Researchers observed increasing CRC incidence rates over time among both males and females in the young adult population, particularly for distal colon cancer in Hispanic women aged 20 to 29 years. In that group, the biannual percent change in incidence was 15.9%, the study found. The investigators concluded that the absolute incidence of CRC remains far lower for young adults than for those aged 50 years and older; however, the disease is increasing in young
adults when compared with decreasing rates in adults aged 50 years and older.
Reference 1. Singh KE, Taylor TH, Pan CG, Stamos MJ, Zell JA. Colorectal cancer incidence among young adults in California. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2014;3:176184. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29476
Georgia State University to Expand China’s Tobacco Control Efforts
Coffee May Lower Risk of Malignant Melanoma
A
high coffee intake was associated with a lower risk of melanoma, according to a recently published study.1 Specifically, researchers found a 20% lower risk for participants who drank 4 or more cups per day. The protective effect appeared to increase with a higher intake, increasing from 1 or fewer cups to 4 cups of coffee or more. Previous epidemiological and preclinical studies have suggested that coffee consumption has a protective effect against nonmelanoma skin cancers, but its effect on cutaneous melanoma is not as clear, according to the researchers. That is the reason they decided to conduct the study, says Erikka Loftfield, MPH, of the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute. She and her colleagues used data from the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. Information regarding coffee consumption was obtained from 447,357 non-Hispanic white participants with a self-administered food frequency questionnaire in 1995 through 1996 and a median follow-up of 10 years. The participants were free of cancer at baseline and the authors adjusted for ambient residential ultraviolet radiation exposure, body mass index, age, sex, physical activity level, alcohol intake, and smoking history. The protective effect was found to be statistically significant for only caffeinated coffee, and only for protection against malignant melanoma and not melanoma in situ. The authors say the latter may have a different etiology. They add that the results are preliminary and may not apply to other populations, indicating the need for additional research.
Reference 1. Loftfield E, Freedman ND, Graubard BI, et al. Coffee drinking and cutaneous melanoma risk in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015;107:pii:dju421. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29477
grant for $850,000 from Pfizer Inc is helping the School of Public Health at Georgia State University in Atlanta work with Chinese health officials to control tobacco in that country’s major cities. Among its key projects are developing policies to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke; programs to encourage smokers to quit; and smoking prevention efforts among women, children, and young adults. China produces more tobacco and more smokers than any other country, according to officials at Georgia State University, and Chinese leaders are interested in regulating tobacco use. Studies have demonstrated that targeting tobacco control at the municipal level may be very effective because the country has more than 160 cities with populations in excess of 1 million individuals. Michael Eriksen, ScD, dean of the Georgia State University School of Public Health and one of the leaders of the effort, notes that the funding will enable them to help China work on shifting social norms by making smoking less socially acceptable and encouraging Chinese smokers to want to quit. If effective, these efforts could save millions of lives, he adds. Previously, researchers from Georgia State University and Emory University in Atlanta received funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through their China Tobacco Control Partnership, which began in 2008. That work led to changes in social norms and the development of many relationships with national and local health leaders in China. The new project, entitled “Diffusion of Tobacco Control Fundamentals to Other Large Chinese Cities,” will expand on this earlier work by creating partnerships with China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, the Think Tank Research Center for Health Development (a nongovernmental group based in Beijing), and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers will work with city leaders who have shown an interest in supporting tobacco control as well as with public health organizations. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29478
© MARIUSZ BLACH, CORUND / FOTOLIA.COM
A
Content in this section does not reflect any official policy or medical opinion of the American Cancer Society or of the publisher unless otherwise noted. © American Cancer Society, 2015.
Cancer
June 15, 2015
1913
Copyright of Cancer (0008543X) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
adults when compared with decreasing rates in adults aged 50 years and older.
Reference 1. Singh KE, Taylor TH, Pan CG, Stamos MJ, Zell JA. Colorectal cancer incidence among young adults in California. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2014;3:176184. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29476
Georgia State University to Expand China’s Tobacco Control Efforts
Coffee May Lower Risk of Malignant Melanoma
A
high coffee intake was associated with a lower risk of melanoma, according to a recently published study.1 Specifically, researchers found a 20% lower risk for participants who drank 4 or more cups per day. The protective effect appeared to increase with a higher intake, increasing from 1 or fewer cups to 4 cups of coffee or more. Previous epidemiological and preclinical studies have suggested that coffee consumption has a protective effect against nonmelanoma skin cancers, but its effect on cutaneous melanoma is not as clear, according to the researchers. That is the reason they decided to conduct the study, says Erikka Loftfield, MPH, of the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute. She and her colleagues used data from the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. Information regarding coffee consumption was obtained from 447,357 non-Hispanic white participants with a self-administered food frequency questionnaire in 1995 through 1996 and a median follow-up of 10 years. The participants were free of cancer at baseline and the authors adjusted for ambient residential ultraviolet radiation exposure, body mass index, age, sex, physical activity level, alcohol intake, and smoking history. The protective effect was found to be statistically significant for only caffeinated coffee, and only for protection against malignant melanoma and not melanoma in situ. The authors say the latter may have a different etiology. They add that the results are preliminary and may not apply to other populations, indicating the need for additional research.
Reference 1. Loftfield E, Freedman ND, Graubard BI, et al. Coffee drinking and cutaneous melanoma risk in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015;107:pii:dju421. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29477
grant for $850,000 from Pfizer Inc is helping the School of Public Health at Georgia State University in Atlanta work with Chinese health officials to control tobacco in that country’s major cities. Among its key projects are developing policies to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke; programs to encourage smokers to quit; and smoking prevention efforts among women, children, and young adults. China produces more tobacco and more smokers than any other country, according to officials at Georgia State University, and Chinese leaders are interested in regulating tobacco use. Studies have demonstrated that targeting tobacco control at the municipal level may be very effective because the country has more than 160 cities with populations in excess of 1 million individuals. Michael Eriksen, ScD, dean of the Georgia State University School of Public Health and one of the leaders of the effort, notes that the funding will enable them to help China work on shifting social norms by making smoking less socially acceptable and encouraging Chinese smokers to want to quit. If effective, these efforts could save millions of lives, he adds. Previously, researchers from Georgia State University and Emory University in Atlanta received funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through their China Tobacco Control Partnership, which began in 2008. That work led to changes in social norms and the development of many relationships with national and local health leaders in China. The new project, entitled “Diffusion of Tobacco Control Fundamentals to Other Large Chinese Cities,” will expand on this earlier work by creating partnerships with China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, the Think Tank Research Center for Health Development (a nongovernmental group based in Beijing), and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers will work with city leaders who have shown an interest in supporting tobacco control as well as with public health organizations. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29478
© MARIUSZ BLACH, CORUND / FOTOLIA.COM
A
Content in this section does not reflect any official policy or medical opinion of the American Cancer Society or of the publisher unless otherwise noted. © American Cancer Society, 2015.
Cancer
June 15, 2015
1913
Copyright of Cancer (0008543X) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
