This is one of the first studies of reading in children with orofacial clefts to include a control sample. The findings suggest that children with clefts are less adept readers than demographically matched peers without clefts, supporting the need to monitor academic achievement in this population.

OBJECTIVE We assessed the neurodevelopment of infants with and without deformational plagiocephaly (DP), at an average age of 6 months. METHODS The Bayley Scales of Infant Development III (BSID-III) were administered to 235 case subjects and 237 demographically similar, control participants. Three-dimensional head photographs were randomized and rated for severity of deformation by 2 craniofacial dysmorphologists who were blinded to case status. RESULTS We excluded 2 case subjects with no photographic evidence of DP and 70 control subjects who were judged to have some degree of DP. With control for age, gender, and socioeconomic status, case subjects performed worse than control subjects on all BSID-III scales and subscales. Case subjects’ average scores on the motor composite scale were ~10 points lower than control subjects’ average scores (P < .001). Differences for the cognitive and language composite scales were ~5 points, on average (P < .001 for both scales). In subscale analyses, case subjects’ gross-motor deficits were greater than their fine-motor deficits. Among case subjects, there was no association between BSID-III performance and the presence of torticollis or infant age at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS DP seems to be associated with early neurodevelopmental disadvantage, which is most evident in motor functions. After follow-up evaluations of this cohort at 18 and 36 months, we will assess the stability of this finding. These data do not necessarily imply that DP causes neurodevelopmental delay; they indicate only that DP is a marker of elevated risk for delays. Pediatricians should monitor closely the development of infants with this condition.

Background The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) cause degradation of the extracellular matrix and basement membranes, and thus may play a key role in cancer development. Methods In our search for biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC), we compared primary OSCC, oral dysplasia and control subjects with respect to: (1) expression of MMP1, MMP3, MMP10 and MMP12 in oral epithelial tissue using Affymetrix U133 2.0 Plus GeneChip arrays, followed by qRT-PCR for MMP1, and (2) determination of MMP1 and MMP3 concentrations in saliva. Results MMP1 expression in primary OSCC (n=119) was >200-fold higher (p=7.16×10−40) compared with expression levels in non-neoplastic oral epithelium from controls (n=35). qRT-PCR results on 30 cases and 22 controls confirmed this substantial differential expression. The exceptional discriminatory power to separate OSCC from controls was validated in two independent testing sets (AUC%=100; 95% CI, 100-100 and AUC%=98.4; 95% CI, 95.6–100). Salivary concentrations of MMP1 and MMP3 in OSCC patients (33 stage I/II, 26 stage III/IV) were 6.2 times (95% CI, 3.32–11.73) and 14.8 times (95% CI, 6.75–32.56) higher, respectively, than in controls, and displayed an increasing trend with higher stage disease. Conclusions Tumor and salivary MMPs are robust diagnostic biomarkers of OSCC. Impact The capacity of MMP gene expression to identify OSCC provides support for further investigation into MMPs as potential markers for OSCC development. Detection of MMP proteins in saliva in particular may provide a promising means to detect and monitor OSCC non-invasively.

Background Evidence suggests that high-heat cooking methods may increase the risk of prostate cancer (PCa). The addition of oil/fat, as in deep-frying, may be of particular concern, and has not specifically been investigated in relation to PCa. Potential mechanisms include the formation of potentially carcinogenic agents such as aldehydes, acrolein, heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and acrylamide. Methods We estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between tertiles of intake of deep-fried foods from a food frequency questionnaire (French fries, fried chicken, fried fish, doughnuts and snack chips) and PCa risk, adjusted for potential confounders, among 1,549 cases and 1,492 controls. We additionally examined associations with more aggressive PCa (defined as regional/distant stage, elevated Gleason score or prostate specific antigen level). Results Compared with <1/week, there was a positive association with PCa risk for intake ≥ 1/week of French fries (OR=1.37; 95% CI, 1.11–1.69), fried chicken (OR=1.30; 95% CI, 1.04–1.62), fried fish (OR=1.32; 95% CI, 1.05–1.66), and doughnuts (OR=1.35; 95% CI, 1.11–1.66). There was no association for snack chips (OR=1.08; 95% CI, 0.89–1.32). Most of the estimates were slightly stronger for more aggressive disease (OR=1.41; 95% CI, 1.04–1.92 for fried fish). Conclusion Regular consumption of select deep-fried foods is associated with increased PCa risk. Whether this risk is specific to deep-fried foods, or whether it represents risk associated with regular intake of foods exposed to high heat and/or other aspects of the Western lifestyle, such as fast food consumption, remains to be determined.

