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Using time-dependent Cox regression models, we examined associations of common antihypertensive medications with overall cancer survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS), with comprehensive adjustment for potential confounding factors. Participants were from the Shanghai Women's Health Study (1996–2000) and Shanghai Men's Health Study (2002–2006) in Shanghai, China. Included were 2,891 incident breast, colorectal, lung, and stomach cancer cases. Medication use was extracted from electronic medical records. With a median 3.4-year follow-up after diagnosis (interquartile range, 1.0–6.3), we found better outcomes among users of angiotensin II receptor blockers with colorectal cancer (OS: adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.62, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44, 0.86; DSS: adjusted HR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.87) and stomach cancer (OS: adjusted HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.94; DSS: adjusted HR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.98) and among users of β-adrenergic receptor blockers with colorectal cancer (OS: adjusted HR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.72; DSS: adjusted HR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.73). Better survival was also found for calcium channel blockers (DSS: adjusted HR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.97) and diuretics (OS: adjusted HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45, 0.96; DSS: adjusted HR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.85) with stomach cancer. Our findings suggest angiotensin II receptor blockers, β-adrenergic receptor blockers, and calcium channel blockers might be associated with improved survival outcomes of gastrointestinal cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a proposed protective effect of fish intake on the risk of cardiovascular disease, epidemiologic evidence on fish intake and mortality is inconsistent. We investigated associations of fish intake, assessed through a validated food frequency questionnaire, with risks of total and cause-specific mortality in 2 prospective cohort studies of 134,296 Chinese men and women (1997–2009). Vital status and date and cause of death were ascertained through annual linkage to the Shanghai Vital Statistics Registry database and biennial home visits. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals. After excluding the first year of observation, the analysis included 3,666 deaths among women and 2,170 deaths among men. Fish intake was inversely associated with risks of total, ischemic stroke, and diabetes mortality; the corresponding hazard ratios for the highest quintiles of intake compared with the lowest were 0.84 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76, 0.92), 0.63 (95% CI: 0.41, 0.94), and 0.61 (95% CI: 0.39, 0.95), respectively. No associations with cancer or ischemic heart disease mortality were observed. Further analyses suggested that the inverse associations with total, ischemic stroke, and diabetes mortality were primarily related to consumption of saltwater fish and intake of long-chain n-3 fatty acids. Overall, our findings support the postulated health benefits of fish consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The authors prospectively evaluated the association of soy food intake with lung cancer risk, overall and by tumor aggressiveness, and performed a meta-analysis of published data. Included in the analysis were 71,550 women recruited into the Shanghai Women's Health Study (Shanghai, China) in 1997–2000. Usual soy food intake was assessed at baseline and reassessed during follow-up through in-person interviews. During a mean follow-up period of 9.1 years, 370 incident lung cancer cases were identified; 340 patients were lifetime never smokers. After adjustment for potential confounders, soy food intake was inversely associated with subsequent risk of lung cancer (Ptrend = 0.004); the hazard ratio for the highest quintile of intake compared with the lowest was 0.63 (95% confidence interval: 0.44, 0.90). This inverse association appeared predominately among women with later age at menopause (Pinteraction = 0.01) and for aggressive lung cancer as defined by length of survival (<12 months vs. ≥12 months; Pheterogeneity = 0.057). Meta-analysis of 7 studies conducted among nonsmokers found a summary relative risk of 0.59 (95% confidence interval: 0.49, 0.71) for the highest categories of soy or isoflavone intake versus the lowest. This study suggests that soy food consumption may reduce lung cancer risk in nonsmoking women, particularly for aggressive tumors, and its effect may be modified by endogenous estrogens. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Methionine, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, niacin, and riboflavin intakes may be related to breast carcinogenesis. These associations may vary by breast cancer type. Using the prospective cohort Shanghai Women's Health Study (1997–2008) including 718 Chinese breast cancer cases, the authors evaluated baseline dietary intake of these factors and breast cancer risk and whether the associations varied by menopausal status and estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status. They estimated associations using hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals from Cox proportional hazards regression models and stratified analyses by menopausal status and ER/PR status. Lowest quantile of intake was used as the comparison group. For postmenopausal women, dietary intakes of methionine and B vitamins were not associated with breast cancer risk. For premenopausal women, higher intake of folate was associated with decreased breast cancer risk (hazard ratio = 0.58, 95% confidence interval: 0.34, 0.99 for the highest vs. lowest quintile of intake). Only niacin intake was associated with ER+/PR+ breast cancer risk (hazard ratio = 1.62, 95% confidence interval: 1.07, 2.46; P for trend = 0.04 for the highest vs. lowest quartile of intake). Findings support the hypothesis that high folate intake may reduce breast cancer risk and that the association may vary by menopausal and ER/PR status. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]