Female steroid hormones are hypothesized to play a protective role in pancreatic cancer risk. However, results from epidemiologic studies that examined hormone-related exposures have been inconsistent. The California Teachers Study is a cohort study of female public school professionals that was established in 1995-1996. Of the 118,164 eligible study participants, 323 women were diagnosed with incident invasive pancreatic cancer through December 31, 2009. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression methods were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association of pancreatic cancer risk with reproductive factors and exogenous hormone use. Current users of estrogen-only therapy at baseline (1995-1996) had a lower risk of pancreatic cancer than did participants who had never used hormone therapy (hazard ratio = 0.59, 95% confidence interval: 0.42, 0.84). Use of estrogen-plus-progestin therapy was not associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer. A longer duration of oral contraceptive use (≥10 years of use compared with never use) was associated with an increased risk of cancer (hazard ratio = 1.72, 95% confidence interval: 1.19, 2.49). Reproductive factors, including age at menarche, parity, breastfeeding, and age at menopause, were not associated with pancreatic cancer risk. Our results suggest that increased estrogen exposure through estrogen-only therapy may reduce pancreatic cancer risk in women.

Abstract

Background

Post-operative wound care can be an important strategy to prevent surgical site infection (SSI) following craniotomy. Insufficient wound care, blood clots, and oily hair near the incision can increase SSI risk.

Methods

We conducted a pre-post prospective cohort evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to address inpatient post-operative craniotomy wounds at an academic hospital. A post-op wound care protocol was jointly developed by neurosurgical wound care nurses, clinicians, and infection preventionists. The protocol began on postoperative day 1, and included use of soft ties to keep adjacent hair away from the incision, use of 2% CHG cloths to clean skin and hair within 2 inches of the incision as well as the proximal 6 inches of any surgical drain, and use of 2% CHG cloths to remove blood clots. Selection of 2% CHG cloths for blood clot removal was made following comparison to several concentrations of peroxide. A twice-weekly photo-survey of all inpatients undergoing craniotomy was undertaken during the baseline period (October–December 2018) and intervention period (March–April 2019), with feedback to wound care nurses occurring during the intervention period only. The proportion of redness, extensive blood clots (>50% incision), and oily hair near the incision were compared between the baseline period and the intervention period using Fisher’s exact tests.

Results

A total of 156 photo assessments were performed in 71 patients (101 assessments in 45 patients in the baseline period, and 55 photo assessments in 26 patients in the intervention period). Demographics, body mass index, emergent status, and prior craniotomy were similar across the baseline and intervention periods. The intervention was associated with significant reductions in redness (27.7% vs. 11%, P = 0.015), blood clots (33.7% vs. 10.9%, P = 0.002), and oily hair near the incision (76.7% vs. 28.6%, P < 0.001) (Figure 1).

Conclusion

The care of post-operative craniotomy wounds and adjacent hair was significantly improved through a standardized protocol to remove blood clots and ensure clean skin and hair adjacent to the incision during the post-operative inpatient stay. Photo documentation and feedback to wound care nurses helped ensure protocol adherence.

Disclosures

All authors: No reported disclosures.

Female steroid hormones are hypothesized to play a protective role in pancreatic cancer risk. However, results from epidemiologic studies that examined hormone-related exposures have been inconsistent. The California Teachers Study is a cohort study of female public school professionals that was established in 1995-1996. Of the 118,164 eligible study participants, 323 women were diagnosed with incident invasive pancreatic cancer through December 31, 2009. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression methods were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association of pancreatic cancer risk with reproductive factors and exogenous hormone use. Current users of estrogen-only therapy at baseline (1995-1996) had a lower risk of pancreatic cancer than did participants who had never used hormone therapy (hazard ratio = 0.59, 95% confidence interval: 0.42, 0.84). Use of estrogen-plus-progestin therapy was not associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer. A longer duration of oral contraceptive use (≥10 years of use compared with never use) was associated with an increased risk of cancer (hazard ratio = 1.72, 95% confidence interval: 1.19, 2.49). Reproductive factors, including age at menarche, parity, breastfeeding, and age at menopause, were not associated with pancreatic cancer risk. Our results suggest that increased estrogen exposure through estrogen-only therapy may reduce pancreatic cancer risk in women.

