0000000000013563
AUTHOR
Eero Pukkala
A comparison of some simple methods to identify geographical areas with excess incidence of a rare disease such as childhood leukaemia
SUMMARY Six statistics are compared in a simulation study for their ability to identify geographical areas with a known excess incidence of a rare disease. The statistics are the standardized incidence ratio, the empirical Bayes method of Clayton and Kaldor, Poisson probability, a statistic based on the B statistics are compared for the proportion of true high-risk areas identi"ed in the top 1 per cent and 10 per cent of ranked areas. One of the PW statistics performed consistently well under all circumstances, although the results for the BT statistic were marginally better when only the top 1 per cent of ranked areas was considered. The standardized incidence ratio performed consistently …
High constant incidence rates of second primary cancers of the head and neck: a pooled analysis of 13 cancer registries
Scanty data are available on the incidence (i.e., the absolute risk) of second cancers of the head and neck (HN) and its pattern with age. We investigated this issue using data from a multicentric study of 13 population-based cancer registries from Europe, Canada, Australia and Singapore for the years 1943-2000. A total of 99,257 patients had a first primary HN cancer (15,985 tongue, 22,378 mouth, 20,758 pharyngeal, and 40,190 laryngeal cancer), contributing to 489,855 person-years of follow-up. 1294 of the patients (1.3%) were diagnosed with second HN cancers (342 tongue, 345 mouth, 418 pharynx, and 189 larynx). Male incidence rates of first HN cancer steeply increased from 0.68/100,000 at…
Population density and childhood leukaemia: results of the EUROCLUS study
The EUROCLUS study assembled incidence data for 13,551 cases of childhood leukaemia (CL) diagnosed between 1980 and 1989 in 17 countries (or regions of countries). These were referenced by location at diagnosis to small census areas of which there were 25,723 in the study area. Population counts, surface area and, hence, population density were available for all these small areas. Previous analyses have shown limited extra-Poisson variation (EPV) of case counts within small areas; this is most pronounced in areas of intermediate population density (150-499 persons/km2). In this study, the data set was examined in more detail for evidence that variations in incidence and EPV of CL are associ…
Exome-wide somatic mutation characterization of small bowel adenocarcinoma
Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is an aggressive disease with limited treatment options. Despite previous studies, its molecular genetic background has remained somewhat elusive. To comprehensively characterize the mutational landscape of this tumor type, and to identify possible targets of treatment, we conducted the first large exome sequencing study on a population-based set of SBA samples from all three small bowel segments. Archival tissue from 106 primary tumors with appropriate clinical information were available for exome sequencing from a patient series consisting of a majority of confirmed SBA cases diagnosed in Finland between the years 2003–2011. Paired-end exome sequencing was…
Lifetime physical activity and cancer incidence—A cohort study of male former elite athletes in Finland
Abstract Objectives Physical activity has been shown to decrease the risk of certain cancers. Objective of this study was to assess the effect of physical activity on cancer incidence in former male athletes in older age. Design A cohort of 2448 elite male athletes and 1712 referents was followed-up for cancer incidence during 1986–2010 through the Finnish Cancer Registry. Methods Standardised incidence ratios were calculated with the general male population as the reference. Self-reported questionnaire-based data on covariates were used in Cox regression analyses comparing the risk of cancer in athletes and referents. Results The overall cancer incidence was lower in athletes than in the g…
Abstract 1832: Associations between ovarian cancer and other malignant neoplasms in an international population-based study
Abstract Recent studies have suggested that different histological types of ovarian cancer develop via different pathways. Large epidemiological studies of first and second malignant neoplasms associated with ovarian cancer can quantify such risk and may provide etiologic clues in understanding these complex pathways. We analyzed ovarian cancer data from 13 different cancer registries in Europe, Australia, Canada and Singapore from 1943-2000. Cumulative risks were calculated using a competing risk model, and standardized incidence ratios (SIR) for 34 cancers were estimated based on the observed numbers of second malignancies and the expected numbers obtained from population-specific inciden…
Cancer Risk Near a Polluted River in Finland
The River Kymijoki in southern Finland is heavily polluted with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and may pose a health threat to local residents, especially farmers. In this study we investigated cancer risk in people living near the river (less than 20.0 km) in 1980. We used a geographic information system, which stores registry data, in 500 m times 500 m grid squares, from the Population Register Centre, Statistics Finland, and Finnish Cancer Registry. From 1981 to 2000, cancer incidence in all people (N = 188884) and in farmers (n = 11132) residing in the study area was at the level expected based on national rates. Relative risks for total cancer and 27 cancer subtype…
Abstract LB-382: Identification of predisposing genes for small bowel adenocarcinoma by exome sequencing
Abstract Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a rare but aggressive cancer type with limited treatment options. Known predisposing factors include Crohn's disease, celiac disease, and hereditary syndromes such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), Lynch syndrome, and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. Here, our aim was to further characterize genetic susceptibility to SBA in a large population-based cohort and simultaneously demonstrate the ability to utilize tumor-only data to cost-effectively but reliably call germline variants. Information on all SBAs diagnosed in Finland between the years 2003-2011 were collected utilizing the Finnish Cancer Registry that maintains a nation-wide database on all …
Mortality from cancer and other causes in commercial airline crews: a joint analysis of cohorts from 10 countries.
Background Commercial airline crew is one of the occupational groups with the highest exposures to ionising radiation. Crew members are also exposed to other physical risk factors and subject to potential disruption of circadian rhythms. Methods This study analyses mortality in a pooled cohort of 93 771 crew members from 10 countries. The cohort was followed for a mean of 21.7 years (2.0 million person-years), during which 5508 deaths occurred. Results The overall mortality was strongly reduced in male cockpit (SMR 0.56) and female cabin crews (SMR 0.73). The mortality from radiation-related cancers was also reduced in male cockpit crew (SMR 0.73), but not in female or male cabin crews (SMR…