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The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between social and geographic characteristics and the type of care centre for initial colorectal surgery in France. Patients living far from a reference cancer site were less frequently treated in a reference cancer site than those who were living near a reference cancer site OR(a)=(0.50 (0.33-0.76)). As for topography and emergency presentation, place of residence (urban/rural), occupation and marital status were not associated with the type of the care centre. Improvements in diagnosis and treatment and of clinical practice guidelines are therefore crucial to ensure equality in health care in France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancers emerging after a negative Haemoccult II are described in the context of a first round of mass screening in the Department of Calvados (France), from April 1991 to the end of December 1994. People with a cancer occurring after a negative test until 31 December 1995 were identified by a local cancer registry. Incidence was calculated and the programme sensitivity was estimated. The incidence of cancer emerging after a negative test was 57.7 per 100000, i.e. half of the calculated incidence in the reference group (141.6 per 100000). These cancers did not differ from those of either the non-responder or reference groups, in particular for the stage of extension. The programme sensitivity was globally higher than that estimated in European trials: 77.2, 66.3 and 55.9%, 1, 2 and 3 years after the test respectively. Programme sensitivity was higher for distal colon cancer 1 year after the test, which is probably due to the relatively slow growth of this subsite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the musical instruments of Gaspard Duiffoprugcar and the sculptures of Pierre II Woeiriot de Bouzey during the Renaissance period in Lyons, France in the 16th century. Renaissance period was the time when prolific and gifted instrument builders emerged and Duiffoprugcar was the not only a renowned maker of instruments but also an organlogical document contributor. The engravings of Bouzey in the musical instruments of Duiffoprugcar are also mentioned.

Presents a letter to the editor referencing an article published in the 2004 issue of the "British Journal of Cancer," by R. Robertson and colleagues, on the treatment of colorectal and breast cancer in rural and urban areas.

Several studies have shown socio-economic differences in cancer survival, low socio-economic level being associated with poor prognosis of cancer. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of social environment on care procedures for treatment in cancer and to determine to what extent well-established socio-economic differences in cancer prognosis can be explained by such an influence. A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients having had a digestive cancer in the department of Calvados (France) between 1978 and 1990 collected by the local digestive cancer registry (1534 males and 1060 females). Jobless male and female farmers visited private specialists and were treated in specialized care centres at a rate two-fold lower than people in higher social classes. However, our results suggest that these variations do not explain all the influence of social environment on cancer survival either in males and females.

Background: Malignant mesothelioma is a pleural and/or peritoneal tumor closely related to asbestos exposure, and its incidence should continue to increase during the first two decades of the 21(rst)century. The main prognostic factors described for this tumor are older age, sex, tumor stage and histological type. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of pleural and peritoneal malignant mesothelioma in the County of Basse-Normandie (France), as well as their epidemiological characteristics, and the prognostic factors related to survival duration., Methods: Cases were identified through repeated inquiries among all chest physicians and pathologists of the County of Basse-Normandie. A special care was taken in the validation of the diagnosis of each case. Incidence of mesothelioma was determined according to sex and age (5 years categories). Qualitative and quantitative variables were compared with the use of chi-square or Student's t tests respectively. Survival rate was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method, and prognostic factors were studied by means of Cox model., Results: Study population consisted in all 80 malignant mesothelioma cases diagnosed in Basse-Normandie between the 1(rst) of September 1995 and the 31(rst) of August 1999. Annual incidence rates of pleural mesothelioma were 1.1/100 000 in men and 0.23/100 000 in women; annual incidence rates for peritoneal mesothelioma were 0.21/100 000 in men and 0.13/100 000 in women. Asbestos exposure was present in 63 cases (78.8%). The study of geographic distribution of mesothelioma cases revealed the influence of the main asbestos industrial settings, as well as the numerous scattered cases related to other occupational exposure. Mean survival duration was 9 months for pleural mesothelioma and 5 months for peritoneal mesothelioma. After adjustment on age, death risk was higher in asbestos-exposed than in non asbestos-exposed cases., Conclusion: This study confirms that malignant mesothelioma is closely related to asbestos exposure, but not only in main asbestos industrial settings. It suggests that asbestos exposure may take place among prognostic factors of this tumor.

The prevalence in France of patients with colorectal cancer was estimated using data from five population-based cancer registries. At the end of 1994, the number of cases diagnosed in France no more than 5 years before was approximately 95000, of whom 12180 had suffered metastasis and 9746 a local recurrence. This type of cancer is the most common in both men and women and these results enable the need for care or surveillance to be evaluated more accurately.

The preservation or the amelioration of the health of individuals and populations does not only depend on the activity of the medical profession. It largely depends on public health policies. Screening for cancers illustrates how difficult it is to organise an action of public health within a health care system of liberal tradition in France. Through the example of screening for colorectal cancer, this article proposes to identify the mechanisms by which the system of health care determines the methods of organisation of mass cancer screenings. Through interviews carried out among the organisers of five colorectal cancer screening campaigns, we identified three models on which French screening campaigns are based: an administrative model, a medical model and a mixed model. Each of these models represents a different adaptation of the organisation of mass screening to the health care system in place in France. The interests of the concerned professional groups confront each other and the collective interest. It seems that to integrate such an approach to public health in a system dominated by payment per act is doomed to fail. Today, France can no longer avoid a modification of its health care system and of its nomenclature if it wants to improve the feasibility of cancer screening programmes and increase their chance of success.

