Factors associated with place of death for elderly Japanese-American men: the Honolulu Heart Program and Honolulu-Asia Aging Study.

Place of death is an indicator of health service utilization at the end of life and differs according to cause of death. Asian Americans may have a higher percentage of hospital deaths than Caucasian Americans, yet reasons for this finding are unclear. This study examined distribution of place of death and the associations between place and cause of death in elderly Japanese-American men in a longitudinal cohort: the Honolulu Heart Program and Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. Data collected between 1991 and 1999 on 1,352 men aged 73 to 99 at death were analyzed for associations between cause-of-death characteristics and hospital, home, or nursing home location of death. Fifty-nine percent of men died in hospitals, 23% died at home, and 18% died in nursing homes. Of the dementia-related deaths, 43% occurred in hospitals (vs 16% in a national study), 37% occurred in nursing homes (vs 67% in a national study), and 20% occurred at home. Of the stroke deaths, 53% occurred in hospitals, 40% were in nursing homes, and 7% occurred at home. Of the cancer deaths, 53% occurred in hospitals, 34% occurred at home, and 13% were in nursing homes. Traditional family obligation to care for elderly people at home and inability to access care for dementia may account for the greater rate of hospital death and lower rate of nursing home deaths in this cohort. Attitudes of elderly Japanese Americans and their families regarding place of care at the end of life, particularly in the setting of dementia, merit future study.

A literature review on Complementary and Alternative Medicine for the treatment of breast cancer: Hawai'i.

The purpose of this literature review is to survey the scholarly work done in the field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) as it relates to breast cancer treatment, accenting studies done on diverse ethnicities of Hawai'i. This study reviews articles published in biomedical literature from 1999-2005 that report findings related to the themes recognized in this area of study.

The use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Asian women of Hawai'i in the treatment of breast cancer.

This qualitative investigation examined complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by Hawai'i Asian women breast cancer survivors. The majority of participants felt that the conventional treatment they received was adequate in treating their cancer but was impersonal in nature leaving them feeling abandoned. Many sought CAM to improve their quality of life. Additional research on CAM and the patient-physician relationship is urgently needed.

Anti-tumor effects of herbal medicines on endometrial carcinomas via estrogen receptor-alpha-related mechanism.

This study was performed to examine the relationship between the anti-tumor effects of herbal medicine and endometrial carcinoma with ER-related mechanisms. An endometrial cancer cell line (Ishikawa) was used for this study. The cell viability and expression of estrogen receptors (ER) were determined by MTT and RT-PCR. A dose-dependent decrease of viability and apoptosis of the cancer cells was generated by exposure to the herbal medicines, Juzen-taiho-to or Shimotsu-to. The expression of ER-alpha mRNA, but not ER-beta mRNA was suppressed by Juzen-taiho-to or Shimotsu-to in an endometrial cancer cell line. The anti-tumor effect of these herbal medicines against endometrial carcinoma might be correlated to the ER-alpha related mechanism.

Low-fat dietary pattern and risk of colorectal cancer: the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial.

CONTEXT: Observational studies and polyp recurrence trials are not conclusive regarding the effects of a low-fat dietary pattern on risk of colorectal cancer, necessitating a primary prevention trial. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a low-fat eating pattern on risk of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial, a randomized controlled trial conducted in 48,835 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years recruited between 1993 and 1998 from 40 clinical centers throughout the United States. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly assigned to the dietary modification intervention (n = 19,541; 40%) or the comparison group (n = 29,294; 60%). The intensive behavioral modification program aimed to motivate and support reductions in dietary fat, to increase consumption of vegetables and fruits, and to increase grain servings by using group sessions, self-monitoring techniques, and other tailored and targeted strategies. Women in the comparison group continued their usual eating pattern. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Invasive colorectal cancer incidence. RESULTS: A total of 480 incident cases of invasive colorectal cancer occurred during a mean follow-up of 8.1 (SD, 1.7) years. Intervention group participants significantly reduced their percentage of energy from fat by 10.7% more than did the comparison group at 1 year, and this difference between groups was mostly maintained (8.1% at year 6). Statistically significant increases in vegetable, fruit, and grain servings were also made. Despite these dietary changes, there was no evidence that the intervention reduced the risk of invasive colorectal cancer during the follow-up period. There were 201 women with invasive colorectal cancer (0.13% per year) in the intervention group and 279 (0.12% per year) in the comparison group (hazard ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 0.90-1.29). Secondary analyses suggested potential interactions with baseline aspirin use and combined estrogen-progestin use status (P = .01 for each). Colorectal examination rates, although not protocol defined, were comparable between the intervention and comparison groups. Similar results were seen in analyses adjusting for adherence to the intervention. CONCLUSION: In this study, a low-fat dietary pattern intervention did not reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women during 8.1 years of follow-up. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00000611.