Socio-economic inequalities in lung cancer mortality in Spain: a nation-wide study using area-based deprivation.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the main cause of cancer mortality worldwide and in Spain. Several previous studies have documented socio-economic inequalities in lung cancer mortality but these have focused on specific provinces or cities. The goal of this study was to describe lung cancer mortality in Spain by sex as a function of socio-economic deprivation. METHODS: We analysed all registered deaths from lung cancer during the period 2011-2017 in Spain. Mortality data was obtained from the National Institute of Statistics, and socio-economic level was measured with the small-area deprivation index developed by the Spanish Society of Epidemiology, with the census tract of residence at the time of death as the unit of analysis. We computed crude and age-standardized rates per 100,000 inhabitants by sex, deprivation quintile, and type of municipality (rural, semi-rural, urban) considering the 2013 European standard population (ASR-E). We further calculated ASR-E ratios between the most deprived (Q5) and the least deprived (Q1) areas and mapped census tract smoothed standardized lung cancer mortality ratios by sex. RESULTS: We observed 148,425 lung cancer deaths (80.7% in men), with 73.5 deaths per 100,000 men and 17.1 deaths per 100,000 women. Deaths from lung cancer in men were five times more frequent than in women (ASR-E ratio = 5.3). Women residing in the least deprived areas had higher mortality from lung cancer (ASR-E = 22.2), compared to women residing in the most deprived areas (ASR-E = 13.2), with a clear gradient among the quintiles of deprivation. For men, this pattern was reversed, with the highest mortality occurring in areas of lower socio-economic level (ASR-E = 99.0 in Q5 vs. ASR-E = 86.6 in Q1). These socio-economic inequalities remained fairly stable over time and across urban and rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Socio-economic status is strongly related to lung cancer mortality, showing opposite patterns in men and women, such that mortality is highest in women residing in the least deprived areas and men residing in the most deprived areas. Systematic surveillance of lung cancer mortality by socio-economic status may facilitate the assessment of public health interventions aimed at mitigating cancer inequalities in Spain.

Health-related quality of life in patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer: CAPLIFE study.

PURPOSE: To analyse the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) at diagnosis of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) according to tumour extension and urinary symptomatology and to explore factors associated with HRQoL. METHODS: 408 Controls and 463 PCa cases were included. Eligibility criteria were a new diagnosis of PCa (cases), 40-80 years of age, and residence in the participating hospitals' coverage area for ≥ 6 months before recruitment. HRQoL was evaluated using the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey, Mental (MCS) and Physical Component Summaries (PCS), and urinary symptoms with the International Prostate Symptom Score. HRQoL scores for all PCa cases, according to tumour extension and urinary symptoms, were compared with controls. In addition, information about lifestyles and comorbidities was collected and its association with low HRQoL (lower scores) were explored using logistic regression models. RESULTS: Overall cases had similar PCS score, but lower MCS score than controls. The lowest standardised scores for both PCS and MCS were reached by cases with severe urinary symptoms and a metastatic tumour [mean (SD); PCS: 41.9 (11.5), MCS: 42.3 (10.3)]. Having "below" PCS and MCS scores was associated with the presence of three or more comorbidities in the cases [aOR = 2.86 (1.19-6.84) for PCS and aOR = 3.58 (1.37-9.31) for MCS] and with severe urinary symptomatology [aOR = 4.71 (1.84-12.08) for PCS and aOR = 7.63 (2.70-21.58) for MCS]. CONCLUSION: The mental dimension of HRQoL at diagnosis of patients with PCa was lower than in controls, especially for cases with severe urinary symptoms and a metastatic tumour. Comorbidities and urinary symptoms were variables associated with the HRQoL of PCa cases.

