Impact of subtypes and comorbidities on breast cancer relapse and survival in population-based studies.

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of subtypes and comorbidities on breast cancer (BC) relapse and survival in the heterogeneous patients of the real world. METHODS: We identified patients diagnosed with BC between January 2003 and December 2005 from six population-based Swiss cancer registries. Clinicopathologic data was completed with information on locoregional and distant relapse and date and cause of death for over 10-years. We approximated BC subtypes using grade and the immunohistochemical panel for oestrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) receptor status. We studied factors affecting relapse and survival. RESULTS: Luminal A-like subtype represented 46% of all newly diagnosed BC (N = 1831), followed by luminal B-like (N = 1504, 38%), triple negative (N = 436, 11%) and HER2 enriched (N = 204, 5%). We observed regional disparities in subtype prevalence that contribute to explain regional differences in survival formerly described. Disease relapse and BC specific mortality differed by subtype and were lower for luminal A like tumours than for other subtypes for any stage at diagnosis. After a median follow-up of 10.9 years, 1311 (33%) had died, half of them 647 (16%) due to another disease, showing the importance of comorbidities. Omission of systemic therapies in selected patients was not associated with poorer BC specific survival, BC subtype and life expectancy playing a role. CONCLUSIONS: Information on tumour subtype is necessary for an adequate interpretation of population-based BC studies. Measures of comorbidity or frailty help in the evaluation of quality of care in the highly heterogeneous patients of the real world.

Impact of mammography screening programmes on breast cancer mortality in Switzerland, a country with different regional screening policies.

INTRODUCTION: In the past decades, mortality due to breast cancer has declined considerably in Switzerland and other developed countries. The reasons for this decline remain controversial as several factors occurred almost simultaneously, including important advances in treatment approaches, breast cancer awareness and the introduction of mammography screening programmes in many European countries. In Switzerland, mammography screening programmes (MSPs) have existed in some regions for over 20 years but do not yet exist in others. This offers the possibility to analyse its effects with modern spatiotemporal methodology. We aimed to assess the spatiotemporal patterns and the effect of MSPs on breast cancer mortality. SETTING: Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS: The study covers breast cancer deaths of the female population of Switzerland during the period 1969-2012. We retrieved data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office aggregated on a small-area level. DESIGN: We fitted Bayesian hierarchical spatiotemporal models on death rates indirectly standardised by national references. We used linguistic region, degree of urbanisation, duration of population-based screening programmes and socioeconomic index as covariates. RESULTS: In Switzerland, breast cancer mortality in women slightly increased until 1989-1992 and declined strongly thereafter. Until 2009-2012, the standardised mortality ratio declined to 57% (95% CI 54% to 60%) of the 1969-1972 value. None of the other coefficients of the spatial regressions had a significant effect on breast cancer mortality. In 2009-2012, no region had significantly elevated or reduced breast cancer mortality at 95% credible interval level compared with the national mean. CONCLUSION: There has been a strong reduction of breast cancer mortality from the 1990s onwards. No important spatial disparities were observed. The factors studied (urbanisation, language, duration of population-based MSP and socioeconomic characteristics) did not seem to have an influence on them. Low participation rates and opportunistic screening use may have contributed to the low impact of MSPs.

Lower hospital volume is associated with higher mortality after oesophageal, gastric, pancreatic and rectal cancer resection.

BACKGROUND: In various countries, the association of lower hospital volume and higher mortality after oesophageal, gastric, pancreatic and rectal cancer resection has been clearly demonstrated. However, scientific evidence regarding the volume-outcomes relationship for high-risk visceral surgical procedures in Switzerland is lacking. The a priori hypothesis of this retrospective population-based cohort study analysis was that low-volume hospitals in Switzerland have a higher rate of postoperative mortality after oesophageal, gastric, pancreatic and rectal cancer resection. METHODS: Patients undergoing elective resection of oesophageal, gastric, pancreatic and rectal cancer between 1999 and 2012 were identified in the inpatient database of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Nonparametric correlation analyses were used to assess time trends. Mortality was assessed in univariable and risk-adjusted conditional logistic regression analyses with stratification for year of surgery. RESULTS: A total of 1487 oesophageal, 4404 gastric, 2668 pancreatic and 9743 rectal cancer patients were identified. For all cancer entities, significant treatment centralisation was observed over the time period (all p <0.001). The rate of mortality was inversely related to the annual number of patients treated at a certain hospital. The decrease of postoperative mortality from low-volume to high-volume hospitals was 6.3% to 3.3% for oesophageal cancer (p = 0.019), 4.9% to 3.3% for gastric cancer (p = 0.023), 5.4% to 2.0% for pancreatic cancer (p = 0.037), and 2.4% to 1.6% for rectal cancer (p = 0.008). These results were confirmed in risk-adjusted analyses with a decreased odds of pos-operative death by 49% for oesophageal (odds ratio [OR] 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.22-1.18; p = 0.085), 32% for gastric (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48-0.98; p = 0.032), 68% for pancreatic (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.11-0.89; p = 0.011) and 29% for rectal cancer (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.52-0.98; p = 0.033). CONCLUSION: This population-based analysis - the first of its kind in the literature - demonstrates a higher postoperative mortality in low-volume hospitals for patients undergoing oesophageal, gastric, pancreatic and rectal cancer resection in Switzerland. Hence, such operations should preferably be performed in high-volume hospitals.

