For people who are transgender, transsexual, or transitioned (trans), access to primary, emergency, and transition-related health care is often problematic. Results from Phase I of the Trans PULSE Project, a community-based research project in Ontario, Canada, are presented. Based on qualitative data from focus groups with 85 trans community members, a theoretical framework describing how erasure functions to impact experiences interacting with the health care system was developed. Two key sites of erasure were identified: informational erasure and institutional erasure. How these processes work in a mutually reinforcing manner to erase trans individuals and communities and produce a system in which a trans patient or client is seen as an anomaly is shown. Thus, the impetus often falls on trans individuals to attempt to remedy systematic deficiencies. The concept of cisnormativity is introduced to aid in explaining the pervasiveness of trans erasure. Strategies for change are identified.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has been linked to several agricultural exposures, including some commonly used pesticides. Although there is a significant body of literature examining the effects of exposure to individual pesticides on NHL, the impact of exposure to multiple pesticides or specific pesticide combinations has not been explored in depth. Data from a six-province Canadian case-control study conducted between 1991 and 1994 were analyzed to investigate the relationship between NHL, the total number of pesticides used and some common pesticide combinations. Cases (n = 513) were identified through hospital records and provincial cancer registries and controls (n = 1,506), frequency matched to cases by age and province of residence, were obtained through provincial health records, telephone listings, or voter lists. In multiple logistic regression analyses, risk of NHL increased with the number of pesticides used. Similar results were obtained in analyses restricted to herbicides, insecticides and several pesticide classes. Odds ratios increased further when only ‘potentially carcinogenic’ pesticides were considered (OR[one pesticide] = 1.30, 95% CI = 0.90–1.88; OR[two to four] = 1.54, CI = 1.11–2.12; OR[five or more] = 1.94, CI = 1.17–3.23). Elevated risks were also found among those reporting use of malathion in combination with several other pesticides. These analyses support and extend previous findings that the risk of NHL increases with the number of pesticides used and some pesticide combinations.

This is the first study that seems to indicate that cytogenetic findings have prognostic significance in AILD-type T-cell lymphoma. These results must be proven in prospective studies of homogeneously treated patients.

Despite advances in the inclusion of women in studies of occupational cancer, disparities remain in the number of studies of occupational cancer and depth of analysis in studies that included women.

Pesticide exposures and immune suppression have been independently associated with the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but their joint effect has not been well explored. Data from a case-control study of men from six Canadian provinces were used to evaluate the potential effect modification of asthma, allergies, or asthma and allergies and hay fever combined on NHL risk from use of: (i) any pesticide; (ii) any organochlorine insecticide; (iii) any organophosphate insecticide; (iv) any phenoxy herbicide; (v) selected individual pesticides [1,1'-(2,2,2-trichloroethylidene)bis [4-chlorobenzene]; 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl) ethane (DDT), malathion, (4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy)acetic acid (MCPA), mecoprop, and (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4-D); and (vi) from the number of potentially carcinogenic pesticides. Incident NHL cases (n 5 513) diagnosed between 1991 and 1994 were recruited from provincial cancer registries and hospitalization records and compared to 1,506 controls. A stratified analysis was conducted to calculate odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for age, province, proxy respondent, and diesel oil exposure. Subjects with asthma, allergies, or hay fever had non-significantly elevated risks of NHL associated with use of MCPA (OR 5 2.67, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.90-7.93) compared to subjects without any of these conditions (OR 5 0.81, 95% CI: 0.39-1.70). Conversely, those with asthma, allergies, or hay fever who reported use of malathion had lower risks of NHL (OR 5 1.25, 95% CI: 0.69-2.26) versus subjects with none of these conditions (OR 5 2.44, 95% CI: 1.65-3.61). Similar effects were observed for asthma and allergies evaluated individually. Although there were some leads regarding effect modification by these immunologic conditions on the association between pesticide use and NHL, small numbers, measurement error and possible recall bias limit interpretation of these results.The incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) showed a steady worldwide increase from 1950, but plateaued in the late 1990s.1 In 2011, NHL was the fifth most frequently occurring cancer and the sixth leading cause of all cancer deaths in Canada.2 The causes of NHL are not well-known. 1,3Immune suppression is the most clearly established risk factor for NHL 3-6 because of substantially elevated risks among individuals with autoimmune disease, primary or acquired immunodeficiencies, and organ transplant recipients.1,3 Risk appears to increase with the degree of immune deficiency.7 Factors that suppress the immune system, like chemical exposures, may facilitate the development of NHL. A number of occupational and environmental factors have been associated with NHL. 5,8 Farming has been linked to NHL 9 overall and for major NHL subtypes. 1 This observation has prompted research on agricultural chemicals, such as pesticides, solvents, fuels, oils, and other agents that are potentially carcinogenic. [10][11][12] Use of some specific pesticides may contribute to the increased incidence of NHL.13-15 For example, occupationa...