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Cancer Mortality and Incidence: Intersections between the Environment, Genetics, and Behavior

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Public Health Statistics and Risk Assessment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 9290

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Michael J. Rovito

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Guest Editor

Department of Health Sciences, College of Health Professions and Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
Interests: cancer mortality and incidence; environmental exposures causing an increase in cancer risk; inherited risks for cancer; behavioral risks and/or modifications that raise, lower risk of cancer manifestation; cancer epidemiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer currently ranks among the top causes of death worldwide, where approximately 1 in 6 deaths is attributable to the disease. The risk of developing cancer is a confluence of genetics, human behaviors, and the environment we live in. Cancer rates are highest among high-income nations but are currently rising at alarming levels globally, particularly within the Global South.

It is well established that the increased exposure to environmental toxins, the choice to perform adverse cancer-causing behaviors (i.e., tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, poor dieting, sedentary lifestyle, among others), and genetic inheritance increase our collective risk of developing cancer. However, cancer incidence and mortality rates vary globally due to access to health care, the availabiity of effective medical technology, and coordinated cancer prevention efforts.

This Special Issue calls for papers that explore the intersections of human activity in the environment and genetic factors that may be determinant of cancer manifestation across the lifespan. Specifically, we invite papers that investigate the interactions of health care and information access, human behavior, inheritance, and/or environmental degradation, with a particular focus on place and space. We welcome manuscripts from a variety of different disciplines including, but not limited to, public health, oncology, epidemiology, risk assessment and management, and geographic and environmental studies.

Dr. Michael J. Rovito
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

cancer
incidence
mortality
environment
behaviors
risk
genetics

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1485 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Nationwide Oral Mucosal Screening Program for Oral Cancer Mortality among Men in Taiwan

by Shih-Yung Su

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14329; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph192114329 - 02 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1117

Abstract

The nationwide oral cancer screening program was launched for high-risk people (tobacco smokers or betel-nut chewers) in 1999 in Taiwan, but no study has taken the prevalence of tobacco smoking and betel-nut chewing into account for evaluating the impact of the screening program on oral cancer mortality. This study incorporated the risk fraction method with interrupted time-series analysis to evaluate the impact of the nationwide oral mucosal screening program among men in Taiwan. This study estimated the expected oral cancer mortality trend if the screening program had not launched in 1999, which revealed that the increasing oral cancer mortality trend would level off after 2009 due to the declining prevalence of tobacco smoking and betel-nut chewing. In 2000–2007, the percentage changes between the observed (implementation of the screening program) and expected (if the screening program had not launched) oral cancer mortality rate was not statistically significant for each age group. In 2008–2020, the significant percentage changes were −178% (99% CIs: −140.8 to −215.2), −75.4% (−59.4 to −91.4), −33.7% (−24.7 to −42.7), −18.8% (−12.0 to −25.6), and −15.3% (−9.5 to −21.2) for age groups of 30–34, 35–39, 40–44, 45–49, and 50–54, respectively. In addition to its influence on tobacco smoking and betel-nut chewing, the oral mucosal screening program was associated with the reduction of oral cancer mortality among men in Taiwan. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cancer Mortality and Incidence: Intersections between the Environment, Genetics, and Behavior)

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17 pages, 3477 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Association between Sociodemographic Factors, Coverage and Offer of Health Services with Mortality Due to Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer in Brazil: A 20-Year Analysis

by Márcio Vinicius de Gouveia Affonso, Igor Gonçalves Souza, Emerson Souza de Rocha, Eny Maria Goloni-Bertollo, Fabiana de Campos Gomes, Liliane Silva do Nascimento and João Simão de Melo-Neto

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13208; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph192013208 - 14 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1306

Abstract

To investigate the association between sociodemographic factors and variables related to oral health services in oral and oropharyngeal cancer mortality in Brazil, between 2000 and 2019. This study had an ecological design. Standardized mortality rates were compared between age group, sex, and regions. Age–Period–Cohort analysis was applied. Oral health services variables were analyzed in correlation tests. Survival analysis included Kaplan–Meier estimators, log-rank tests, and Cox regression. The mortality rate increased with age and was higher in men. Southeast and south regions had the highest rates for men, and the northeast and southeast had it for women. Age–Period–Cohort analysis showed a slight increase in female deaths and an increasing trend in the annual percent change in mortality for men over age 55. In survival analysis, males, Black individuals and southern residents were more strongly associated with death. The correlation between oral health teams’ coverage was high and negative, while the number of dental specialty centers and soft tissue biopsies had a high and positive correlation. Mortality and survival patterns were dependent on sex, age, geographic region and race/ethnicity. It was observed that preventive and diagnostic procedures were not being performed, which may be related to the increase in mortality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cancer Mortality and Incidence: Intersections between the Environment, Genetics, and Behavior)