The patient, diagnostic, and treatment intervals in adult patients with cancer from high- and lower-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Longer time intervals to diagnosis and treatment are associated with worse survival for various types of cancer. The patient, diagnostic, and treatment intervals are considered core indicators for early diagnosis and treatment. This review estimated the median duration of these intervals for various types of cancer and compared it across high- and lower-income countries. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis (prospectively registered protocol CRD42020200752). Three databases (MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science) and information sources including grey literature (Google Scholar, OpenGrey, EThOS, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses) were searched. Eligible articles were published during 2009 to 2022 and reported the duration of the following intervals in adult patients diagnosed with primary symptomatic cancer: patient interval (from the onset of symptoms to first presentation to a healthcare professional), diagnostic interval (from first presentation to diagnosis), and treatment interval (from diagnosis to treatment start). Interval duration was recorded in days and study medians were combined in a pooled estimate with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the Aarhus checklist. A total of 410 articles representing 68 countries and reporting on 5,537,594 patients were included. The majority of articles reported data from high-income countries (n = 294, 72%), with 116 (28%) reporting data from lower-income countries. Pooled meta-analytic estimates were possible for 38 types of cancer. The majority of studies were conducted on patients with breast, lung, colorectal, and head and neck cancer. In studies from high-income countries, pooled median patient intervals generally did not exceed a month for most cancers. However, in studies from lower-income countries, patient intervals were consistently 1.5 to 4 times longer for almost all cancer sites. The majority of data on the diagnostic and treatment intervals came from high-income countries. Across both high- and lower-income countries, the longest diagnostic intervals were observed for hematological (71 days [95% CI 52 to 85], e.g., myelomas (83 days [47 to 145])), genitourinary (58 days [50 to 77], e.g., prostate (85 days [57 to 112])), and digestive/gastrointestinal (57 days [45 to 67], e.g., colorectal (63 days [48 to 78])) cancers. Similarly, the longest treatment intervals were observed for genitourinary (57 days [45 to 66], e.g., prostate (75 days [61 to 87])) and gynecological (46 days [38 to 54], e.g., cervical (69 days [45 to 108]) cancers. In studies from high-income countries, the implementation of cancer-directed policies was associated with shorter patient and diagnostic intervals for several cancers. This review included a large number of studies conducted worldwide but is limited by survivor bias and the inherent complexity and many possible biases in the measurement of time points and intervals in the cancer treatment pathway. In addition, the subintervals that compose the diagnostic interval (e.g., primary care interval, referral to diagnosis interval) were not considered. CONCLUSIONS: These results identify the cancers where diagnosis and treatment initiation may take the longest and reveal the extent of global disparities in early diagnosis and treatment. Efforts should be made to reduce help-seeking times for cancer symptoms in lower-income countries. Estimates for the diagnostic and treatment intervals came mostly from high-income countries that have powerful health information systems in place to record such information.

Salivary Melatonin Rhythm and Prostate Cancer: CAPLIFE Study.

PURPOSE: We analyzed the association between salivary melatonin rhythm and prostate cancer (PCa). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 40 PCa cases and 41 controls from the CAPLIFE study were analyzed to determine the salivary melatonin rhythm through 6 saliva samples. Amplitude (maximum melatonin peak) was categorized as low or high using the cutoff point median of the controls. Acrophase (time of maximum melatonin peak) was classified as early or late using the same criteria. In addition, the following data were collected: characteristics related to sleep habits, and clinical and sociodemographic information. Melatonin rhythms were represented for cases and controls and analyzed according to urinary symptoms, tumor aggressiveness and tumor extension. Variations in melatonin levels were estimated using generalized estimating equations on the ln-transformed values. To estimate the association between amplitude, acrophase and PCa, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% CI were calculated using logistic regression models. RESULTS: The mean age was 67.0 years (SD 7.3) for cases and 67.5 (SD 5.5) for controls. Melatonin levels were always lower in PCa cases than in controls. On average, melatonin levels in cases were -64.0% (95% CI -73.4, -51.4) than controls. PCa cases had lower amplitude, 26.0 pg/ml (SD 27.8) vs 46.3 pg/ml (SD 28.2; p <0.001). A high amplitude was associated with a decreased risk of PCa, aOR=0.31 (95% CI 0.11, 0.86), while a late acrophase could be increased risk of PCa, aOR=2.36 (95% CI 0.88, 6.27). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PCa always had lower melatonin levels than men without PCa, independent of urinary symptomatology or extension and aggressiveness of the tumor.

