Carlo La Vecchia

Alcohol and tobacco consumption are closely correlated and published results on their association with breast cancer have not always allowed adequately for confounding between these exposures. Over 80% of the relevant information worldwide on alcohol and tobacco consumption and breast cancer were collated, checked and analysed centrally. Analyses included 58,515 women with invasive breast cancer and 95,067 controls from 53 studies. Relative risks of breast cancer were estimated, after ...

BACKGROUND: At least 75% of head and neck cancers are attributable to a combination of cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking. A precise understanding of the independent association of each of these factors in the absence of the other with the risk of head and neck cancer is needed to elucidate mechanisms of head and neck carcinogenesis and to assess the efficacy of interventions aimed at controlling either risk factor.

METHODS: We examined the extent to which head and neck cancer is ...

BACKGROUND: Data and statistics on cancer mortality over the last decades are available for most developed countries, while they are more difficult to obtain, in a standardized and comparable format, for countries of Latin America.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Age standardized (world population) mortality rates around the year 2000, derived from the WHO database, are presented for 14 selected cancers and total cancer in 10 countries of Latin America, plus, for comparative purposes, Canada and ...

The role of age at menarche and at menopause on breast cancer risk was reassessed in a combined analysis of four Italian case-control studies including a total of 6,075 cases and 5,492 controls. The risk of breast cancer was lower in women whose menarche occurred at age 15 or over, but there was no evidence for the risk to increase with decreasing age at menarche below age 15. Compared with women with earlier menarche, the relative risk (RR) was 0.9 (95% confidence interval, CI 0.7-1.0) ...

BACKGROUND: There is uncertainty about the relevance of animal foods to the pathogenesis of ischemic heart disease (IHD). We examined meat, fish, dairy products, and eggs and risk for IHD in the pan-European EPIC cohort (European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition).

METHODS: In this prospective study of 409 885 men and women in 9 European countries, diet was assessed with validated questionnaires and calibrated with 24-hour recalls. Lipids and blood pressure were ...

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, there have been substantial changes in mortality from urologic cancers in Europe.

OBJECTIVE: To provide updated information, we analyzed trends in mortality from cancer of the prostate, testis, bladder, and kidney in Europe from 1970 to 2008.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We derived data for 33 European countries from the World Health Organization database.

MEASUREMENTS: We computed world-standardized mortality rates and used joinpoint regression to ...

BACKGROUND: A diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) may include surgical lung biopsy (SLB), which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and also appreciable costs. Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) is adopting an important role.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic yield (DY) and safety of TBLC and SLB in a large cohort of patients and to perform a systematic review of the literature as well as a meta-analysis.

METHODS: We ...

Mortality rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are high in Italy compared with other Western countries. To elucidate further the role of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), alcohol drinking, and tobacco smoking in the etiology of HCC, we carried out a hospital-based case-control study in two areas of Italy: the province of Pordenone in the Northeast and the town of Naples in the South. A total of 229 HCC cases (median age, 66 years) and 431 controls (median age, 65 ...

BACKGROUND: The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) released in 2007 eight recommendations for cancer prevention on body fatness, diet and physical activity. Our aim is to evaluate the relation between adherence to these recommendations and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk.

METHODS: We pooled data from two Italian case-control studies including overall 2419 patients with CRC and 4723 controls. Adherence to the WCRF/AICR guidelines was ...

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the association between colorectal cancer and exposure to disinfection by-products in drinking water is inconsistent.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed long-term exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs), the most prevalent group of chlorination by-products, to evaluate the association with colorectal cancer.

METHODS: A multicenter case-control study was conducted in Spain and Italy in 2008-2013. Hospital-based incident cases and population-based (Spain) and hospital-based (Italy) ...

Objectives: To assess the relation between cigarette smoking, alcohol, coffee, decaffeinated coffee and tea consumption, and the risk of non-fatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Design and setting: Hospital-based case–control study conducted in 1995–1999 in Milan, Italy. Patients: 507 cases with a first episode of non-fatal AMI, and 478 controls admitted to hospital for acute diseases. Methods: Information was collected by interviewer-administered questionnaires. Odds ratios (OR) and ...

A role for genetic susceptibility in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is supported by the accumulating evidence of common genetic variations altering NHL risk. However, the pattern of NHL heritability remains poorly understood. We conducted a pooled analysis of 10 211 NHL cases and 11 905 controls from the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium (InterLymph) to evaluate NHL risk among those with hematopoietic malignancies in first-degree relatives. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence ...

The mortality experience of a cohort of chrysotile miners employed since 1946 in Balangero, northern Italy was updated to the end of 1987 giving a total of 427 deaths out of 27,010 man-years at risk. A substantial excess mortality for all causes (standardised mortality ratio (SMR) = 149) was found, mainly because of high rates for some alcohol related deaths (hepatic cirrhosis, accidents). For mortality from cancer, however, the number of observed deaths (82) was close to that expected ...

The role of different types of alcoholic beverage on cancer of the upper digestive tract was investigated in a case-control study conducted in the northern part of Italy on 305 male cases of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, 288 of oesophageal cancer and 1621 controls admitted to hospital for acute, non-neoplastic conditions, unrelated to alcohol intake. Similar significant trends of risk increase with increasing alcohol intake were seen for cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx and ...