Sustained and inadequately controlled hypertension can promote the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) through multiple biologic pathways. Epidemiologic studies of high blood pressure, antihypertensive therapies, and the risk of AMD thus far have been inconclusive. However, few studies evaluated risks according to the use of different classes of antihypertensive drugs or took combinations of use into account. We performed a prospective cohort study by linking the California Teachers Study (CTS) cohort (N = 88 481) to statewide hospital discharge records up to December 31, 2012. History of high blood pressure, regular use of antihypertensive medications, and comprehensive risk factor information was collected via self-administered questionnaires at baseline in 1995-1996, and information on specific classes of antihypertensive drugs was provided by a subsample of CTS participants who completed a follow-up questionnaire in 2000. We identified 1762 female teachers with AMD during 14.8 years of follow-up on average. Applying Cox proportional hazard regression, we estimated increased risks of AMD among women treated for hypertension at baseline (HR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.30); the magnitude of the association increased with longer duration of antihypertensive treatment. In the subsample with more specific information on type of medication use, we estimated a 45% increased risk of AMD among women receiving diuretics as monotherapy compared to women with medications more potent than diuretics (HR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.10, 1.90). In women treated with a combination of antihypertensive drugs, we observed no increased risk of AMD for any individual class of drugs.

In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), no recurrent metastasis-specific mutation has been found, suggesting that epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, are the major contributors of late-stage disease progression. Here, we performed the first whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) on mouse and human PDAC organoid models to identify stage-specific and molecular subtype-specific DNA methylation signatures. With this approach, we identified thousands of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) that can distinguish between the stages and molecular subtypes of PDAC. Stage-specific DMRs are associated with genes related to nervous system development and cell-cell adhesions, and are enriched in promoters and bivalent enhancers. Subtype-specific DMRs showed hypermethylation of GATA6 foregut endoderm transcriptional networks in the squamous subtype and hypermethylation of EMT transcriptional networks in the progenitor subtype. These results indicate that aberrant DNA methylation contributes to both PDAC progression and subtype differentiation, resulting in significant and reoccurring DNA methylation patterns with diagnostic and prognostic potential.

Sustained and inadequately controlled hypertension can promote the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) through multiple biologic pathways. Epidemiologic studies of high blood pressure, antihypertensive therapies, and the risk of AMD thus far have been inconclusive. However, few studies evaluated risks according to the use of different classes of antihypertensive drugs or took combinations of use into account. We performed a prospective cohort study by linking the California Teachers Study (CTS) cohort (N = 88 481) to statewide hospital discharge records up to December 31, 2012. History of high blood pressure, regular use of antihypertensive medications, and comprehensive risk factor information was collected via self-administered questionnaires at baseline in 1995-1996, and information on specific classes of antihypertensive drugs was provided by a subsample of CTS participants who completed a follow-up questionnaire in 2000. We identified 1762 female teachers with AMD during 14.8 years of follow-up on average. Applying Cox proportional hazard regression, we estimated increased risks of AMD among women treated for hypertension at baseline (HR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.30); the magnitude of the association increased with longer duration of antihypertensive treatment. In the subsample with more specific information on type of medication use, we estimated a 45% increased risk of AMD among women receiving diuretics as monotherapy compared to women with medications more potent than diuretics (HR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.10, 1.90). In women treated with a combination of antihypertensive drugs, we observed no increased risk of AMD for any individual class of drugs.

Background

Evidence has accumulated showing that recreational physical activity reduces breast cancer risk. However, it is unclear whether risk reduction pertains to specific receptor-defined subtypes. Moreover, few studies have examined whether changes in the amount of recreational physical activity during adulthood influence breast cancer risk.

Methods

A total of 108,907 women, ages 22 to 79 years with no history of breast cancer when joining the California Teachers Study in 1995-1996, completed a baseline questionnaire and were eligible for the study. Through 2012, 5882 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Breast cancer subtypes were defined by the expression status of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models provided adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for breast cancer overall and ER/PR/HER2-defined subtypes associated with long-term (from high school through age 54 or age at cohort entry, whichever was younger) and baseline (during 3 years prior to baseline) recreational physical activity. Among women who also completed a follow-up questionnaire at 10 years after baseline in 2005-2008 (54,686 women, 1406 with invasive breast cancer), risk associated with changes in the amount of recreational physical activity from baseline to the 10-year follow-up (during 3 years prior to the 10-year follow-up) was determined.

Results

Both long-term and baseline strenuous recreational physical activity were inversely associated with risk of invasive breast cancer (P trend ≤0.03). The observed associations were mainly confined to women with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC, ER-/PR-/HER2-, P trend ≤0.02) or luminal A-like subtype (ER+ or PR+ plus HER2-) who were former users of menopausal hormone therapy at baseline (P trend = 0.02, P homogeneity of trends ≤0.03). Moreover, women who consistently engaged in the highest level (≥3.51 h/wk/y) of strenuous recreational physical activity between baseline and 10-year follow-up had the lowest risk of breast cancer (HR = 0.71, 95 % CI = 0.52-0.98) when compared to those who were consistently low (≤0.50 h/wk/y).

Conclusions

Strenuous recreational physical activity is associated with lower breast cancer risk, especially TNBC. The benefit may be maximized by consistently engaging in high-intensity recreational physical activity during adulthood.