Bayesian variable selection and survival modeling: assessing the Most important comorbidities that impact lung and colorectal cancer survival in Spain.

Cancer survival represents one of the main indicators of interest in cancer epidemiology. However, the survival of cancer patients can be affected by several factors, such as comorbidities, that may interact with the cancer biology. Moreover, it is interesting to understand how different cancer sites and tumour stages are affected by different comorbidities. Identifying the comorbidities that affect cancer survival is thus of interest as it can be used to identify factors driving the survival of cancer patients. This information can also be used to identify vulnerable groups of patients with comorbidities that may lead to worst prognosis of cancer. We address these questions and propose a principled selection and evaluation of the effect of comorbidities on the overall survival of cancer patients. In the first step, we apply a Bayesian variable selection method that can be used to identify the comorbidities that predict overall survival. In the second step, we build a general Bayesian survival model that accounts for time-varying effects. In the third step, we derive several posterior predictive measures to quantify the effect of individual comorbidities on the population overall survival. We present applications to data on lung and colorectal cancers from two Spanish population-based cancer registries. The proposed methodology is implemented with a combination of the R-packages mombf and rstan. We provide the code for reproducibility at https://github.com/migariane/BayesVarImpComorbiCancer .

Factors associated with serum ferritin levels and iron excess: results from the EPIC-EurGast study.

PURPOSE: Excess iron is involved in the development of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. We aimed to describe the prevalence of excess iron and its determinants in healthy European adults. METHODS: Sociodemographic, lifestyle, iron status, dietary information, and HFE genotyping were obtained from controls from the nested case-control study EPIC-EurGast study. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) was measured to address possible systemic inflammation. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to assess iron status and its determinants. RESULTS: Out of the 828 participants (median age: 58.7 years), 43% were females. Median serum ferritin and prevalence of excess iron were 143.7 µg/L and 35.2% in males, respectively, and 77 µg/L and 20% in females, both increasing with latitude across Europe. Prevalence of HFE C282Y mutation was significantly higher in Northern and Central Europe (~ 11%) than in the South (5%). Overweight/obesity, age, and daily alcohol and heme iron intake were independent determinants for iron status, with sex differences even after excluding participants with hsCRP > 5 mg/L. Obese males showed a greater consumption of alcohol, total and red meat, and heme iron, compared with those normal weight. CONCLUSION: Obesity, higher alcohol and heme iron consumption were the main risk factors for excess iron in males while only age was associated with iron overload in females. Weight control and promoting healthy lifestyle may help prevent iron overload, especially in obese people. Further research is needed to clarify determinants of excess iron in the healthy adult population, helping to reduce the associated comorbidities.

The role of multimorbidity in short-term mortality of lung cancer patients in Spain: a population-based cohort study.

