materials: In the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End-Results (SEER)-Medicare database of women ≥65 years diagnosed with Stages I to III breast cancer from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 2000, we used multivariable logistic regression to model the associations of demographic and clinical variables with postmastectomy and postlumpectomy RT. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, we then modeled the association between treatment and myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemia in the 10 or more years after diagnosis, taking the predictors of treatment into account. Results: Among 48,353 women with breast cancer; 19,897 (42%) were treated with lumpectomy and 26,534 (55%) with mastectomy; the remainder had unknown surgery type (3%). Receipt of RT was associated with later year of diagnosis, younger age, fewer comorbidities, nonrural residence, and chemotherapy. Postlumpectomy RT was also associated with white ethnicity and no prior history of heart disease (HD). The RT did not increase the risk of MI. Presence of MI was associated with age, African American ethnicity, advanced stage, nonrural residence, more than one comorbid condition, a hormone receptor-negative tumor, CRFs and HD. Among patients who received RT, tumor laterality was not associated with MI outcome. The effect of RT on the heart was not influenced by HD or CRFs. Conclusion: It appears unlikely that RT would increase the risk of MI in elderly women with breast cancer, regardless of type of surgery, tumor laterality, or history of CRFs or HD, for at least 10 years