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Biomedical subjects

Stephen A Hoption Cann

Publications and source records attributed to Stephen A Hoption Cann.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Acute infections as a means of cancer prevention: opposing effects to chronic infections?

PURPOSE: Epidemiological studies have found an inverse association between acute infections and cancer development. In this paper, we review the evidence examining this potentially antagonistic relationship. METHODS: In addition to a review of the historical literature, we examined the recent epidemiological evidence on the relationship between acute infections and subsequent cancer development in adult life. We also discuss the impact of chronic infections on tumor development and the influence of the immune system in this process. RESULTS: Exposures to febrile infectious childhood diseases were associated with subsequently reduced risks for melanoma, ovary, and multiple cancers combined, significant in the latter two groups. Epidemiological studies on common acute infections in adults and subsequent cancer development found these infections to be associated with reduced risks for meningioma, glioma, melanoma and multiple cancers combined, significantly for the latter three groups. Overall, risk reduction increased with the frequency of infections, with febrile infections affording the greatest protection. In contrast to acute infections, chronic infections can be viewed as resulting from a failed immune response and an increasing number have been associated with an elevated cancer risk. CONCLUSION: Infections may play a paradoxical role in cancer development with chronic infections often being tumorigenic and acute infections being antagonistic to cancer.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2006

Hypothesis: dietary iodine intake in the etiology of cardiovascular disease.

This paper reviews evidence suggesting that iodine deficiency can have deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system, and correspondingly, that a higher iodine intake may benefit cardiovascular function. In recent years, public health bodies have aggressively promoted sodium restriction as a means of reducing hypertension and the risk of cardiovascular disease. These inducements have led to a general decline in iodine intake in many developed countries. For example, a United States national health survey conducted in the early 1970s observed that 1 in 40 individuals had urinary iodine levels suggestive of moderate or greater iodine deficiency; twenty years later, moderate to severe iodine deficiency was observed in 1 in 9 participants. Regional iodine intake has been shown to be associated with the prevalence of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, where autoimmune hypothyroidism is the more common of the two in regions with moderate to high iodine intake. Both of these thyroid abnormalities have been shown to negatively affect cardiovascular function. Selenium, an important antioxidant in the thyroid and involved in the metabolism of iodine-containing thyroid hormones, may play an interactive role in the development of these thyroid irregularities, and in turn, cardiovascular disease. Iodine and iodine-rich foods have long been used as a treatment for hypertension and cardiovascular disease; yet, modern randomized studies examining the effects of iodine on cardiovascular disease have not been carried out. The time has come for investigations of sodium, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease to also consider the adverse effects that may result from mild or greater iodine deficiency.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed2003

Cancer cluster among police detachment personnel.

An apparent cancer cluster at a police detachment in a coastal British Columbia community was investigated. Police personnel suspected that the detachment building may have been a factor. Police personnel (20 current and 154 previous employees) associated with the detachment since 1963, the date of occupancy, were traced. After all 174 cases were contacted directly, or next of kin in case of death, a total of 16 cases of cancer or suspected cancers were reported. Of these 16, eight cases of cancer were confirmed through a cancer registry. Cancers included testicular, cervical, colon, skin (including melanoma), leukemias and lymphomas with an age range of diagnosis between 22 and 44 years. There was no evidence for an underlying event, factor or condition in the police building that could be attributed to the observed cancer cases. A possible association between these cancers and the use of police traffic radar is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Salt in food.

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Diet, Sodium-Restricted↗