Highlights of This Issue

Abstract

Recommended colorectal cancer (CRC) screening tests for U.S. adults, ages 50-75, include the home fecal occult blood test (FOBT), sigmoidoscopy with FOBT, and colonoscopy. Shapiro and colleagues analyzed 2010 National Health Interview Survey data to assess the prevalence of CRC test use, and the reported reasons for not having a CRC test. The authors found that only 58.3% of respondents reported FOBT, sigmoidoscopy with FOBT, or colonoscopy at recommended time intervals. Increasing age, education, income, having health insurance, and having a usual source of health care were all associated with higher CRC test use. Over 40% of U.S. adults in this age group do not meet recommendations for CRC screening tests. Expanded health care coverage and greater awareness of CRC screening are needed to further decrease CRC mortality.Lymphoma patients experience sleep problems that could be managed with aerobic exercise. Courneya and colleagues randomized lymphoma patients to usual care or 12-week supervised aerobic exercise training (AET). Results show that AET improved global sleep quality in several subgroups of lymphoma patients – those with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma, patients receiving chemotherapy, obese patients, and poor sleepers at baseline. If replicated in larger and more focused trials, AET may be an attractive option to manage sleep dysfunction in these patients.Studies have suggested an increased risk of gastric cancer in relation to the consumption of pickled food. Ren and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis that compared gastric cancer risk in pickled food users versus nonusers, or versus those in the lowest reported category of use. A significant increased risk of gastric cancer was observed in 30 of 50 case-control studies. These results suggest a higher risk of gastric cancer associated with pickled food intake, and may offer ways to reduce gastric cancer incidence.Cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use are high in the Alaska Native (AN) population. Benowitz and colleagues investigated possible mechanisms of increased cancer risk by studying levels of nicotine and tobacco-specific nitrosamines in tobacco products and biomarkers of tobacco toxicant exposure in a southwestern AN population. While nicotine concentrations were highest in cigarette tobacco, nicotine exposure was highest among users of igmik, a homemade smokeless tobacco preparation. This study reveals the high addiction risk potential of igmik, and sheds light on the increased cancer risk of various forms of tobacco use by the AN people.