Mobile mammography in underserved populations: analysis of outcomes of 3,923 women.

Mobile health units are increasingly utilized to address barriers to mammography screening. Despite the existence of mobile mammography outreach throughout the US, there is a paucity of data describing the populations served by mobile units and the ability of these programs to reach underserved populations, address disparities, and report on outcomes of screening performance. To evaluate the association of variables associated with outcomes for women undergoing breast cancer screening and clinical evaluation on a mobile unit. Retrospective analysis of women undergoing mammography screening during the period 2008-2010. Logistic regression was fitted using generalized estimating equations to account for potential repeat annual visits to the mobile unit. In total, 4,543 mammograms and/or clinical breast exams were conducted on 3,923 women with a mean age of 54.6, 29 % of whom had either never been screened or had not had a screening in 5 years. Age < 50 years, lack of insurance, Hispanic ethnicity, current smoking, or having a family relative (<50 years of age) with a diagnosis of cancer were associated with increased odds of a suspicious mammogram finding (BIRADS 4,5,6). Thirty-one breast cancers were detected. The mobile outreach initiative successfully engaged many women who had not had a recent mammogram. Lack of insurance and current smoking were modifiable variables associated with abnormal screens requiring follow up.

Correction: Applying Personal Genetic Data to Injury Risk Assessment in Athletes.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122676.].

Applying personal genetic data to injury risk assessment in athletes.

Recent studies have identified genetic markers associated with risk for certain sports-related injuries and performance-related conditions, with the hope that these markers could be used by individual athletes to personalize their training and diet regimens. We found that we could greatly expand the knowledge base of sports genetic information by using published data originally found in health and disease studies. For example, the results from large genome-wide association studies for low bone mineral density in elderly women can be re-purposed for low bone mineral density in young endurance athletes. In total, we found 124 single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with: anterior cruciate ligament tear, Achilles tendon injury, low bone mineral density and stress fracture, osteoarthritis, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, and sickle cell trait. Of these single nucleotide polymorphisms, 91% have not previously been used in sports genetics. We conducted a pilot program on fourteen triathletes using this expanded knowledge base of genetic variants associated with sports injury. These athletes were genotyped and educated about how their individual genetic make-up affected their personal risk profile during an hour-long personal consultation. Overall, participants were favorable of the program, found it informative, and most acted upon their genetic results. This pilot program shows that recent genetic research provides valuable information to help reduce sports injuries and to optimize nutrition. There are many genetic studies for health and disease that can be mined to provide useful information to athletes about their individual risk for relevant injuries.

Chemokine Ligand 5 (CCL5) and chemokine receptor (CCR5) genetic variants and prostate cancer risk among men of African Descent: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Chemokine and chemokine receptors play an essential role in tumorigenesis. Although chemokine-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with various cancers, their impact on prostate cancer (PCA) among men of African descent is unknown. Consequently, this study evaluated 43 chemokine-associated SNPs in relation to PCA risk. We hypothesized inheritance of variant chemokine-associated alleles may lead to alterations in PCA susceptibility, presumably due to variations in antitumor immune responses. METHODS: Sequence variants were evaluated in germ-line DNA samples from 814 African-American and Jamaican men (279 PCA cases and 535 controls) using Illumina's Goldengate genotyping system. RESULTS: Inheritance of CCL5 rs2107538 (AA, GA+AA) and rs3817655 (AA, AG, AG+AA) genotypes were linked with a 34-48% reduction in PCA risk. Additionally, the recessive and dominant models for CCR5 rs1799988 and CCR7 rs3136685 were associated with a 1.52-1.73 fold increase in PCA risk. Upon stratification, only CCL5 rs3817655 and CCR7 rs3136685 remained significant for the Jamaican and U.S. subgroups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, CCL5 (rs2107538, rs3817655) and CCR5 (rs1799988) sequence variants significantly modified PCA susceptibility among men of African descent, even after adjusting for age and multiple comparisons. Our findings are only suggestive and require further evaluation and validation in relation to prostate cancer risk and ultimately disease progression, biochemical/disease recurrence and mortality in larger high-risk subgroups. Such efforts will help to identify genetic markers capable of explaining disproportionately high prostate cancer incidence, mortality, and morbidity rates among men of African descent.