Dataset Information

Epidemiological Follow-up 15 Years after the Breast Cancer Scandal in Essen.

ABSTRACT: Purpose: In the years 1993-1996 a number of presumably false-positive breast cancer diagnoses were made by a pathologist in Essen. A follow-up, undertaken 15 years later, investigated how many women had tumour recurrence and/or metastasis or had died from breast cancer. Material and Methods: A total of 151 (68?%) out of 222 women could be traced. One hundred and forty-seven (66.2?%) of the 222 women were alive. The observed survival rate, number of recurrences and/or metastases, and number of deaths from breast cancer were compared with data from the Munich Tumour Registry. The number of breast cancer cases among daughters of the affected women was ascertained. Results: The total observed survival rate at follow-up after 15 years was 93?%, a much higher figure than the survival rate of 45?% given by the Munich Tumour Registry. Recurrence and/or metastasis or death from breast cancer occurred in 9/222 cases (4.1?%). The incidence for these events calculated according to data from the Munich Tumour Registry is 13?%. Two daughters (2.2?%) out of a total of 90 were diagnosed with breast cancer whereas, according to the German Cancer Research Centre, the expected rate would have been between 5 and 10?%. Conclusions: The results of our follow-up after 15 years show that more women survived than expected and that the number of recurrences and/or metastases and deaths due to breast cancer was lower than expected. Fewer daughters of affected women were diagnosed with breast cancer than expected. These results support our suspicion that not all women diagnosed with breast cancer by a pathologist in Essen actually had breast cancer.

SUBMITTER: Hauth EA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4168321 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Epidemiological Follow-up 15 Years after the Breast Cancer Scandal in Essen.

Hauth E A M EA Berkemeyer S S Jaeger H H Forsting M M Hoffmann B B Jöckel K-H KH

Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde 20120601 6

<b>Purpose:</b> In the years 1993-1996 a number of presumably false-positive breast cancer diagnoses were made by a pathologist in Essen. A follow-up, undertaken 15 years later, investigated how many women had tumour recurrence and/or metastasis or had died from breast cancer. <b>Material and Methods:</b> A total of 151 (68 %) out of 222 women could be traced. One hundred and forty-seven (66.2 %) of the 222 women were alive. The observed survival rate, number of recurrences and/or metastases, an ...[more]

PMID: 25284840

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Project description:BackgroundPatterns of survey response and the characteristics associated with response over time in longitudinal studies are important to discern for the development of tailored retention efforts aimed at minimizing response bias. The Millennium Cohort Study, the largest and longest running cohort study of military personnel and veterans, is designed to examine the long-term health effects of military service and experiences and thus relies on continued participant survey responses over time. Here, we describe the response rates for follow-up survey data collected over 15 years and identify characteristics associated with follow-up survey response and mode of response (paper vs. web).MethodPatterns of follow-up survey response and response mode (web, paper, none) were examined among eligible participants (n=198,833), who were initially recruited in four panels from 2001 to 2013 in the Millennium Cohort Study, for a follow-up period of 3-15 years (2004-2016). Military and sociodemographic factors (i.e., enrollment panel, sex, birth year, race and ethnicity, educational attainment, marital status, service component, service branch, pay grade, military occupation, length of service, and time deployed), life experiences and health-related factors (i.e., military deployment/combat experience, life stressors, mental health, physical health, and unhealthy behaviors) were used to examine follow-up response and survey mode over time in multivariable generalized estimating equation models.ResultsOverall, an average response rate of 60% was observed across all follow-up waves. Factors associated with follow-up survey response over time included increased educational attainment, married status, female sex, older age, military deployment (regardless of combat experience), and higher number of life stressors, mental health issues, and physical health diagnoses.ConclusionDespite the challenges associated with collecting multiple waves of follow-up survey data from members of the U.S. military during and after service, the Millennium Cohort Study has maintained a relatively robust response rate over time. The incorporation of tailored messages and outreach to those groups least likely to respond over time may improve retention and thereby increase the representativeness and generalizability of collected survey data.

Project description:Plasma estrogen and androgen levels are positively associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk, but how long a single blood measurement can predict risk and whether the associations vary by tumor hormone receptor status remain unclear. We conducted nested case-control analyses within the Nurses' Health Study. Blood samples were collected in 1989-1990 and again in 2000-2002. Among postmenopausal women not using postmenopausal hormones at blood collection, 707 cases were diagnosed through June 2010, with two matched controls per case. We used unconditional logistic regression analyses to estimate the relative risks controlling for other breast cancer risk factors. The intra-class correlation coefficients for two blood measurements collected 10 years apart ranged from 0.54 (dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, DHEAS) to 0.74 (sex hormone-binding globulin, SHBG). Overall, women in the top (vs. bottom) 25 % of levels of estradiol, free estradiol, testosterone, free testosterone, and DHEAS were at a 50-110 % higher risk of breast cancer (p (trend) < 0.001). SHBG was inversely associated with risk (p (trend) = 0.004). RRs were similar when comparing cases diagnosed 1-10 versus 11-20 years (or 16-20 years) after blood collection (p (interaction) > 0.2). Except for DHEAS, the associations varied significantly by hormone receptor status (p (heterogeneity) ? 0.02). For example, the RRs (95 % CIs) comparing the highest versus lowest quartile were 2.8 (2.0-4.0; p (trend) < 0.001) for ER +/PR + tumors versus 1.1 (0.6-2.1; p (trend) = 0.98) for ER-/PR- tumors for estradiol, and 1.8 (1.3-2.5; p (trend) < 0.001) versus 0.6 (0.3-1.2; p (trend) = 0.35) for testosterone. One measure of circulating sex hormones in postmenopausal women can predict risk of hormone receptor positive breast cancer for up to 16-20 years.

Dataset Information

Epidemiological Follow-up 15 Years after the Breast Cancer Scandal in Essen.

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Epidemiological Follow-up 15 Years after the Breast Cancer Scandal in Essen.

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