The role of antiretroviral therapy in reducing TB incidence and mortality in high HIV-TB burden countries

Abstract Background Lung cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide and the leading cause of death for cancer (18.4%). During the last 30 years, lung cancer incidence and mortality increased in women and decreased in men, because of tobacco smoking exposure. Population survival trend reflects both the influence of disease severity at diagnosis and treatment effectiveness. Some studies reported an increase in global lung cancer survival and linked it to new treatment options. However, change in the overall survival may also reflect a shift towards morphologies with more favorable prognosis. We analyzed overall and morphology specific survival trends for lung cancer to gain insight on the role of new treatments and changing exposures. Methods We analyzed lung cancer 1 y-survival and 3 y-survival after diagnosis in Umbria (890'000 inhabitants) in the period 1994-2016. Population-based data were obtained from the Umbrian Cancer Registry (RTUP), Italy. We estimated relative net survival (Pohar-Perme approach) stratified both for sex and histotype (NSCLC, SCLC, NOS), considering six diagnostic periods from 1994 to 2016 (4 years for period, except 3 in the last one) for 5'268 lung cancer cases (26% women). Results Overall survival by gender resulted 40,5% (1y) and 16.5% (3y) in men, 47,3% (1y) and 23,2% (3y) in women. NSCLC survival increased in women during the period 1994-2016 from 41% to 53% (1y) and from 23% to 33% (3y), and remained unchanged in men. SCLC 3 year-survival did not change significantly neither in women nor in men. Conclusions We did not observe a significant increase in lung cancer survival over a 25 years period. We observed a significant increase in survival probabilities for NSCLC among women only. Thus, our data don't confirm a major role of new treatments in improving lung cancer control. We will provide further analyses for adenocarcinoma and a comparison of incidence and mortality trends to understand the influence of exposures and treatments on survival. Key messages A general increase in lung cancer survival, as could be expected after the introduction of new highly effective treatments is not present in western countries. Reducing exposure to tobacco smoking and environmental pollution remain the main intervention to improve lung cancer control.

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The perplexing role of RAGE in pulmonary fibrosis: causality or casualty?

Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease ◽

10.1177/17534666211016071 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 175346662110160

Author(s):

Timothy N. Perkins ◽

Tim D. Oury

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Failure ◽

Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽

Disease Progression ◽

Advanced Glycation Endproducts ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Normal Lung ◽

Unknown Etiology ◽

Chronic Lung Diseases ◽

Incidence And Mortality

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fatal lung disease in which most patients die within 3 years of diagnosis. With an unknown etiology, IPF results in progressive fibrosis of the lung parenchyma, diminishing normal lung function, which results in respiratory failure, and eventually, death. While few therapies are available to reduce disease progression, patients continue to advance toward respiratory failure, leaving lung transplantation the only viable option for survival. As incidence and mortality rates steadily increase, the need for novel therapeutics is imperative. The receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) is most highly expressed in the lungs and plays a significant role in a number of chronic lung diseases. RAGE has long been linked to IPF; however, confounding data from both human and experimental studies have left an incomplete and perplexing story. This review examines the present understanding of the role of RAGE in human and experimental models of IPF, drawing parallels to recent advances in RAGE biology. Moreover, this review discusses the role of RAGE in lung injury response, type 2 immunity, and cellular senescence, and how such mechanisms may relate to RAGE as both a biomarker of disease progression and potential therapeutic target in IPF. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.

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Role of Precision Oncology in Type II Endometrial and Prostate Cancers in the African Population: Global Cancer Genomics Disparities

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms23020628 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 628

Author(s):

Rahaba Marima ◽

Rodney Hull ◽

Mandisa Mbeje ◽

Thulo Molefi ◽

Kgomotso Mathabe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prostate Cancer ◽

Endometrial Cancer ◽

African Ancestry ◽

African Population ◽

Precision Oncology ◽

Type Ii ◽

Incidence And Mortality ◽

Prostate Cancers ◽

The Relationship

Precision oncology can be defined as molecular profiling of tumors to identify targetable alterations. Emerging research reports the high mortality rates associated with type II endometrial cancer in black women and with prostate cancer in men of African ancestry. The lack of adequate genetic reference information from the African genome is one of the major obstacles in exploring the benefits of precision oncology in the African context. Whilst external factors such as the geography, environment, health-care access and socio-economic status may contribute greatly towards the disparities observed in type II endometrial and prostate cancers in black populations compared to Caucasians, the contribution of African ancestry to the contribution of genetics to the etiology of these cancers cannot be ignored. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) continue to emerge as important regulators of gene expression and the key molecular pathways involved in tumorigenesis. Particular attention is focused on activated/repressed genes and associated pathways, while the redundant pathways (pathways that have the same outcome or activate the same downstream effectors) are often ignored. However, comprehensive evidence to understand the relationship between type II endometrial cancer, prostate cancer and African ancestry remains poorly understood. The sub-Saharan African (SSA) region has both the highest incidence and mortality of both type II endometrial and prostate cancers. Understanding how the entire transcriptomic landscape of these two reproductive cancers is regulated by ncRNAs in an African cohort may help elucidate the relationship between race and pathological disparities of these two diseases. This review focuses on global disparities in medicine, PCa and ECa. The role of precision oncology in PCa and ECa in the African population will also be discussed.

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