Related Articles

Association between tuberculosis infections and non-pulmonary malignancies: a nationwide population-based study.

Br J Cancer. 2013 May 7;

Authors: Kuo SC, Hu YW, Liu CJ, Lee YT, Chen YT, Chen TL, Chen TJ, Fung CP

Abstract
Background:In addition to lung cancers, tuberculosis infections have been associated with increased risk of non-pulmonary malignancies in case reports. Our population-based study employed standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) to systemically survey non-pulmonary cancer risks after tuberculosis infections.Methods:Data of patients who had newly diagnosed tuberculosis, were aged 20 years or older, and had no prior cancer or tuberculosis were sampled from the Taiwan National Health Insurance database between 2000 and 2010. SIRs compared cancer incidence in patients with tuberculosis infections to the general population. SIRs of specific cancers were further analyzed with respect to gender and time after tuberculosis infections.Results:After a follow-up period of 28 866 person-years, 530 tuberculosis cases developed cancers compared with 256 cases in the general populations (2.07, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.90-2.26). The SIR of non-pulmonary malignancies was also increased (1.71, 95% CI, 1.54-1.90). For males, SIRs were increased within 1 year after tuberculosis diagnosis for the following cancers: head and neck, esophageal, colorectal, liver, lung, melanomas, and Hodgkin's disease. SIRs were increased for liver, biliary, lung, and bladder cancers beyond the first year after tuberculosis diagnosis. For females, SIRs were increased for leukemia, esophageal, and lung cancers within the first year, and only for leukemia beyond 1 year post diagnosis.Conclusion:Having found increased risks of several cancers that differ with gender and time after tuberculosis diagnosis, physicians may consider these factors in patients following tuberculosis diagnosis.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 7 May 2013; doi:10.1038/bjc.2013.220 www.bjcancer.com.

PMID: 23652313 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles

Biomarkers for gastroesophageal reflux in respiratory diseases.

Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2013;2013:148086

Authors: Emilsson OI, Gíslason T, Olin AC, Janson C, Olafsson I

Abstract
Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is commonly associated with respiratory symptoms, either through a vagal bronchoconstrictive reflex or through microaspiration of gastric contents. No diagnostic test is available, however, to diagnose when respiratory illnesses are caused by GER and when not, but research in this field has been moving forward. Various biomarkers in different types of biosamples have been studied in this context. The aim of this review is to summarize the present knowledge in this field. GER patients with respiratory diseases seem to have a different biochemical profile from similar patients without GER. Inflammatory biomarkers differ in asthmatics based on GER status, tachykinins are elevated in patients with GER-related cough, and bile acids are elevated in lung transplant patients with GER. However, studies on these biomarkers are often limited by their small size, methods of analysis, and case selections. The two pathogenesis mechanisms are associated with different respiratory illnesses and biochemical profiles. A reliable test to identify GER-induced respiratory disorders needs to be developed. Bronchoalveolar lavage is too invasive to be of use in most patients. Exhaled breath condensate samples need further evaluation and standardization. The newly developed particles in exhaled air measurements remain to be studied further.

PMID: 23653634 [PubMed]

Generation of Lung Epithelium from Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Curr Pathobiol Rep. 2013 Jun;1(2):137-145

Authors: Wong AP, Rossant J

Abstract
The understanding of key processes and signaling mechanisms in lung development has been mainly demonstrated through gain and loss of function studies in mice, while human lung development remains largely unexplored due to inaccessibility. Several recent reports have exploited the identification of key signaling mechanisms that regulate lineage commitment and restriction in mouse lung development, to direct differentiation of both mouse and human pluripotent stem cells towards lung epithelial cells. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in the generation of respiratory epithelia from pluripotent stem cells and the potential of these engineered cells for novel scientific discoveries in lung diseases and future translation into regenerative therapies.

PMID: 23662247 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

It is by no means straightforward to analyse the change in the rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations in clinical trials. Exacerbation rates do not follow a normal distribution, nor do they occur at random. High exacerbation rates in a few patients can make average rates difficult to calculate and interpret. So, surely, transforming exacerbation rates into numbers needed to treat (NNT) should help. Not necessarily so—this is the message from Professor Suissa's paper.1 He points out that the simplistic transformation from annual exacerbation rates to NNT in some published papers is misleading. He then goes on to present an alternative way of calculating NNT from survival curves showing time to first exacerbation, and a model to estimate such curves even if ...