Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology
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Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. · Sep 2000
Review Comparative StudyCancer and Mediterranean dietary traditions.
The incidence of cancer overall in Mediterranean countries is lower than in Scandinavian countries, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This is mostly accounted for by the lower incidence among Mediterranean countries of cancer of the large bowel, breast, endometrium, and prostate. ⋯ By taking into account the established or presumed nutritional causation of major forms of cancer and the composition of the traditional Mediterranean diet, estimates can be derived concerning the fraction of cancer occurrence in highly developed Western countries that could be attributed to their diets in comparison with the healthy traditional Mediterranean diet. Although estimates can only be crude, it can be calculated that up to 25% of the incidence of colorectal cancer, approximately 15% of the incidence of breast cancer, and approximately 10% of the incidence of prostate, pancreas, and endometrial cancer could be prevented if the populations of highly developed Western countries could shift to the traditional healthy Mediterranean diet.
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Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. · Sep 2000
Comparative StudyA case-control study of analgesic use and ovarian cancer.
A recent case-control study raised the hypothesis that acetaminophen use 1 day or more per week for at least 6 months reduces the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. We assessed analgesic use in relation to epithelial ovarian cancer risk using data from our case-control surveillance study of medication use and cancer. Patients were interviewed in hospitals in Baltimore, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia during 1976-1998. ⋯ The odds ratio for use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs 4 or more days per week for at least 5 years, 0.5, was statistically significant. The present results provide only weak support for a reduction in the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer among acetaminophen users. They raise the possibility of an inverse association with long-term nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use.