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11 pages, 1262 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Tobacco Smoking on the Survivability of Patients with Multiple Cancers and Single Lung Cancer

by Anna Romaszko-Wojtowicz, Andżelika Lorenc, Adam Buciński and Anna Doboszyńska

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9179; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19159179 - 27 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1414

Abstract

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide among men and women. Tobacco smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer. The aim of our study was to evaluate the survivability of patients with single lung cancer in relation to the survival time in patients with multiple neoplasms whose last neoplasm was a lung cancer. A retrospective analysis was con-ducted of data from medical histories of patients hospitalized at the Pulmonary Hospital in Olsztyn (Poland) from 2012 to 2017, with a lung cancer diagnosis as the first or subsequent cancer. The total longevity of women with diagnosed multiple cancers was found to be shorter than that of men: 67.60 years (SD: 7.77) and 69.91 years (SD: 7.97), respectively. Among the ex-smokers, the longevity of men (68.93 years) was longer than that of women (66.18 years). Survival time, counted from the diagnosis of both the first and subsequent cancer, was longer among patients with multiple cancers than among patients with single lung cancer (p = 0.000). Women’s survivability was worse than men’s in the case of multiple cancers and in the group of people who quit smoking (p = 0.037; p = 0.000). To conclude, smoking tobacco affects the survival of patients with lung cancer. Smoking cessation improves overall survival. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cancer Mortality and Incidence: Intersections between the Environment, Genetics, and Behavior)

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10 pages, 2255 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impacts of Built Environment on Risk of Women’s Lung Cancer: A Case Study of China

by Hongjie Xie, Rui Shao, Yiping Yang, Ramio Cruz and Xilin Zhou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 7157; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19127157 - 10 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1922

Abstract

Built environment factors such as air pollution are associated with the risk of respiratory disease, but few studies have carried out profound investigation. We aimed to evaluate the association between the built environment and Chinese women’s lung cancer incidence data from the China Cancer Registry Annual Report 2017, which covered 345,711,600 people and 449 qualified cancer registries in mainland China. The air quality indicator (PM2.5) and other built environment data are obtained from the China Statistical Yearbook and other official approved materials. An exploratory regression tool is applied by using Chinese women’s lung cancer incidence data (Segi population) as the dependent variable, PM2.5 index and other built environment factors as the independent variables. An apparent clustering region with a high incidence of women’s lung cancer was discovered, including regions surrounding Bohai bay and the three Chinese northeastern provinces, Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia. Besides air quality, built environment factors were found to have a weak but clear impact on lung cancer incidence. Land-use intensity and the greening coverage ratio were positive, and the urbanization rate and population density were negatively correlated with lung cancer incidence. The role of green spaces in Chinese women’s lung cancer incidence has not been proven. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cancer Mortality and Incidence: Intersections between the Environment, Genetics, and Behavior)

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Review

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24 pages, 4709 KiB

Open AccessReview

Healthy Eating and Mortality among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies

by Eunkyung Lee, Vanessa Kady, Eric Han, Kayla Montan, Marjona Normuminova and Michael J. Rovito

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 7579; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19137579 - 21 Jun 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2836

Abstract

This systematic review examined the effect of diet quality, defined as adherence to healthy dietary recommendations, on all-cause and breast cancer-specific mortality. Web of Science, Medline, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases were searched to identify eligible studies published by May 2021. We used a random-effects model meta-analysis in two different approaches to estimate pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for highest and lowest categories of diet quality: (1) each dietary quality index as the unit of analysis and (2) cohort as the unit of analysis. Heterogeneity was examined using Cochran’s Q test and inconsistency I² statistics. The risk of bias was assessed by the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale for cohort studies, and the quality of evidence was investigated by the GRADE tool. The analysis included 11 publications from eight cohorts, including data from 27,346 survivors and seven dietary indices. Both approaches yielded a similar effect size, but cohort-based analysis had a wider CI. Pre-diagnosis diet quality was not associated with both outcomes. However, better post-diagnosis diet quality significantly reduced all-cause mortality by 21% (HR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.70, 0.89, I² = 16.83%, n = 7) and marginally reduced breast cancer-specific mortality by 15% (HR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.62, 1.18, I² = 57.4%, n = 7). Subgroup analysis showed that adhering to the Diet Approaches to Stop Hypertension and Chinese Food Pagoda guidelines could reduce breast cancer-specific mortality. Such reduction could be larger for older people, physically fit individuals, and women with estrogen receptor-positive, progesterone receptor-negative, or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive tumors. The risk of bias in the selected studies was low, and the quality of evidence for the identified associations was low or very low due to imprecision of effect estimation, inconsistent results, and publication bias. More research is needed to precisely estimate the effect of diet quality on mortality. Healthcare providers can encourage breast cancer survivors to comply with healthy dietary recommendations to improve overall health. (Funding: University of Central Florida Office of Undergraduate Research, Registration: PROSPERO-CRD42021260135). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cancer Mortality and Incidence: Intersections between the Environment, Genetics, and Behavior)

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