Objectives: The objective of this work was to study the reporting of resected colonic carcinomas and to compare them with Consensus Guidelines published in January 1998., Methods: The study included 535 colonic carcinomas collected in 8 French registries in 1995, and chosen by drawing lots. For each report, the presence of the information requested by the Guidelines was looked for. Three synthetic variables were built: 2 scores and one qualitative at 2 classes. The influence of patients, tumour and health care system's characteristics was analysed on the 3 dependent variables., Results: Some important variations were observed for information's percents in reporting. In monovariate analysis, scores were significantly influenced by cancer's sub-location, area of patient's residence, surgical center, type of laboratories and pathologist case volume. In multivariate analysis, significant heterogeneity in practices remained between geographical areas. Types of laboratories and pathologist case volume affected differently dependent variables., Conclusion: This study shows the necessity to assess the practices before consensus because of the impact of pathological forms in therapeutic decisions and variations observed.

Background: Over the past 20 years there have been many changes in the management of rectal cancer. Their impact on the overall population is not well known., Aims: To determine trends in management and prognosis of rectal cancer in two French regions., Subjects: 1978 patients with a rectal carcinoma diagnosed between 1978 and 1993., Methods: Time trends in treatment, stage at diagnosis, operative mortality, and survival were studied on a four year basis. A non-conditional logistic regression was performed to obtain an odds ratio for each period adjusted for the other variables. To estimate the independent effect of the period a multivariate relative survival analysis was performed., Results: Over the 16 year period resection rates increased from 66.0% to 80.1%; the increase was particularly noticeable for sphincter saving procedures (+30.6% per four years, p=0.03). The percentage of patients receiving adjuvant radiotherapy increased from 24.0% to 40.0% (p=0.02). The proportion of patients with Dukes' type A cancer increased from 17. 7% to 30.6% with a corresponding decrease in those with more advanced disease. Operative mortality decreased by 31.1% per four years (p=0.03). All these improvements have resulted in a dramatic increase in relative survival (from 35.4% for the 1978-1981 period to 57.0% for the 1985-1989 period)., Conclusions: Substantial advances in the management of rectal cancer have been achieved, but there is evidence that further improvements can be made in order to increase survival.

Colorectal cancer is a major public health problem in industrialised countries. Several studies have shown that social environment influences survival in cancer patients in many countries, but the causes remain unknown. In France, very little work has been done in this area. Our aim was to assess whether social environment influences survival of colorectal cancer patients in a well-defined French population and, if so, to what extent this could be explained by differences in stage at diagnosis or in treatment. The study population consisted of 1,642 colorectal cancer patients diagnosed between 1978 and 1987 in the French department of Calvados. Socio-demographic characteristics were assessed in terms of socio-professional category, place of residence (urban vs. rural) and distance from the place of residence to a specialised health-care centre. The relation between social environment, clinical factors and survival was studied using 2 multivariate methods (Cox model and relative survival method). Patients with poorer prognosis were found to be farmers of both sexes and individuals without occupation among males. Differences in survival were not explained entirely even when variations in stage at diagnosis and in treatment were taken into account.

This study aimed to identify the social, cultural and psychological characteristics influencing behaviour in a cancer mass screening campaign in a French population. The intention to take a screening test and actually doing it was studied, in particular. A self reported-questionnaire was mailed in December 1992 to a random sample of people living in Caen (western France), and aged from 45-74 years. The sample was formed by random selection from electoral registers. The study was population based, in the Caen area, department of Calvados, France. The questionnaire comprised 26 open and close questions. Starting in February 1993, the occult blood screening test (haemoccult IIR) for colorectal cancer was offered by general practitioners (GPs), occupational health doctors and pharmacists in the Caen area to all those aged 45-74 years. From 1 February 1993 to 30 June 1994, the data on the mass screening campaign were centralized and the study population divided into those who took the screening test and those who did not. Of the 1,129 persons contacted, 645 (57.1%) returned the questionnaire. After exclusions, 585 questionnaires were used for analysis. The results show that whether a person will actually take a screening test cannot be predicted from their intention to do so. The sociodemographic and cultural characteristics influencing the intention to take the test differ from those influencing execution of the test. Among the variables tested here, the following four sociodemographic and cultural characteristics were independently predictive of actually taking the screening test for colorectal cancer: compliance with the health insurer's advice; low or medium sociodemographic status, living with a partner (or widowhood); and not knowing someone with cancer. The analysis of the quantitative and qualitative differences between the intention to take the test and actually doing it could elucidate the reasons underlying refusal. Poor screening compliance has multiple causes. A record of intention to take a screening test alone is not appropriate. This type of study should no longer be carried out to determine the mechanisms underlying behaviour towards secondary prevention.

Objectives: People at high risk of colorectal cancer, due to familial or personal history, or to specific symptoms, are considered not to be concerned by mass screening by Haemoccult test. The aim of this study was to investigate people aged 50 to 74 with high risk of colorectal cancer among general practitioners' practices in the department of Calvados (France)., Methods: A random sample of 200 general practitioners were asked to systematically fill out a questionnaire on Haemoccult II proposal for 50-74 year-old patients for a whole week., Results: Participation rate of general practitioners was 58.5%. According to our findings, 13% of 50-74 years patients are considered not be concerned by mass screening, due to familial or personal history, or to specific symptoms., Conclusions: Colorectal cancer screening protocol have to be fit to level of risk of colorectal cancer. Involvement of general practitioners in colorectal cancer mass screening allows identification of high risk people who can then be managed with a more suitable screening protocol.

Eight serum proteins were analyzed with the Behring nephelometer in samples from 479 healthy French children, ages three to 16 years. Girls had higher concentrations of IgM and albumin than boys had. Age appeared to be a main factor of variation for the proteins tested. Reference intervals are presented for IgG, IgA, IgM, albumin, transthyretin (prealbumin), retinol-binding protein, alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, and C-reactive protein. The significance of increased concentrations of C-reactive protein within a community is discussed.