Highlights of This Issue

Abstract

Parkin and colleagues present estimates of the incidence and mortality of cancer in Africa in 2012. There were 847,000 new cancer cases and 591,000 cancer deaths. The most common cancers in men were prostate, liver, and Kaposi sarcoma. In women, the most common cancers are of the breast and cervix uteri. This study is based on the best data currently available, and provides an appraisal of the cancer situation in Africa.Ali and colleagues performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the association of alcohol consumption with prognosis after a diagnosis of breast cancer. The authors report that moderate post-diagnosis alcohol consumption was not associated with overall survival. For ER-positive disease, there was little evidence that pre- or post-diagnosis alcohol consumption is associated with breast cancer–specific mortality. This suggests that moderate post-diagnosis alcohol consumption is unlikely to have a major adverse effect on survival in breast cancer patients.Prenatal estrogen exposure is thought to contribute to later life diseases such as breast cancer. Hickey and colleagues measured estrogens from archived umbilical cord blood samples. Values for all estrogens were strongly inter-correlated. In addition, cord estrogen concentrations did not differ between males and females, and levels of all estrogens were reduced in twins and increased with gestational age. Umbilical cord estrogen measurement could be instrumental in connecting prenatal estrogen exposures and some cancers.African Americans suffer disproportionately from behavioral risk factors for cancer. Advani and colleagues examined associations between financial strain and modifiable cancer risk factors among 1,278 African Americans and explored potential mediators of those associations. Greater financial strain was associated with greater odds of insufficient physical activity and smoking and was positively associated with the total number of cancer risk factors. Future interventions should focus on African Americans experiencing higher financial strain while addressing their stress and depressive symptoms.