Using lung cancer mortality to indirectly approximate smoking patterns in space.

Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. Non-smoking factors have been associated with the disease. Existing Swiss survey data only capture the country partially and temporal coverage does not allow for a time lag between exposure to tobacco and lung cancer outbreak. Knowledge about the distribution of tobacco-use is essential to estimate its contribution to disease burden. Bayesian regression models were applied to estimate spatial smoking patterns. Data were provided from the Swiss Health Survey (14521 participants). Regression models with spatial random effects (SREs) were employed to obtain smoking proxies based on mortality rates and SREs adjusted for environmental exposures. Population attributable fractions were estimated to assess the burden of tobacco-use on lung cancer mortality. Correlation between observed smoking prevalence with smoking proxies was moderate and stronger in females. In the absence of sufficient survey data, smooth unadjusted mortality rates can be used to assess smoking patterns in Switzerland.

40 years of progress in female cancer death risk: a Bayesian spatio-temporal mapping analysis in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: In the past decades, mortality of female gender related cancers declined in Switzerland and other developed countries. Differences in the decrease and in spatial patterns within Switzerland have been reported according to urbanisation and language region, and remain controversial. We aimed to investigate geographical and temporal trends of breast, ovarian, cervical and uterine cancer mortality, assess whether differential trends exist and to provide updated results until 2011. METHODS: Breast, ovarian, cervical and uterine cancer mortality and population data for Switzerland in the period 1969-2011 was retrieved from the Swiss Federal Statistical office (FSO). Cases were grouped into <55 year olds, 55-74 year olds and 75+ year olds. The geographical unit of analysis was the municipality. To explore age- specific spatio-temporal patterns we fitted Bayesian hierarchical spatio-temporal models on subgroup-specific death rates indirectly standardized by national references. We used linguistic region and degree of urbanisation as covariates. RESULTS: Female cancer mortality continuously decreased in terms of rates in all age groups and cancer sites except for ovarian cancer in 75+ year olds, especially since 1990 onwards. Contrary to other reports, we found no systematic difference between language regions. Urbanisation as a proxy for access to and quality of medical services, education and health consciousness seemed to have no influence on cancer mortality with the exception of uterine and ovarian cancer in specific age groups. We observed no obvious spatial pattern of mortality common for all cancer sites. Rate reduction in cervical cancer was even stronger than for other cancer sites. CONCLUSIONS: Female gender related cancer mortality is continuously decreasing in Switzerland since 1990. Geographical differences are small, present on a regional or canton-overspanning level, and different for each cancer site and age group. No general significant association with cantonal or language region borders could be observed.

Prognostic significance of histology after resection of brain metastases and whole brain radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are associated with a poor prognosis. In selected cases, surgical resection of brain metastases may be indicated, but the identification of patients suitable for surgery remains difficult. We collected data on patient and tumour characteristics known or suspected to be associated with survival by chart review. Data was merged with available data from the local cancer registry. We identified 64 NSCLC patients with resected brain metastases. Median overall survival after resection was 9.1 months with only two patients (3%) surviving more than 71 and 80 months. One and 2-year survival were 42 and 12.5%. Median survival for males and patients with more comorbidities was shorter (8 vs. 10 months [p = 0.11] and 6 vs. 9 months [p = 0.06]). Patients with squamous cell carcinomas (33% of the patients) had a significantly worse survival than patients with other histologies (7 vs. 10 months [p = 0.02]) with no patient living longer than 2 years. Squamous cell histology was associated with worse prognosis after resection of brain metastases in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Histology, among other parameters, may also be taken into account when choosing the appropriate patients for resection of brain metastases.