AIM: Chronic diseases often occur simultaneously and tend to be associated with adverse health outcomes, but limited research has been undertaken to understand their role in lung cancer mortality. Therefore, this study aims to describe the prevalence and patterns of having one (comorbidity) or ≥ 2 chronic diseases (multimorbidity) among lung cancer patients in Spain, and to examine the association between comorbidity or multimorbidity and short-term mortality risk at six months after cancer diagnosis. METHODS: In this population-based cohort study, data were drawn from two Spanish population-based cancer registries, Girona and Granada, and electronic health records. We identified 1259 adult lung cancer patients, diagnosed from 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2012. We identified the most common patterns of individual comorbidities and their pairwise correlations. We used a flexible parametric modelling approach to assess the overall short-term mortality risk 6 months after cancer diagnosis by levels of comorbidity after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, province of residence, surgery, cancer stage, histology, and body mass index. RESULTS: We found high prevalence of comorbidity in lung cancer patients, especially among the elderly, men, those diagnosed with advanced-stage tumours, smokers, and obese patients. The most frequent comorbidities were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (36.6%), diabetes (20.7%) and heart failure (16.8%). The strongest pairwise correlation was the combination of heart failure with renal disease (r = 0.20, p < 0.01), and heart failure with diabetes (r = 0.16, p < 0.01). Patients with either one or two or more comorbidities had 40% higher overall mortality risk than those without comorbidities (aHR for comorbidity: 1.4, 95%CI: 1.1-1.7; aHR for multimorbidity: 1.4, 95%CI: 1.1-1.8), when relevant confounding factors were considered. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of comorbid diseases, rather than the number of comorbidities, was associated with increasing the risk of short-term lung cancer mortality in Spain. Comorbidity was a consistent and independent predictor of mortality among lung cancer patients, six months after diagnosis. The most common comorbid conditions were age-, obesity- and tobacco-related diseases. Our findings highlight the need to develop targeted preventive interventions and more personalised clinical guidelines to address the needs of lung cancer patients with one or more comorbidities in Spain.

Physical comorbidities as a marker for high risk of psychological distress in cancer patients.

AIMS: Physical and psychiatric comorbidities are common in cancer patients and could impact their treatment and prognosis. However, the evidence base regarding the influence of comorbidities in the management and health service use of patients is still scant. In this research we investigated how physical comorbidities are related to the mental health and help-seeking of cancer patients. METHODS: Data were obtained from the representative National Health Survey of Spain (2017). Participants were respondents who reported a cancer diagnosis (n = 484). These were also matched with controls without cancer history (n = 484) based on age, gender, and region. Four alternative physical comorbidities indices were created based on information regarding 28 chronic conditions. Outcomes of interest were psychological distress and having consulted a mental healthcare professional in the year before the survey. RESULTS: Thirty percent of cancer patients reported significant psychological distress but only 10% had consulted a professional. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, among cancer patients each additional comorbidity was associated with 9% higher odds of reporting high psychological distress (odds ratio [OR] = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.16) and 21% higher odds of having consulted a mental healthcare professional (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.09-1.34). The effects of comorbidities depended on the type of index and were different in controls without cancer history. CONCLUSION: Physical comorbidities in cancer patients are associated with higher risk of psychological distress and higher demand for mental health services. We encourage further research on this issue as it could improve mental health screening and management in oncologic care.

Cancer incidence estimation from mortality data: a validation study within a population-based cancer registry.

BACKGROUND: Population-based cancer registries are required to calculate cancer incidence in a geographical area, and several methods have been developed to obtain estimations of cancer incidence in areas not covered by a cancer registry. However, an extended analysis of those methods in order to confirm their validity is still needed. METHODS: We assessed the validity of one of the most frequently used methods to estimate cancer incidence, on the basis of cancer mortality data and the incidence-to-mortality ratio (IMR), the IMR method. Using the previous 15-year cancer mortality time series, we derived the expected yearly number of cancer cases in the period 2004-2013 for six cancer sites for each sex. Generalized linear mixed models, including a polynomial function for the year of death and smoothing splines for age, were adjusted. Models were fitted under a Bayesian framework based on Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. The IMR method was applied to five scenarios reflecting different assumptions regarding the behavior of the IMR. We compared incident cases estimated with the IMR method to observed cases diagnosed in 2004-2013 in Granada. A goodness-of-fit (GOF) indicator was formulated to determine the best estimation scenario. RESULTS: A total of 39,848 cancer incidence cases and 43,884 deaths due to cancer were included. The relative differences between the observed and predicted numbers of cancer cases were less than 10% for most cancer sites. The constant assumption for the IMR trend provided the best GOF for colon, rectal, lung, bladder, and stomach cancers in men and colon, rectum, breast, and corpus uteri in women. The linear assumption was better for lung and ovarian cancers in women and prostate cancer in men. In the best scenario, the mean absolute percentage error was 6% in men and 4% in women for overall cancer. Female breast cancer and prostate cancer obtained the worst GOF results in all scenarios. CONCLUSION: A comparison with a historical time series of real data in a population-based cancer registry indicated that the IMR method is a valid tool for the estimation of cancer incidence. The goodness-of-fit indicator proposed can help select the best assumption for the IMR based on a statistical argument.

The spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain: Hygiene habits, sociodemographic profile, mobility patterns and comorbidities.

COVID-19 constitutes the largest pandemic in the last 100 years. In view of the rapid spread of the virus, it is necessary to study the sociodemographic characteristics, hygiene habits, activity and mobility, and comorbidities of SARS-CoV-2 infection to be able to implement prevention strategies. For this purpose, a survey including the variables of interest was designed to try to understand the exponential spread of the virus despite the implemented severe restrictive mobility measures during the period of maximum confinement in Spain. This study conducted throughout the Spanish territory aims to clarify other routes of transmission of the COVID-19 during confinement, risk factors, and the effectiveness of the recommended hygiene measures to detect critical points of exposure to the virus and thus reduce its spread in this and possible future pandemics that could compromise public health. Our results show that living with a COVID-19 patient increased the risk of contagion by 60 times. Among all the sociodemographic variables analyzed, walking the dog have shown to have the strongest effect by increasing the risk by 78%. The most effective hygiene measure reducing the prevalence of the disease was the disinfection of products purchased from the market upon arrival home (which reduced the risk by 94%), above other hygiene measures, such as wearing masks, gloves, ethanol disinfection, bleaching and others. The mobility variable studied that showed the largest increase in the prevalence of the disease was working on site at the workplace (increased the risk by 76%). A significant higher prevalence of the disease was also detected among respondents who used the modality of acquiring basic commodities using home delivery service compared to those who chose in-store shopping.

Blood pressure and risk of cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

Several studies have reported associations of hypertension with cancer, but not all results were conclusive. We examined the association of systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure with the development of incident cancer at all anatomical sites in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence intervals) were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, stratified by EPIC-participating center and age at recruitment, and adjusted for sex, education, smoking, body mass index, physical activity, diabetes and dietary (in women also reproductive) factors. The study included 307,318 men and women, with an average follow-up of 13.7 (standard deviation 4.4) years and 39,298 incident cancers. We confirmed the expected positive association with renal cell carcinoma: HR = 1.12 (1.08-1.17) per 10 mm Hg higher SBP and HR = 1.23 (1.14-1.32) for DBP. We additionally found positive associations for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC): HR = 1.16 (1.07-1.26) (SBP), HR = 1.31 (1.13-1.51) (DBP), weaker for head and neck cancers: HR = 1.08 (1.04-1.12) (SBP), HR = 1.09 (1.01-1.17) (DBP) and, similarly, for skin SCC, colon cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer and uterine adenocarcinoma (AC), but not for esophageal AC, lung SCC, lung AC or uterine endometroid cancer. We observed weak inverse associations of SBP with cervical SCC: HR = 0.91 (0.82-1.00) and lymphomas: HR = 0.97 (0.93-1.00). There were no consistent associations with cancers in other locations. Our results are largely compatible with published studies and support weak associations of blood pressure with cancers in specific locations and morphologies.

