Characterization of sociodemographic and clinicopathological features in Brazilian patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate sociodemographic and clinical-epidemiological profiles of patients with vulvar carcinoma in São Paulo, the largest city of Brazil, to establish a more consistent profile of these features once the incidence of vulvar carcinoma has risen considerably. Data regarding the epidemiological aspects of this tumor are scarce. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed using 300 medical records from patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva and surgically treated at A.C. Camargo Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, from 1978 to 2009. RESULTS: The median age of onset was 70 years, ranging from 15 to 98 years, and most women were white (88.51%). Most patients (83.54%) had little or no schooling and had the lowest survival curve. Many patients were diagnosed in the early stages of the disease (57.09% FIGO IB), 59% had complications due to surgery and 43.71% had disease recurrence, of which about 70% died. CONCLUSIONS: Our study adds 300 Brazilian cases of vulvar carcinoma to the world literature. Given the high rate of disease recurrence and mortality in Brazil, we conclude that regular gynecologic evaluation and educational policies should be reinforced in order to raise awareness for vulvar cancer.

Association between polymorphisms in the biometabolism genes CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 in bladder cancer.

Numerous enzymes, including Cytochrome P450s (phase I) and Glutathione-S-transferases (phase II), are involved in the metabolic activation and detoxification of carcinogens. Epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated that bladder cancer is strongly associated with cigarette smoking, and the risk for the development of this neoplasia may be modified by individual differences in carcinogen-metabolizing genes. We investigated the relationship between polymorphisms in the CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 genes in a case-control study with 100 bladder cancer patients and 100 controls matched for age, gender, race, and smoking status. The GSTM1, GSTT1, CYP1A1 (A2455-->G), and GSTP1 (A313-->G) genotypes were determined using a multiplex PCR, an allele specific PCR, and a restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR method. The present case-controlled association study did not detect any positive or negative association for the GSTM1 and GSTP1 genes [odds ratios (OR) = 1.35; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.76-2.41 and OR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.41-1.38, respectively]. Notably, the genes GSTT1 and CYP1A1 exhibited a statistically significant association with bladder cancer (OR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.01-3.12 and OR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.07-3.73). No differences for GSTM1 and GSTP1 genotype prevalence between the bladder cancer cases and the controls were observed, however, the null genotype for the GSTT1 gene and the A/G and G/G variants of the CYP1A1 gene may contribute to the development of bladder cancer.