Breast cancer in younger women in Switzerland 1996-2009: a longitudinal population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of death in younger women. METHODS: We analysed incidence, mortality and relative survival (RS) in women with BC aged 20-49 years at diagnosis, between 1996 and 2009 in Switzerland. Trends are reported as estimated annual percentage changes (EAPC). RESULTS: Our findings confirm a slight increase in the incidence of BC in younger Swiss women during the period 1996-2009. The increase was largest in women aged 20-39 years (EAPC 1.8%). Mortality decreased in both age groups with similar EAPCs. Survival was lowest among women 20-39 years (10-year RS 73.4%). We observed no notable differences in stage of disease at diagnosis that might explain these differences. CONCLUSIONS: The increased incidence and lower survival in younger women diagnosed with BC in Switzerland indicates possible differences in risk factors, tumour biology and treatment characteristics that require additional examination.

Impact of clinical risk scores and BRAF V600E mutation status on outcome in papillary thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the relationship between the BRAF V600E mutation and clinicopathologic parameters and to assess the impact of the BRAF V600E mutation and established risk scores on survival in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of a consecutive, single-institutional cohort of patients with PTC larger than 1 cm. Clinical risk scores according to the Metastases, Age, Completeness of Resection, Invasion, Size (MACIS), European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and tumor, node, metastases (TNM) scoring systems were determined. BRAF exon 15 mutation analysis was performed by polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: BRAF V600E mutations were found in 75/116 (65%) PTC. The rates for 5- and 10-year overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were 92% and 87%, 98% and 96%, and 96% and 94%, respectively. Low MACIS scores were associated with longer OS (10 y 95% vs 75%, P = .008), DSS (10 y 100% vs 89%, P = .02) and RFS (100% vs 85%, P = .006). Comparable survival advantages were observed for patients with early EORTC scores and low TNM stage. BRAF V600E mutation status was not associated with clinicopathologic characteristics of aggressive behavior such as extrathyroidal extension, lymph node metastases, higher T-categories, male sex, and greater age. Furthermore, BRAF V600E mutation status was not correlated with clinical risk scores and decreased survival. CONCLUSION: In concordance with other studies, we did not find a negative prognostic impact of a positive BRAF V600E mutation status on survival. In contrast, the risk algorithms MACIS, EORTC score, and TNM stage were associated with impaired prognosis. Therefore, clinical staging systems represent better tools for risk stratification than BRAF V600E mutation status.

A Bayesian generalized age-period-cohort power model for cancer projections.

Age-period-cohort (APC) models are the state of art in cancer projections, assessing past and recent trends and extrapolating mortality or incidence data into the future. Nordpred is a well-established software, assuming a Poisson distribution for the counts and a log-link or power-link function with fixed power; however, its predictive performance is poor for sparse data. Bayesian models with log-link function have been applied, but they can lead to extreme estimates. In this paper, we address criticisms of the aforementioned models by providing Bayesian formulations based on a power-link and develop a generalized APC power-link model, which assumes a random rather than fixed power parameter. In addition, a power model with a fixed power parameter of five was formulated in the Bayesian framework. The predictive performance of the new models was evaluated on Swiss lung cancer mortality data using model-based estimates of observed periods. Results indicated that the generalized APC power-link model provides best estimates for male and female lung cancer mortality. The gender-specific models were further applied to project lung cancer mortality in Switzerland during the periods 2009-2013 and 2014-2018.

Outcome of mantle cell lymphoma patients treated at a single institution over the past decade.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare non-Hodgkin's lymphoma entity with a heterogeneous clinical presentation. Various therapeutic considerations in MCL for younger and elderly patients were used over the past decade. We retrospectively analyzed all 44 patients consecutively treated in a tertiary hospital between 2000 and 2010 with newly diagnosed MCL. Patient characteristics, treatment regimens and biological markers were evaluated with regard to overall survival (OS). Treatment regimens were categorized into internationally accepted intensive standard therapies and less intensive alternative treatment regimens given with palliative intent. Biological markers were correlated with clinical outcome by univariate analysis. The median age of the entire study group was 66 years (range: 42-88), with 23 (52%) patients ≥65 years. Thirty-one (70%) patients received standard regimens, the remaining 13 (30%) patients were treated with other, less intensive regimens with palliative intent. With a median follow-up of 5.25 years, the three-year OS rate was 60% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47-0.77]. Patients treated with standard regimens had a three-year survival rate of 77% (range: 64-94%). Of these, patients younger than 65 years were observed to have better OS (83% at 3 years; 95% CI 68-100%) than those older than 65 years (69% at 3 years; 95% CI 48-99%). In univariate analysis, the only parameters with a statistically significant prognostic impact on OS were absolute monocyte count as a continuous variable, lactate dehydrogenase and absolute lymphocyte count (>0.5 × 10(9) /l) at diagnosis. In conclusion, our data of an unselected group of patients with newly diagnosed MCL treated at a single centre tertiary hospital are in line with results from larger randomized trials demonstrating an improved OS rate of younger as well as elderly MCL patients within the last decade.

