Search

Background: Middle-aged obese adults are at substantially elevated risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma. It is unclear whether this risk originates earlier in life., Methods: We assessed associations between childhood body mass index (BMI) and height-measured annually between ages 7 and 13-with adult oesophageal adenocarcinoma in a cohort from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register. Analyses included 255 053 children born during 1930-1971. Danish Cancer Registry linkage provided outcomes. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Cox proportional hazards regression., Results: During 5.4 million person-years of follow-up, 254 (216 males) incident oesophageal adenocarcinomas occurred. At each examined age, cancer risk increased linearly per unit BMI z-score, although associations were only statistically significant for ages 9-13. The HR for the age of 13 years was 1.31 (95% CI: 1.13, 1.51) per unit BMI z-score. Associations were similar in men and women and across birth cohorts. Childhood height was not related to cancer risk in men but was in women, although these analyses included just 38 female cases. HRs per unit height z-score at the age of 13 years were 1.04 (0.90, 1.19) in males and 1.77 (1.27, 2.47) in females, with similar results observed at the other examined ages., Conclusion: Individuals with higher childhood BMI were at elevated risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma, even though these cancers occurred many decades later in life. Although the mechanisms require further investigation, our findings provide additional evidence for the long-term health risks of childhood obesity.

Background: Prostate cancer aetiology is poorly understood. It may have origins early in life; previously we found a positive association with childhood height. The effects of early life body mass index (BMI; kg m(-2)) on prostate cancer remain equivocal. We investigated if childhood BMI, independently and adjusted for height, is positively associated with adult prostate cancer., Methods: Subjects were a cohort of 125208 boys formed from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register, born 1930-1969 with height and weight measurements at 7-13 years. Cases were identified through linkage to the Danish Cancer Registry. Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed., Results: Overall, 3355 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Body mass index during childhood was positively associated with adult prostate cancer. The hazard ratio of prostate cancer was 1.06 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.10) per BMI z-score at age 7, and 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01-1.10) per BMI z-score at age 13. Estimates were similar and significant at all other ages. However, adjustment for childhood height attenuated the associations at all but the youngest ages as most estimates became nonsignificant., Conclusions: These results suggest that at most childhood ages, BMI does not confer an additional risk for prostate cancer beyond that of height.

Background: Studies assessing the relationships of anthropometry and testicular germ-cell tumour (TGCT) have reported heterogeneous findings., Methods: We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of the associations between adult height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and testicular cancer. Search strategies were conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science on 26 May 2009. Studies that met our inclusion criteria were included in meta-analytic models using STATA 11., Results: A total of 3255 references were retrieved, of which 14 met the inclusion criteria. Random effects meta-analysis found adult height (odds ratio (OR) per 5-cm increase 1.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.19, P<0.001) and weight (OR overweight vs normal 0.92, 95% CI 0.86-0.98, P=0.011) to be associated with TGCT. The meta-analysis of weight and TGCT produced a summary estimate, which indicated no association, although an analysis restricted studies to North American was suggestive of association (OR per 1-kg increase 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.01, P<0.001)., Conclusions: This systematic review and meta-analysis has found evidence for a positive association of adult height and TGCT, and tentative evidence for an inverse association of BMI and TGCT.

Background: In the United States, the rates and temporal trends of oesophageal cancer overall and for the two predominant histologic types - adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) - differ between Blacks and Whites, but little is known with regard to the patterns among Asians/Pacific Islanders or Hispanics., Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results programme data, we analysed oesophageal cancer incidence patterns by race, sex, and histologic type for the period 1977-2005., Results: Total oesophageal cancer incidence has been increasing among Whites only; the rates among all other race groups have declined. Moreover, rates among White men surpassed those among Blacks in 2004. Oesophageal SCC rates have been decreasing among virtually all racial/ethnic groups; rates among Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander men have been intermediate to those of Blacks and Whites, with rates among women being lower than those among Blacks or Whites. The ADC rates among Hispanic men may be rising, akin to the historical trends among Whites and Blacks. The sex ratios for these cancers also varied markedly., Conclusions: These observations may provide clues for aetiological research.

The US Servicemen's Testicular Tumor Environmental and Endocrine Determinants (STEED) case-control study of testicular germ-cell tumours (TGCTs) enrolled participants and their mothers in 2002-2005. Hours of sports or vigorous childhood physical activity per week were ascertained for three time periods; 1st-5th grades, 6th-8th grades and 9th-12th grades. Son- and mother-reports were analysed separately and included 539 control son-mother pairs and 499 case son-mother pairs. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were produced. The analysis of the sons' responses found no relationship between childhood physical activity and TGCT, while the mothers' analysis found an inverse association, which was solely due to nonseminoma. Future studies should seek to validate responses further using recorded information sources such as school records.