Predicted basal metabolic rate and cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

Emerging evidence suggests that a metabolic profile associated with obesity may be a more relevant risk factor for some cancers than adiposity per se. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is an indicator of overall body metabolism and may be a proxy for the impact of a specific metabolic profile on cancer risk. Therefore, we investigated the association of predicted BMR with incidence of 13 obesity-related cancers in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). BMR at baseline was calculated using the WHO/FAO/UNU equations and the relationships between BMR and cancer risk were investigated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. A total of 141,295 men and 317,613 women, with a mean follow-up of 14 years were included in the analysis. Overall, higher BMR was associated with a greater risk for most cancers that have been linked with obesity. However, among normal weight participants, higher BMR was associated with elevated risks of esophageal adenocarcinoma (hazard ratio per 1-standard deviation change in BMR [HR1-SD ]: 2.46; 95% CI 1.20; 5.03) and distal colon cancer (HR1-SD : 1.33; 95% CI 1.001; 1.77) among men and with proximal colon (HR1-SD : 1.16; 95% CI 1.01; 1.35), pancreatic (HR1-SD : 1.37; 95% CI 1.13; 1.66), thyroid (HR1-SD : 1.65; 95% CI 1.33; 2.05), postmenopausal breast (HR1-SD : 1.17; 95% CI 1.11; 1.22) and endometrial (HR1-SD : 1.20; 95% CI 1.03; 1.40) cancers in women. These results indicate that higher BMR may be an indicator of a metabolic phenotype associated with risk of certain cancer types, and may be a useful predictor of cancer risk independent of body fatness.

Nut intake and 5-year changes in body weight and obesity risk in adults: results from the EPIC-PANACEA study.

PURPOSE: There is inconsistent evidence regarding the relationship between higher intake of nuts, being an energy-dense food, and weight gain. We investigated the relationship between nut intake and changes in weight over 5 years. METHODS: This study includes 373,293 men and women, 25-70 years old, recruited between 1992 and 2000 from 10 European countries in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Habitual intake of nuts including peanuts, together defined as nut intake, was estimated from country-specific validated dietary questionnaires. Body weight was measured at recruitment and self-reported 5 years later. The association between nut intake and body weight change was estimated using multilevel mixed linear regression models with center/country as random effect and nut intake and relevant confounders as fixed effects. The relative risk (RR) of becoming overweight or obese after 5 years was investigated using multivariate Poisson regressions stratified according to baseline body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: On average, study participants gained 2.1 kg (SD 5.0 kg) over 5 years. Compared to non-consumers, subjects in the highest quartile of nut intake had less weight gain over 5 years (-0.07 kg; 95% CI -0.12 to -0.02) (P trend = 0.025) and had 5% lower risk of becoming overweight (RR 0.95; 95% CI 0.92-0.98) or obese (RR 0.95; 95% CI 0.90-0.99) (both P trend <0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Higher intake of nuts is associated with reduced weight gain and a lower risk of becoming overweight or obese.

Helicobacter pylori infection, chronic corpus atrophic gastritis and pancreatic cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort: A nested case-control study.

The association between H. pylori infection and pancreatic cancer risk remains controversial. We conducted a nested case-control study with 448 pancreatic cancer cases and their individually matched control subjects, based on the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort, to determine whether there was an altered pancreatic cancer risk associated with H. pylori infection and chronic corpus atrophic gastritis. Conditional logistic regression models were applied to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for matching factors and other potential confounders. Our results showed that pancreatic cancer risk was neither associated with H. pylori seropositivity (OR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.70, 1.31) nor CagA seropositivity (OR = 1.07; 95% CI: 0.77, 1.48). We also did not find any excess risk among individuals seropositive for H. pylori but seronegative for CagA, compared with the group seronegative for both antibodies (OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.63, 1.38). However, we found that chronic corpus atrophic gastritis was non-significantly associated with an increased pancreatic cancer risk (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 0.77, 2.37), and although based on small numbers, the excess risk was particularly marked among individuals seronegative for both H. pylori and CagA (OR = 5.66; 95% CI: 1.59, 20.19, p value for interaction < 0.01). Our findings provided evidence supporting the null association between H. pylori infection and pancreatic cancer risk in western European populations. However, the suggested association between chronic corpus atrophic gastritis and pancreatic cancer risk warrants independent verification in future studies, and, if confirmed, further studies on the underlying mechanisms.

