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Background: Previous studies showed that at the individual level, positron emission tomography (PET) has some benefits for patients and physicians in terms of cancer management and staging. We aimed to describe the benefits of (PET) in the management of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) in a population level, in terms of the number of diagnostic and invasive tests performed, time to diagnosis and factors determining PET utilization.Methods: In an observational study, we examined reports of computed tomography (CT) performed and mentioning "spherical lesion", "nodule" or synonymous terms. We found 11,515 reports in a before-PET period, 2002-2003, and 20,075 in an after-PET period, 2004-2005. Patients were followed through their physician, who was responsible for diagnostic management.Results: We had complete data for 112 patients (73.7%) with new cases of SPN in the before-PET period and 250 (81.4%) in the after-PET period. Patients did not differ in mean age (64.9 vs. 64.8 years). The before-PET patients underwent a mean of 4 tests as compared with 3 tests for the after-PET patients (p = 0.08). Patients in the before-PET period had to wait 41.4 days, on average, before receiving a diagnosis as compared with 24.0 days, on average, for patients in the after-PET period who did not undergo PET (p < 0.001). In the after-PET period, 11% of patients underwent PET during the diagnostic process. A spiculated nodule was more likely to determine prescription for PET (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that patients in both periods underwent fewer tests when PET was prescribed by general practitioners (p < 0.001) and if the nodule was not spiculated (p < 0.001). The proportion of unnecessary invasive approaches prescribed (47% vs. 49%) did not differ between the groups.Conclusion: In our study, 1 year after the availability of PET, the technology was not the first choice for diagnostic management of SPN. Even though we observed a tendency for reduced number of tests and mean time to diagnosis with PET, these phenomena did not fully relate to PET availability in health communities. In addition, the availability of PET in the management of SPN diagnosis did not reduce the overall rate of unnecessary invasive approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The process of diagnosis and management of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) between 1 and 3 cm is not standardized. This multicentre study investigated how diagnosis of newly discovered SPNs is managed in routine practice.Methods: We examined 11,515 radiology reports of patients undergoing chest computed tomography (CT) at all 76 radiology centres in 18 French administrative districts covering 8,220,000 people. Information on diagnostic procedures and treatment administered from discovery to definitive diagnosis of SPN was collected prospectively.Results: We identified 152 cases of newly diagnosed SPNs. Follow-up was complete for 112 patients. The median number of diagnostic tests was 4 and the mean time to diagnosis was 41.4 days. Marked variability was observed in the sequence of diagnostic tests, and 8 diagnostic pathways were identified. Patients' characteristics and radiological features of SPNs influenced the number of tests performed. Referral by specialist, history of smoking and spiculated SPN predicted the performance of at least one invasive procedure (P < 0.01). Definitive diagnosis was a malignant disease in 30 patients (26%).Conclusion: The diagnosis of SPN is a complex process that physicians approach in markedly different ways. Implementing practice guidelines for managing the diagnosis of SPN requires clarification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence and incidence trends of breast cancer according to molecular subtype are unknown at a population level in France. The registry data enables this study and may give this information, that is crucial to describe and understand breast cancer epidemiology., Methods: We estimated the incidence rates of breast cancer for each molecular subtype using data from three cancer registries in France for the period from 2007 to 2012. Molecular subtypes were defined with immunohistochemical data. Poisson models were estimated to modelize the course of breast cancer incidence and to test the trends., Results: The study included 12,040 patients diagnosed between 2007 and 2012 in the three administrative areas covered by the registries. There was no significant trends in the proportion of each molecular subtype year by year. The age distribution of incident cases was different depending on the molecular subtypes (p < 0.001). The course of incidence between 2007 and 2012 was also different depending on molecular subtype according to the multivariate Poisson model (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: The description of incident cases of breast cancer according to molecular subtype at a population level showed differences in trends. The trends in incidence differed according to molecular subtype, and this should improve our understanding of overall changes in incidence. This analysis is important to plan screening and treatment resources at a population level.