Background A history of diabetes is associated with an increased risk of several types of cancers. Whether diabetes is a risk factor for head and neck cancer (HNC) has received little attention. Methods We pooled data from 12 case-control studies including 6,448 cases and 13,747 controls, and estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between diabetes and HNC, adjusted for age, education level, sex, race/ethnicity, study center, cigarette smoking, alcohol use and body mass index (BMI). Results We observed a weak association between diabetes and the incidence of HNC overall (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.95–1.24). However, we observed a modest association among never smokers (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.22–2.07), and no association among ever smokers (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.83–1.11); likelihood ratio test for interaction p=0.001. Conclusions A history of diabetes was weakly associated with HNC overall, but we observed evidence of effect modification by smoking status, with a positive association among those who never smoked cigarettes. Impact This study suggests that glucose metabolism abnormalities may be a HNC risk factor in subgroups of the population. Prospective studies incorporating biomarkers are needed to improve our understanding of the relationship between diabetes and HNC risk, possibly providing new strategies in the prevention of HNC.

ObjectiveTo examine the effects of belimumab initiation on healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) and costs in SLE.MethodsThis retrospective observational cohort study used healthcare administrative claims data from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database to identify patients with SLE billing codes who received ≥1 intravenous belimumab infusion between March 2011 and December 2015. The first belimumab administration was the ‘index date’. During the 6-month postindex period, nine belimumab infusions were recommended: three during the initiation period and six during the maintenance period. HCRU and cost data for inpatient admissions, emergency department visits, physician office visits, hospital-based outpatient visits, laboratory services, other outpatient services and outpatient pharmacy prescriptions were compared in the 6-month pre/postindex periods.ResultsOf the 1879 patients with SLE included, 43% received ≥3 intravenous initiation administrations. An average of 5.3 (SD: 2.4) of the nine recommended belimumab administrations were received within 6 months. In the 6-month preindex versus postindex periods, significant reductions were noted for inpatient hospitalisations (18% vs 9%, p<0.001; mean visits: 0.3 vs 0.14, p<0.001) and emergency department visits (40% vs 24%, p<0.001; mean visits; 3.53 vs 1.96, p<0.001). Mean total costs were higher in the 6-month postindex versus preindex period ($41 426 vs $29 270; p<0.001).ConclusionsIn this study of real-world intravenous belimumab for SLE, adherence to recommended infusion schedules was low. Outpatient healthcare and associated costs were higher in the 6 months after belimumab was initiated, although inpatient costs were lower. Reasons for non-adherence with belimumab and implications should be investigated.

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BACKGROUND Prostate cancer (PC) is the most frequently diagnosed non-skin malignancy in men in the Western world, yet few disease-associated mutations have been found. Recently, a low frequency recurring mutation in the HOXB13 gene was reported among both hereditary PC families and men from the general population. MATERIALS and METHODS We determined the distribution and frequency of the G84E HOXB13 variant in 1,310 incipient PC cases and 1,259 age-mated controls from a population-based, case control study of PC. RESULTS The G84E mutation was more frequent in cases than controls (1.3% versus 0.4%, respectively), and men with the HOXB13 G84E variant had a 3.3-fold higher relative risk of PC compared with noncarriers (95% CI, 1.21–8.96). There was a stronger association between the G84E variant and PC among men with no first-degree relative with PC (OR, 4.04; 95% CI, 1.12–14.51) compared to men with a family history of PC (OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 0.30–7.50; p=0.36 for interaction). We observed some evidence of higher risk estimates associated with the variant for men with higher versus lower Gleason score (OR, 4.13; 95% CI, 1.38–12.38 vs OR, 2.71; 95% CI, 0.88–8.30), and advanced versus local stage (OR, 4.47; 95% CI, 1.28–15.57 vs OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.04–8.49), however these differences were not statistically different. CONCLUSIONS These results confirm the association of a rare HOXB13 mutation with PC in the general population and suggest that this variant may be associated with features of more aggressive disease.