Pre-diagnostic metabolite concentrations and prostate cancer risk in 1077 cases and 1077 matched controls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how pre-diagnostic metabolites in blood relate to risk of prostate cancer. We aimed to investigate the prospective association between plasma metabolite concentrations and risk of prostate cancer overall, and by time to diagnosis and tumour characteristics, and risk of death from prostate cancer. METHODS: In a case-control study nested in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, pre-diagnostic plasma concentrations of 122 metabolites (including acylcarnitines, amino acids, biogenic amines, glycerophospholipids, hexose and sphingolipids) were measured using targeted mass spectrometry (AbsoluteIDQ p180 Kit) and compared between 1077 prostate cancer cases and 1077 matched controls. Risk of prostate cancer associated with metabolite concentrations was estimated by multi-variable conditional logistic regression, and multiple testing was accounted for by using a false discovery rate controlling procedure. RESULTS: Seven metabolite concentrations, i.e. acylcarnitine C18:1, amino acids citrulline and trans-4-hydroxyproline, glycerophospholipids PC aa C28:1, PC ae C30:0 and PC ae C30:2, and sphingolipid SM (OH) C14:1, were associated with prostate cancer (p < 0.05), but none of the associations were statistically significant after controlling for multiple testing. Citrulline was associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer (odds ratio (OR1SD) = 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62-0.86; p trend = 0.0002) in the first 5 years of follow-up after taking multiple testing into account, but not after longer follow-up; results for other metabolites did not vary by time to diagnosis. After controlling for multiple testing, 12 glycerophospholipids were inversely associated with advanced stage disease, with risk reduction up to 46% per standard deviation increase in concentration (OR1SD = 0.54; 95% CI 0.40-0.72; p trend = 0.00004 for PC aa C40:3). Death from prostate cancer was associated with higher concentrations of acylcarnitine C3, amino acids methionine and trans-4-hydroxyproline, biogenic amine ADMA, hexose and sphingolipid SM (OH) C14:1 and lower concentration of glycerophospholipid PC aa C42:4. CONCLUSIONS: Several metabolites, i.e. C18:1, citrulline, trans-4-hydroxyproline, three glycerophospholipids and SM (OH) C14:1, might be related to prostate cancer. Analyses by time to diagnosis indicated that citrulline may be a marker of subclinical prostate cancer, while other metabolites might be related to aetiology. Several glycerophospholipids were inversely related to advanced stage disease. More prospective data are needed to confirm these associations.

Allostatic Load and Depression Symptoms in Cancer Survivors: A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with cancer often experience stress throughout the cancer trajectory and have a high risk of experiencing depression. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between allostatic load (AL), a measure of cumulative stress-related physiologic dysregulation of different body systems, and symptoms of depression in cancer survivors. METHODS: Participants were 294 adult cancer survivors from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2007-2018). Allostatic load was measured using 14 indicators representing cardiometabolic risk, glucose metabolism, cardiopulmonary functioning, parasympathetic functioning, and inflammation. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The relationship between AL and depressive symptoms was investigated using multiple regression adjusted for diverse sociodemographic and diagnosis variables. RESULTS: Higher AL was associated with higher depressive symptom scores. The higher risk of depression was concentrated among those survivors in the highest AL quartile, with 21% (95% confidence interval, 11%-32%) of survivors presenting a high risk of depression compared with 8% to 11% of survivors in the lower quartiles. In exploratory analyses, the relationship between AL and depressive symptoms was only significant among survivors with a lower income. In contrast, in survivors in the highest income group, depressive symptoms were lower and unrelated to AL. CONCLUSION: High AL is associated with more depressive symptoms among cancer survivors. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Nurses have an important role in identifying psychological distress in cancer patients and survivors. Further research is needed to investigate the usefulness of AL as a marker in the context of cancer follow-up care and screening for psychological distress.