Background: The discovery of a solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) on a chest imaging exam is of major clinical concern. However, the incidence rates of SPNs in a general population have not been estimated. The objective of this study was to provide incidence estimates of SPNs in a general population in 5 northeastern regions of France., Methods: This population-based study was undertaken in 5 regions of northeastern France in May 2002-March 2003 and May 2004-June 2005. SPNs were identified by chest CT reports collected from all radiology centres in the study area by trained readers using a standardised procedure. All reports for patients at least 18 years old, without a previous history of cancer and showing an SPN between 1 and 3 cm, were included., Results: A total of 11,705 and 20,075 chest CT reports were collected for the 2002-2003 and 2004-2005 periods, respectively. Among them, 154 and 297 reports showing a SPN were included, respectively for each period. The age-standardised incidence rate (IR) was 10.2 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval 8.5-11.9) for 2002-2003 and 12.6 (11.0-14.2) for 2004-2005. From 2002 to 2005, the age-standardised IR evolved for men from 16.4 (13.2-19.6) to 17.7 (15.0-20.4) and for women from 4.9 (3.2-6.6) to 8.2 (6.4-10.0). In multivariate Poisson regression analysis, gender, age, region and period were significantly associated with incidence variation., Conclusions: This study provides reference incidence rates of SPN in France. Incidence was higher for men than women, increased with age for both gender and with time for women. Trends in smoking prevalence and improvement in radiological equipment may be related to incidence variations.

Background: Overweight and weight gain throughout adult life have been associated with increased risk of breast cancer after the menopause. However the role of body weight at a young age and of the timing of weight gain over the lifetime in postmenopausal breast cancer is not well documented., Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study on breast cancer in France that included 739 cases and 815 population controls in postmenopausal women. Height, weight at age 20, 40 and 50 as well as weight one year before diagnosis were obtained during in-person interviews., Results: No association between body mass index at the age of 20 years and breast cancer after the menopause was detected. However, we found that postmenopausal breast cancer was associated with weight gain between ages 40 and 50 years (OR per 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI: 1.45 [95%ci 1.06-1.98]). The increased risk of breast cancer associated with weight gain was more consistent in leaner women at age 20, in older postmenopausal women (>65 years), and in women who did not use menopausal hormone therapy., Conclusions: These findings point to the importance of controlling for weight gain in middle aged-women. The role of low body weight in young adulthood in breast cancer risk after the menopause should be further scrutinized.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) before treatment may predict survival of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We investigated the predictive role of HRQoL after the initial treatments, on the survival of these patients., Methods: A prospective multi-center study conducted in northeastern France. The SF-36 and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (QLQ C-30) were mailed to patients 3 months after the end of the diagnostic process. High scores for functioning dimensions on both questionnaires indicated better QoL, and low scores for symptom dimensions on the QLQ C-30 indicated few symptoms. Cox regression modeling was used to identify predictive factors of survival., Results: In total, 230 (63.5%) patients responded to the SF-36 and QLQ C-30. Before completing the questionnaires, almost 60% of patients had undergone some chemotherapy, about 10% underwent radio/chemotherapy or both and more than 30% underwent surgery or surgery plus chemo/radiotherapy. On SF-36, the highest mean score was for social functioning dimension (55.5 ± 28), and the lowest was for the physical role dimension (17.9 ± 32.2). On QLQ C-30, for the functioning dimensions, the highest mean score was for cognitive functioning (74.6 ± 25.9) and the lowest was for role functioning (47.2 ± 34.1). For symptom dimensions, the lowest score was for diarrhoea (11.5 ± 24.2) and the highest was for fatigue (59.7 ± 27.7). On multivariate analysis, high bodily pain, social functioning and general health scores (SF-36) were associated with a lower risk of death (hazard ratio 0.580; 95% confidence interval [0.400-0.840], p = 0.004; HR 0.652 [0.455-0.935], p < 0.02; HR 0.625 [0.437-0.895] respectively). Better general QoL on QLQ C-30 was related to lower risk of death (HR 0.689 [0.501-0.946], p = 0.02)., Conclusion: Adding to previous knowledge about factors that may influence patients QoL, this study shows a persisting relationship between better perceived health in HRQoL after the initial treatment of NSCLC and better survival.

