Genetic epidemiology studies in hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) have the potential to radically improve assessment of disease risk such that more individualised information can be provided to patients susceptible to developing disease. Studies of HNPCC i ...
This chapter posits that cancer is a complex and multifactorial process as demonstrated by the expression and production of key endocrine and steroid hormones that intermesh with lifestyle factors (physical activity, body size, and diet) in combination to heighten cancer risk. Excess w ...
Despite a major decline in incidence and mortality over several decades, stomach cancer is still the fourth most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death in the world. There is a 10-fold variation in incidence between populations at the highest and lowest risk. The incidence is p ...
Prostate cancer is the number one killer in the United States. A comparison of US and Japanese population is discussed in this chapter to identify risk factors for prostate cancer. Screening of prostate cancer is common among Americans, but not among Japanese. A comparison of survival in differe ...
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the Western world. In the United States, it is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths after lung and bronchus carcinoma. No definitive causes of prostate cancer (PCa) have been identified to date but, increasing age, a positive fam ...
Ovarian cancer represents the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the world, and causes more deaths per year than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. Despite the high incidence and mortality rates, the etiology of this disease is poorly understood. Establish ...
It is estimated that almost 1.5 million people in the USA are diagnosed with cancer every year. However, due to the substantial effect of modifiable lifestyle factors on the most prevalent cancers, it has been estimated that 50% of cancer is preventable. Physical activity, weight loss, and a reducti ...
The 20th century witnessed the scourge of lung cancer as the disease rapidly rose the ranks to become the commonest cause of cancer mortality in the world. Epidemiological evidence conclusively associated cigarette smoking with the causation of lung cancer in the 1950s. Since then and the few d ...
Primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC) is a rare malignancy, but its incidence has been rising during the last decades and varies between 2.9/1,000,000 and 5.7/1,000,000. The epidemiology of PFTC has been sparsely studied. In Finland, the incidence rate has been rising during the last decades. T ...
Colonic carcinogenesis is characterized by progressive accumulations of genetic and epigenetic derangements. These molecular events are accompanied by histological changes that progress from mild cryptal architectural abnormalities in small adenomas to eventual in ...
The risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) is influenced by several acquired risk factors, including environmental exposures and comorbid medical conditions that are partially genetic in nature. These risk factors are based on data almost exclusively derived from observati ...
The appearance of the breast on mammography varies among women, reflecting variations in tissue composition. Stroma and epithelium attenuate x-rays more than fat and appear light on a mammogram, which we refer to here as “ mammographic density, ” while fat appears dark. We show evidence that mamm ...
Annual screening mammograms have been shown to be cost-effective and are credited for the decline in mortality of breast cancer. New technologies including breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may further improve early breast cancer detection in asymptomatic women. Serum tumor m ...
Bladder cancer is a common disease, whose major risk factors include smoking and occupational exposure to chemicals. Superficial bladder cancer has significant healthcare cost implications due to the need for repeated cystoscopic surveillance. Chemical carcinogens can unde ...
The transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling pathway plays a critical role in breast cancer development and progression. Limited data from human studies, however, are currently available to link biomarkers in this pathway directly to the risk and survival of breast cancer. Most of the p ...
The cause of the majority of cancers is poorly understood albeit multifactorial. The ultimate consequence of etiological factors where defined is an alteration within the cellular genotype, which is manifested in the cells acquiring malignant phenotype. There are several environ ...
Lung cancer is the world's leading cause of cancer death. It is primarily due to the inhalation of carcinogens and highly accessible to prevention by diminishing exposures to lung carcinogens. Most important will be the complete cessation of exposure to cigarette smoke (first and second hand) ...
The detection of unknown mutations has proved complex and time consuming, and this is certainly the case for HNPCC. Germline mutations have been detected in five of the six human DNA mismatch repair genes (in hMLH1, hMSH2, hMSH6, hPMS1, hPMS2, but not hMSH3) in HNPCC patients (1-7) with hMLH1 and hMSH2 bei ...
Over the past decade, the genes that underlie the development of many human diseases have been identified and the diseases causing mutations within these genes have been unveiled. Many genetic alterations responsible for a variety of human disorders have been characterized. These alte ...
The insulin-like growth factor II (IGFII) growth control pathway is comprised of three major components: IGFII ligand, insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGFIR), and insulin-like growth factor II receptor (IGFIIR). IGFIR and IGFIIR work together to maintain constant circulating ...