Cell Count Differentials by Cytomorphology and Next-Generation Flow Cytometry in Bone Marrow Aspirate: An Evidence-Based Approach.

Despite a lack of evidence, a bone marrow aspirate differential of 500 cells is commonly used in the clinical setting. We aimed to test the performance of 200-cell counts for daily hematological workup. In total, 660 consecutive samples were analyzed recording differentials at 200 and 500 cells. Additionally, immunophenotype results and preanalytical issues were also evaluated. Clinical and statistical differences between both cutoffs and both methods were checked. An independent control group of 122 patients was included. All comparisons between both cutoffs and both methods for all relevant types of cells did not show statistically significant differences. No significant diagnostic discrepancies were demonstrated in the contingency table analysis. This is a real-life study, and some limitations may be pointed out, such as a different sample sizes according to the type of cell in the immunophenotype analysis, the lack of standardization of some preanalytical events, and the relatively small sample size of the control group. The comparisons of differentials by morphology on 200 and 500 cells, as well as by morphology (both cutoffs) and by immunophenotype, are equivalent from the clinical and statistical point of view. The preanalytical issues play a critical role in the assessment of bone marrow aspirate samples.

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases: a multinational cohort study.

Background: It is currently unknown whether ultra-processed foods (UPFs) consumption is associated with a higher incidence of multimorbidity. We examined the relationship of total and subgroup consumption of UPFs with the risk of multimorbidity defined as the co-occurrence of at least two chronic diseases in an individual among first cancer at any site, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study including 266,666 participants (60% women) free of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes at recruitment from seven European countries in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Foods and drinks consumed over the previous 12 months were assessed at baseline by food-frequency questionnaires and classified according to their degree of processing using Nova classification. We used multistate modelling based on Cox regression to estimate cause-specific hazard ratios (HR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations of total and subgroups of UPFs with the risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases. Findings: After a median of 11.2 years of follow-up, 4461 participants (39% women) developed multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases. Higher UPF consumption (per 1 standard deviation increment, ∼260 g/day without alcoholic drinks) was associated with an increased risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.12). Among UPF subgroups, associations were most notable for animal-based products (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.12), and artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.12). Other subgroups such as ultra-processed breads and cereals (HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.94, 1.00) or plant-based alternatives (HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.91, 1.02) were not associated with risk. Interpretation: Our findings suggest that higher consumption of UPFs increases the risk of cancer and cardiometabolic multimorbidity. Funding: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Fondation de France, Cancer Research UK, World Cancer Research Fund International, and the Institut National du Cancer.

Association of socioeconomic deprivation with life expectancy and all-cause mortality in Spain, 2011-2013.

Life tables summarise a population's mortality experience during a time period. Sex- and age-specific life tables are needed to compute various cancer survival measures. However, mortality rates vary according to socioeconomic status. We present sex- and age-specific life tables based on socioeconomic status at the census tract level in Spain during 2011-2013 that will allow estimating cancer relative survival estimates and life expectancy measures by socioeconomic status. Population and mortality data were obtained from the Spanish Statistical Office. Socioeconomic level was measured using the Spanish Deprivation Index by census tract. We produced sex- and age-specific life expectancies at birth by quintiles of deprivation, and life tables by census tract and province. Life expectancy at birth was higher among women than among men. Women and men in the most deprived census tracts in Spain lived 3.2 and 3.8 years less than their counterparts in the least deprived areas. A higher life expectancy in the northern regions of Spain was discovered. Life expectancy was higher in provincial capitals than in rural areas. We found a significant life expectancy gap and geographical variation by sex and socioeconomic status in Spain. The gap was more pronounced among men than among women. Understanding the association between life expectancy and socioeconomic status could help in developing appropriate public health programs. Furthermore, the life tables we produced are needed to estimate cancer specific survival measures by socioeconomic status. Therefore, they are important for cancer control in Spain.