OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer risk with fat and fat subtypes intake.
METHODOLOGY: This is a population based case-control study conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from January 2006 to December 2007. Food intake pattern was collected from 382 breast cancer patients and 382 control group via an interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and a broad range of potential confounders was included in analysis.
RESULTS: This study showed that both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer risk did not increase significantly with greater intake of total fat [quartile (Q) 4 versus Q1 OR=0.76, 95% CI, 0.23-2.45 and OR=1.36, 95% CI, 0.30-3.12], saturated fat (ORQ4 to Q1=1.43, 95% CI, 0.51-3.98 and ORQ4 to Q1=1.75, 95% CI, 0.62-3.40), monounsaturated fat (ORQ4 to Q1=0.96, 95% CI, 0.34-1.72 and ORQ4 to Q1=1.74, 95% CI, 0.22-2.79), polyunsaturated fat (ORQ4 to Q1=0.64, 95% CI, 0.23-1.73 and ORQ4 to Q1=0.74, 95% CI, 0.39-1.81), n-3 polyunsaturated fat (ORQ4 to Q1=1.10, 95% CI, 0.49-2.48 and ORQ4 to Q1=0.78, 95% CI, 0.28-2.18), n-6 polyunsaturated fat (ORQ4 to Q1=0.67, 95% CI, 0.24-1.84 and ORQ4 to Q1=0.71, 95% CI, 0.29-1.04) or energy intake (ORQ4 to Q1=1.52, 95% CI, 0.68-3.38 and ORQ4 to Q1=2.21, 95% CI, 0.93-3.36).
CONCLUSION: Total fat and fat subtypes were not associated with pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer risk after controlling for age, other breast cancer risk factors and energy intake. Despite the lack of association, the effects of total fat and fat subtypes intake during premenopausal years towards postmenopausal breast cancer risk still warrant investigation.
METHODS: Thirty-four polymorphisms in 26 genes were typed by mass spectrometry in 422 patients undergoing endoscopy (162 Chinese, 113 Indian and 87 Malay controls and 60 Chinese GC cases). Patients were assessed for evidence of H. pylori infection. Odds ratios (OR) and confidence intervals (CI) were obtained using logistic regression models.
RESULT: The prevalence of 16 polymorphisms varied significantly among the ethnicities. In the Chinese subgroup, nominally significant associations were shown between (i) EBBR2+1963G (rs1801200) and H. pylori infection (per-allele OR: 0.48, 95% CI 0.23, 0.98, P = 0.04), (ii) PTGS2-1195G (rs689466) and an increased risk of GC on adjusting for H. pylori status (OR: 1.53, 95% CI 0.99, 2.37, P = 0.05), and (iii) IL1B-1473C (rs1143623) and a decreased risk of GC (OR: 0.64, 95% CI 0.41, 0.99, P = 0.05). Borderline significant associations were seen between IL2-330G (rs2069762) (OR 1.45, 95% CI 0.95, 2.15, P = 0.06) and IL13-1111T (rs1800925) (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.42, 1.01, P = 0.06) and H. pylori infection.
CONCLUSION: These findings contribute to the understanding of the genetic variation between ethnicities, which may influence H. pylori susceptibility and the outcome of infection.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective and observational study was conducted on consecutive infants with NC referred to the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia, between November 1996 and May 2004.
RESULTS: The 3 most common causes of cholestasis among the 146 infants with NC studied were idiopathic neonatal hepatitis (n = 63, 43%), BA (n = 35, 24%) and congenital cytomegalovirus hepatitis (n = 13, 9%). Common clinical features at presentation were jaundice (100%), hepatomegaly (95%), splenomegaly (52%) and pale stools (47%). Three clinical features noted to be sensitive for BA were the presence of acholic or variably acholic stools on admission, a liver which was firm/hard in consistency and a palpable liver of ≥4 cm (sensitivity of 77%, 80% and 94%, respectively), but the corresponding specificity was poor (51%, 65% and 39%, respectively). The stools of 2 children with BA were pigmented initially but became acholic subsequently.
CONCLUSIONS: We did not find any single clinical feature with sufficient sensitivity and specificity to differentiate BA from other causes of NC. Repeated inspection of stools colour is necessary as occasionally, patients with BA may have initial pigmented stools. Biochemical assessment and imaging studies are important in the assessment of any infant with NC.
METHODS: Prostate cancer cases diagnosed between 2003 and 2008 which met with the inclusion criteria were included in the study. One hundred and twelfth (112) pairs of cases and controls matched by age and ethnicity were analysed. McNemar Odds Ratios (OR(M)) were calculated using McNemar Calculator software for univariate analysis while conditional logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis, both using SPSS version 12.0.
RESULTS: Most of the prostate cancer patients (68.8%) that came for treatment in UKMMC were above 70 years old. The majority were Chinese (50.0%) followed by Malay (46.4%) and Indian (3.6%). Multivariate analysis showed cases were more likely to have a first-degree relative with a history of cancer (OR= 3.77, 95% CI= 1.19-11.85), to have been exposed to pesticides (OR= 5.57, 95% CI= 1.75-17.78) and consumed more meat (OR= 12.23, 95% CI= 3.89-39.01). Significantly reduced risks of prostate cancer were noted among those consuming more vegetables (OR= 0.12, 95% CI= 0.02-0.84), more tomatoes (OR= 0.35, 95% CI= 0.13-0.93) and those who had frequent sexual intercourse (OR= 0.44, 95% CI= 0.19-0.96).
CONCLUSION: Some lifestyle and occupation factors are strong predictors of the occurrence of prostate cancer among patients in UKMMC. More importantly, with the identification of the potentially modifiable risk factors, proper public health intervention can be improved.