Background: A large proportion of women with breast cancer (BC) are elderly. However, there is a lack of information regarding BC prognostic factors and care in this population. The aims of this study were to assess the prognostic factors of relative survival (RS) among women with BC aged ≥ 75 years old and to identify the predictive factors of treatments administered to this population., Methods: A population-based study was performed using data from the Cote d'Or breast and gynaecological cancer registry. Women aged 75 years and older with primary invasive BC and resident in Cote d'Or at the time of diagnosis made between January 1998 and December 2008 were retrospectively selected. Prognostic factors of RS were estimated in a generalized linear model with a Poisson error structure. RS rate for the whole population was given at 5 years. Logistic regression models were used to identify the predictors of the treatments administered., Results: Six hundred and eighty-one women were included. Median age at diagnosis was 80. Comorbidities (p = 0.02), pT stage (p = 0.04), metastases (p =< 0.001), having a family doctor (p = 0.03) and hormone-receptor status (p = 0.006) were independent prognostic factors of RS. The RS rate at 5 years for the whole population was 78.2%, 95%CI = [72.2-83.0]. Age, pT stage, metastases, histoprognostic SBR grade, hormone receptor status and comorbidities were frequently found to be predictors of treatment with surgery alone, hormone therapy alone, breast conserving surgery plus adjuvant therapy and mastectomy plus adjuvant therapy., Conclusions: Comorbid conditions adversely affect survival in older women with breast cancer. Moreover the results of this study showed that there are numerous predictors of the type of treatment administered, and that the most important were age and comorbidities.

Background: It has been shown in several studies that survival in cancer patients who were operated on by a high-volume surgeon was better. Why then do all patients not benefit from treatment by these experienced surgeons? The aim of our work was to study the hypothesis that in breast cancer, geographical isolation and the socio-economic level have an impact on the likelihood of being treated by a specialized breast-cancer surgeon., Methods: All cases of primary invasive breast cancer diagnosed in the Côte d'Or from 1998 to 2008 were included. Individual clinical data and distance to the nearest reference care centre were collected. The Townsend Index of each residence area was calculated. A Log Rank test and a Cox model were used for survival analysis, and a multilevel logistic regression model was used to determine predictive factors of being treated or not by a specialized breast cancer surgeon., Results: Among our 3928 patients, the ten-year survival of the 2931 (74.6 %) patients operated on by a high-volume breast cancer surgeon was significantly better (LogRank p < 0.001), independently of age at diagnosis, the presence of at least one comorbidity, circumstances of diagnosis (screening or not) and TNM status (Cox HR = 0.81 [0.67-0.98]; p = 0.027). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, patients who lived 20 to 35 minutes, and more than 35 minutes away from the nearest reference care centre were less likely to be operated on by a specialized surgeon than were patients living less than 10 minutes away (OR = 0.56 [0.43; 0.73] and 0.38 [0.29; 0.50], respectively). This was also the case for patients living in rural areas compared with those living in urban areas (OR = 0.68 [0.53; 0.87]), and for patients living in the two most deprived areas (OR = 0.69 [0.48; 0.97] and 0.61 [0.44; 0.85] respectively) compared with those who lived in the most affluent area., Conclusions: A disadvantageous socio-economic environment, a rural lifestyle and living far from large specialized treatment centres were significant independent predictors of not gaining access to surgeons specialized in breast cancer. Not being treated by a specialist surgeon implies a less favourable outcome in terms of survival.

Background: The aim of this population-based study was to assess independent prognostic factors in ovarian cancer using relative survival (RS) and to investigate changes in RS rates from 1982 to 2005., Methods: Data on 748 patients with ovarian cancer were provided by the Côte d'Or gynaecologic cancer registry. The RS was estimated using a generalized linear model with a Poisson error structure. Relative survival and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were described at the following specific time points 1, 3 and 5 years. The effect of prognostic factors on survival was assessed with multivariate analyses of RS., Results: The median follow-up was 12 years. The RS rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 81%, 55% and 44%, respectively. As compared with the period 1982-1989, an improvement in survival was found for the period 1998-2005: HR = 0.52[0.40-0.67]. Women who lived in urban areas had better RS: HR = 0.82[0.67-0.99]. Patients with epithelial types of ovarian cancer other than mucinous or endometrioid cancer had worse RS than those with serous histology. Age ≥ 70 years was associated with lower survival., Conclusions: Period of diagnosis, stage at diagnosis, histology, place of residence and age were independent prognostic factors for survival in ovarian cancer. An improvement in the survival rate was observed after 1998 but a significant improvement was limited to advanced stage cancers.