Risk factors for anal cancer in persons infected with HIV: a nested case-control study in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

Although persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), particularly men who have sex with men, are at excess risk for anal cancer, it has been difficult to disentangle the influences of anal exposure to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, immunodeficiency, and combined antiretroviral therapy. A case-control study that included 59 anal cancer cases and 295 individually matched controls was nested in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (1988-2011). In a subset of 41 cases and 114 controls, HPV antibodies were tested. A majority of anal cancer cases (73%) were men who have sex with men. Current smoking was significantly associated with anal cancer (odds ratio (OR) = 2.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25, 5.34), as were antibodies against L1 (OR = 4.52, 95% CI: 2.00, 10.20) and E6 (OR = ∞, 95% CI: 4.64, ∞) of HPV16, as well as low CD4+ cell counts, whether measured at nadir (OR per 100-cell/µL decrease = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.18, 2.00) or at cancer diagnosis (OR per 100-cell/µL decrease = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.42). However, the influence of CD4+ cell counts appeared to be strongest 6-7 years prior to anal cancer diagnosis (OR for <200 vs. ≥500 cells/µL = 14.0, 95% CI: 3.85, 50.9). Smoking cessation and avoidance of even moderate levels of immunosuppression appear to be important in reducing long-term anal cancer risks.

Cancer survivors in Switzerland: a rapidly growing population to care for.

BACKGROUND: Cancer survivors are a heterogeneous group with complex health problems. Data concerning its total number and growing dynamics for Switzerland are scarce and outdated. METHODS: Population and mortality data were retrieved from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Incidence and relative survival for invasive cancers were computed using data from the cancer registries Geneva (1970-2009), St. Gallen - Appenzell (1980-2010), Grisons & Glarus (1989-2010), and Valais (1989-2010). We estimated prevalence for 1990-2010 using the Prevalence, Incidence Approach MODel (PIAMOD) method. We calculated trends in prevalence estimates by Joinpoint analysis. Projections were extrapolated using the above models and based on time trends of the period 2007-2010. RESULTS: The estimated number of cancer survivors increased from 139'717 in 1990 (2.08% of the population) to 289'797 persons in 2010 (3.70%). The growth rate shows an exponential shape and was 3.3% per year in the period 2008 to 2010. Almost half of the survivors have a history of breast, prostate or colorectal cancer. Among cancer survivors, 55% are women but the increases have been more marked in men (p < 0.01, 3.9% annual increase in men vs. 2.7% in women since 2008). By the end of 2020 372'000 cancer survivors are expected to live in Switzerland. CONCLUSIONS: There is a rapidly growing population of cancer survivors in Switzerland whose needs and concerns are largely unknown.

Bayesian spatio-temporal modelling of tobacco-related cancer mortality in Switzerland.

Tobacco smoking is a main cause of disease in Switzerland; lung cancer being the most common cancer mortality in men and the second most common in women. Although disease-specific mortality is decreasing in men, it is steadily increasing in women. The four language regions in this country might play a role in this context as they are influenced in different ways by the cultural and social behaviour of neighbouring countries. Bayesian hierarchical spatio-temporal, negative binomial models were fitted on subgroup-specific death rates indirectly standardized by national references to explore age- and gender-specific spatio-temporal patterns of mortality due to lung cancer and other tobacco-related cancers in Switzerland for the time period 1969-2002. Differences influenced by linguistic region and life in rural or urban areas were also accounted for. Male lung cancer mortality was found to be rather homogeneous in space, whereas women were confirmed to be more affected in urban regions. Compared to the German-speaking part, female mortality was higher in the French-speaking part of the country, a result contradicting other reports of similar comparisons between France and Germany. The spatio-temporal patterns of mortality were similar for lung cancer and other tobacco-related cancers. The estimated mortality maps can support the planning in health care services and evaluation of a national tobacco control programme. Better understanding of spatial and temporal variation of cancer of the lung and other tobacco-related cancers may help in allocating resources for more effective screening, diagnosis and therapy. The methodology can be applied to similar studies in other settings.

