Serum leptin concentrations are correlated with the percentage of body fat, suggesting that most obese persons are insensitive to endogenous leptin production.

A case-control study of household dogs was conducted to determine if exposure to sidestream cigarette smoke and chemicals in the home, use of topical insecticides, and obesity are associated with the occurrence of bladder cancer. Information was obtained by interview from owners of 59 dogs with transitional-cell carcinoma of the bladder and 71 age- and breed size-matched control dogs with other chronic diseases or neoplasms. Bladder cancer risk was unrelated to sidestream cigarette smoke and household chemical exposures. Risk was significantly increased by topical insecticide use (OR = 1.6 for 1-2 applications per year and OR = 3.5 for greater than 2 applications per year; chi 2 trend; p = .008). This risk was enhanced in overweight or obese dogs. Further studies of this canine model may facilitate identification of specific carcinogens present in insecticides commonly used on pet animals and in the environment.

Canine and human breast cancer share several important clinical and histologic features. A case-control study of nutritional factors and canine breast cancer was conducted at the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1984-1987 by interviewing owners of 150 pet dogs diagnosed with breast cancer, owners of 147 cancer control dogs, and owners of 131 noncancer control dogs. The risk of breast cancer was significantly reduced in dogs spayed at or before 2.5 years of age. Neither a high-fat diet nor obesity 1 year before diagnosis increased the risk of breast cancer according to multiple logistic regression analysis. However, the risk of breast cancer among spayed dogs was significantly reduced in dogs that had been thin at 9-12 months of age (odds ratio (OR) = 0.04 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.004-0.4) and OR = 0.04 (95% CI 0.004-0.5) for cases vs. cancer controls and cases vs. noncancer controls, respectively, after adjustment for age at spay). Among intact dogs, the risk associated with being thin at 9-12 months of age was reduced, but not significantly so (OR = 0.60 (95% CI 0.2-1.9) and OR = 0.51 (95% CI 0.2-1.4) for the two comparisons, respectively). Results of this study suggest that nutritional factors operating early in life may be of etiologic importance in canine breast cancer.

No abstract

The majority of childhood cancer patients now can expect to survive into early adulthood, cured of their cancer. Current adult survivors are a diverse group in terms of diagnosis, age at diagnosis, and types of treatment. It is estimated that by 1990, 1 in every 1,000 twenty-year-olds will have had cancer, making it important to describe the long-term psychosocial adjustment of this population. Patients who were diagnosed between 1948 and 1975 while less than 16 years of age, who were currently 18 years or older, had been off therapy for at least 5 years, and had no known brain damage were eligible for this survey and were identified through the tumor registry at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHP). Initially, the parents were contacted by letter. Ninety-five (57%) of the 167 eligible patients participated in a telephone interview, which covered educational achievement, occupational status, interpersonal relationships, marital status, pregnancies, employee benefits and insurance, and medical and health behaviors. Respondents were not different from nonrespondents in terms of sex, year of diagnosis, age at diagnosis, diagnoses, stage of illness, or type of treatments. There were no differences in terms of education, marital status, fertility issues, or occupational status by diagnosis group, age at diagnosis, or treatments. The patients were compared to siblings over 18 years of age in terms of education and marital status. No significant differences in sex distribution or years of education between patients and siblings were found. The siblings were, as a group, older than the patients and were more likely to be married. In general, these patients were functioning normally, but there are many unexplored areas of interpersonal relationships and productivity that need further study before conclusions regarding psychosocial adjustment of childhood cancer survivors can be drawn.