Relatively short-term use of estrogen plus progestin was associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer. However, colorectal cancers in women who took estrogen plus progestin were diagnosed at a more advanced stage than those in women who took placebo.

In postmenopausal women, the Gail model identified populations at increased risk for ER-positive but not ER-negative breast cancers. A model with fewer variables appears to provide a simpler approach for screening for breast cancer risk.

BACKGROUND Heightened risks of second cancers have been reported in patients with nonmelanoma cancer of the skin (NMSC), but this association has not been studied in a large, ethnically diverse, multigeographic population. METHODS This cross‐sectional study assessed the association of NMSC with another malignancy in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, a study that was conducted in 40 communities throughout the U.S. and involved 93,676 postmenopausal women ages 50–79 years. Cancer history, demographics, and previous and current risk exposures were determined by questionnaire at a baseline examination. Logistic regression was used to assess the association (odds ratio) of a history of NMSC with a history of other (non‐NMSC) cancers controlling for age and potential confounding factors. Complete cancer data were available in 92,658 women. RESULTS In age‐adjusted analyses, women with a history of NMSC (n = 7554 women) were 2.30 times as likely to report a history of another cancer, other than NMSC, compared with women who had no history of NMSC (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.18–2.44). In a subgroup analysis, black women with NMSC had 7.46 times the odds (95% CI, 3.08–18.0) of reporting a second malignancy compared with black women without NMSC. CONCLUSIONS This study provides additional evidence of an association between NMSC and another malignancy in a large, multiethnic population. Cancer 2004;100:130–8. © 2003 American Cancer Society.

Sera from 4,652 children whose blood was submitted to the New York City Department of Health for lead analysis were tested for antibodies to Toxocara canis using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Standardized to the age distribution of the study population, T. canis seropositivity (inverse titers greater than or equal to 16) was 5.7 per cent in males and 5.1 per cent in females. T. canis antibody titers and lead exposures as measured by Centers for Disease Control lead classes were positively correlated. Children who were seropositive to T. canis (cases) were compared to seronegatives (controls) matched on age (+/- 6 months), sex, time-of-screening (+/- 3 months) and CDC lead class. Logistic regression analysis of 155 case-control pairs demonstrated elevated relative risks (RRs) for geophagia (RR = 3.14; 95% CI = 1.75, 5.64) and having had a litter of puppies in the home (RR = 5.22; 95% CI = 1.63, 16.71). Compared to controls, cases had increased eosinophil counts, serum immunoglobulin E concentrations, and anti-hemagglutinin-A titers. Small deficits in cases compared to controls were found in performance on several neuropsychological tests after adjustment for potential confounders including case-control differences in race, socioeconomic status, and current blood lead concentrations. The study thus confirmed that T. canis infection is common in urban children and suggested that infection may be associated with adverse neuropsychological effects.

There have been reports of greater breast cancer incidence and mortality at northern compared with southern latitudes postulated to be related to vitamin D exposure. Among 71,662 participants in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHIOS) free of cancer at baseline (1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998), associations were explored between incident invasive postmenopausal breast cancer (n = 2,535), over f8.6 years follow-up, and the following: (a) region of residence at birth, age 15 years, age 35 years; (b) region of residence at WHIOS baseline; and (c) clinic center solar irradiance. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for breast cancer were estimated after adjustment for individual level confounders. There was no difference in breast cancer risk by region of earlier life, baseline residence, or solar irradiance measured in Langelys (gm-cal) per cm 2 . There was an observed 15% decreased risk among women residing in areas of low versus high solar irradiance measured in Watts per m 2 (95% CI, 2-26%). However, the associated P trend of 0.20 was not significant. Conversely, women who reported spending on average <30 minutes versus >2 hours outside in daylight year round at WHIOS year 4 follow-up (n = 46,926), had a 20% (95% CI, 2-41%; P trend = 0.001) increased risk of breast cancer. In conclusion, region of residence and geographic solar irradiance are not consistently related to risk of breast cancer and may not be sufficient proxy measures for sunlight/vitamin D exposure. The observed association between time spent outside and breast cancer risk support the hypothesis that vitamin D may protect against breast cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(2):495 -507)