Tobacco-related cancer mortality: projections for different geographical regions in Switzerland.

PRINCIPLES: Switzerland is divided into 26 cantons of variable population size and cultural characteristics. Although a federal law to protect against passive smoking and a national tobacco control programme exist, details of tobacco-related policies are canton-specific. This study aimed to project gender-specific tobacco-related cancer mortality in Switzerland at different geographical levels for the periods 2009-2013 and 2014-2018. METHODS: In this analysis, data on Swiss tobacco-related cancer mortality from 1984 until 2008 were used. Bayesian age-period-cohort models were formulated to assess past trends of gender-specific tobacco-related cancer mortality and to project them up to 2018 at cantonal and language region levels. Furthermore, estimates are provided on a national scale by age categories of 50-69 and ≥70 years. RESULTS: Model-based estimates at cantonal level identified regions with low and high tobacco-related cancer mortality rates for the observed and projected periods. Our analysis based on language regions showed the lowest mortality in the German-speaking part. Projections at national level, between younger (age 50-69) and older (age ≥70) males, indicated an ongoing decreasing trend for males but an upward trend for females. The gap in tobacco-related cancer mortality rates between younger and older males seems to be shrinking. In females, a stronger rise was obtained for the younger age group. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate region-, sex- and age-related differences in tobacco-related cancer mortality in Switzerland and this could be useful for healthcare planning and for evaluating the impact of canton-specific tobacco-related policies and interventions.

A population-based study on the patterns of use of different chemotherapy regimens in Swiss patients with early breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: There is considerable heterogeneity in the use of chemotherapy in early breast cancer (BC), despite international recommendations issued from the NCCN, NIH and the St.Gallen bi-annual conference. METHODS: We included 1,535 patients from seven Swiss cancer registries between 2003 and 2005 receiving chemotherapy for stage I to III BC. Chemotherapy was categorised into (a) FAC/FEC, anthracyclines followed by CMF or anthracycline-taxane combinations (FAC-T) (781 patients) and (b) other chemotherapy regimens such as CMF/AC (EC) (754 patients). Predictors for choosing FAC-T over non-FAC-T chemotherapy were separately determined in all patients and in ER-negative patients (n = 496) by multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The use of FAC-T increased significantly over time, from 44% in 2003 to 55% in 2005. BC stage III (versus stage I-II) and nodal positivity were the predominant predictors for using FAC-T chemotherapy in the adjusted model (odds ratio (OR) 4.1, 95%-confidence intervals (CI) 2.6-6.3 and OR 3.0, 95%-CI 2.0-4.4, respectively). In high-risk ER-negative BC patients, poor histological differentiation was more important to choose FAC-T chemotherapy (OR 3.8, 95%-CI 1.9-7.5) than tumour stage or nodal status. The use of FAC-T chemotherapy varied substantially among the seven geographic regions, from 20% in rural Grisons-Glarus to 73% in Zurich. CONCLUSIONS: Tumour biology is a predominant factor for choosing FAC-T over older chemotherapy regimens in patients with ER-negative early BC, but improvements should be made to reduce the substantial regional heterogeneity. Further epidemiological studies should assess how the use of FAC-T chemotherapy is affecting clinical outcome in patients with early BC and different risk profiles.

A population-based study on the implementation of treatment recommendations for chemotherapy in early breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: There is considerable heterogeneity in the use of chemotherapy for patients with early breast cancer (BC), despite international recommendations issued from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the St. Gallen biannual conference. This population-based study assessed the patterns of chemotherapy use in early BC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included all or representative samples of patients with stage I-III BC from 7 Swiss cancer registries between 2003 and 2005. Factors modifying chemotherapy use were determined by logistic regression, considering patients receiving chemotherapy as cases (n = 1535) and the others as controls (n = 2004). RESULTS: Nodal involvement was by far the strongest predictor for the use of chemotherapy (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 9.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.2-13.0). Tumor biological characteristics such as histologic differentiation (OR, 4.4; 95% CI, 3.2-6.2), estrogen receptor (ER) status (OR, 3.8; 95% CI, 2.6-5.5), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.3-2.7), and patient age (OR, 4.6; 95% CI, 3.5-6.2) were less important predictors for chemotherapy use. Socioeconomic and provider-related factors, such as patient education, affluence, insurance, breast surgeon's annual caseload, and case presentation at a multidisciplinary tumor conference did not predict the use of chemotherapy, with the exception of the health care provider's participation in clinical research (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.6-2.8). The patient's region of residence did not predict the use of chemotherapy, but it was associated with the specific type of chemotherapy used. CONCLUSION: Nodal status, rather than surrogate markers for tumor biological features, was the predominant factor for choosing chemotherapy in patients with early BC in this large population study. Improvements should be made to increase the weight of tumor biological features in choosing chemotherapy in early BC.

Extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma: An indication for prophylactic cranial irradiation? A single center experience.

BACKGROUND: Information about extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma (EPSCC) is limited and the role of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is unknown. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Disease presentation and outcome of all EPSCC at our hospital between 1990 and 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Of 30 EPSCC, the male:female ratio was 58%:42%; 83% had a performance status of 0-2. Median age was 71 years (32-80). Seventeen (57%) had limited stage (LS), 13 (43%) extensive stage (ES). The location of the primary tumor was gastrointestinal (n = 8), unknown (6), gynecological (6), urogenital (5), and ear nose throat (5). Four (13%) developed brain metastases (2 ES, 2 LS). In ES, first line chemotherapy (CT) was given in 85%, mostly platinum-etoposide (64%). Response rate was 90%. In LS, CT and radiotherapy (RT) ± resection resulted in persistent remissions in 67% of patients. Median survival was 16 months (1-107 months), 18 months (1-107 months), and 9 months (0.4-25 months) for LS + ES, LS, and ES, respectively. Weight loss ≥5 % and ECOG performance status 3 + 4 were associated with poorer survival (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: The incidence of brain metastases was relatively low (13%). More studies are necessary, before routinely offering PCI to patients with EPSCC. Best survival outcomes in LS were achieved with multimodality treatment including CT and RT. Prognosis was poor in patients with ES.

Premature deaths in Switzerland from 1995-2006: causes and trends.

PURPOSE: Mortality expressed as potential years of life lost (PYLL) underscores premature and preventable mortality. We analysed causes of and trends in premature death in Switzerland to highlight the areas which provide the greatest potential outcome for preventive measures. METHODS: Premature mortality rates and trends from 1995-2006 were examined by reviewing potential years of life lost between age 1 and 70, as the upper age limit, considering 4 main categories: circulatory diseases, cancer, external causes of mortality and other causes, and 19 specific causes of death. Trends were assessed using join point analysis with PYLL expressed as age-standardised rate. The analysis was based on the official death certification files provided by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. RESULTS: Age adjusted PYLL rates decreased for all categories of causes, but the decline in cancers was modest compared to circulatory diseases and external causes. The strongest downward trends were observed for AIDS, traffic accidents and ischaemic heart disease. In women breast cancer contributed most to the decline of premature mortality but remains the first cause of early death. Lung cancer in women is the only cause of premature mortality with rising trends. CONCLUSIONS: Past efforts in prevention, early detection and treatment, but also a healthier lifestyle and other factors, have very probably contributed to the considerable reduction in the rate of potential years of life lost, but the rising rate of premature mortality caused by lung cancer in women is of concern. Persistent efforts in prevention and early detection are required to further reduce premature death and its burden on society.

Impact of obesity on diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

In this population-based study, we evaluated the impact of obesity on presentation, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Among all women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the canton Geneva (Switzerland) between 2003 and 2005, we identified those with information on body mass index (BMI) and categorized them into normal/underweight (BMI <25 kg/m(2)), overweight (BMI > or =-<30 kg/m(2)) and obese (BMI > or =30 kg/m(2)) women. Using multivariate logistic regression, we compared tumour, diagnosis and treatment characteristics between groups. Obese women presented significantly more often with stage III-IV disease (adjusted odds ratio [OR(adj)]: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.0-3.3). Tumours > or =1 cm and pN2-N3 lymph nodes were significantly more often impalpable in obese than in normal/underweight patients (OR(adj) 2.4, [1.1-5.3] and OR(adj) 5.1, [1.0-25.4], respectively). Obese women were less likely to have undergone ultrasound (OR(adj) 0.5, [0.3-0.9]) and MRI (OR(adj) 0.3, [0.1-0.6]) and were at increased risk of prolonged hospital stay (OR(adj) 4.7, [2.0-10.9]). This study finds important diagnostic and therapeutic differences between obese and lean women, which may impair survival of obese women with breast cancer. Specific strategies are needed to optimize the care of obese women with or at risk of breast cancer.