Andrew Olshan

..The evaluation of infant meconium as a cumulative matrix of prenatal toxicant exposure requires comparison to established biomarkers of prenatal exposure...

..Future, larger studies, examining additional repair genes, birth defects, and interaction with exposures are recommended...

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..To describe study design, conduct and response, and participant characteristics...

..DNA extraction from the DBS has been widely applied; however, the development of methods to measure a range of environmental toxicants in DBS has been a more recent goal for laboratory scientists and epidemiologists...

..The etiology of clubfoot (talipes equinovarus [TEV]) is not known. Joint laxity, or hypermobility, is a suspected risk factor for congenital hip dislocation and clubfoot...

..Enzymes including glutathione S-transferase mu (GSTM1) and theta (GSTT1) are involved in the metabolism of tobacco smoke chemicals and are expressed in human vessels and smooth muscle cells...

..In this analysis, we evaluated functional SNPs of three genes of the glutathione-S-transferase (GSTM1, GSTT1, GSTZ1) enzyme family...

..A key reason to hold the recent workshop and contribute this concise communication to the literature is to draw attention to and initiate action toward advancing discoveries about the genetic etiologies of birth defects...

..We evaluated parental occupation and the risk of neuroblastoma using data from a large case-control study conducted by the Children's Cancer Group and the Pediatric Oncology Group...

..The comprehensive evaluation of the relative importance of specific time windows of exposure is limited. Improvements in the design of epidemiologic studies and additional animal studies of mechanisms are warranted...

..We also found a suggestion of an interaction between the Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln polymorphisms and tobacco use. Additional epidemiologic and functional studies are needed to resolve the importance of these XRCC1 polymorphisms in SCCHN...

..The comparison of mutational spectra for SCCHN and other cancers indicates that the effects of both tobacco and alcohol exposure may yield a pattern of p53 mutations that reflects elements of both exogenous and endogenous exposures...

..Using data from a large North American study, we conducted an analysis to investigate maternal vitamin use and neuroblastoma in offspring...

..Our goal was to develop and validate an algorithm for the identification of pregnancies in the general practice research database (GPRD) that could be used to study pregnancy outcomes...

..64, 95% CI: 1.19, 11.1). These results support the need for further exploration into the potential mechanisms by which such exposures could interfere with early fetal kidney formation resulting in RA/H...

..Thus far, evidence has been inconclusive; our objective was to study the association between oral health and SCCHN risk in the context of a large population-based study...

..26; CI 0.90-1.75) and the MGMT Ile143Val polymorphism (Ile or Val/Val versus Ile/Ile: adjusted OR = 1.20; CI 0.85-1.71)...

..Most risk estimates were around unity, and exposure-response patterns were absent. Overall, it seems unlikely that parental exposure to pesticides plays an important role in the etiology of childhood brain cancer...

..Research has suggested an association with ambient air pollution and sperm quality...

..Previous epidemiologic studies have suggested that exposure to pesticides in utero and during early childhood may increase the risk for development of childhood cancer, including Wilms tumor, a childhood kidney tumor...

..Preliminary data suggest that common genetic variation in immune response genes can contribute to the risk for spontaneous preterm birth and possibly small-for-gestational age (SGA)...

..This study provides little evidence that variation in Val-9Ala polymorphism of MnSOD alone or through substantial interaction with key exposures believed to be pro- or anti-oxidant properties influences breast cancer risk...

..These results may help elucidate breast cancer progression mechanisms and enable a better understanding of how reproductive characteristics influence breast cancer survival...

..Our secondary objective was to determine differences in survival rates between US blacks, whites, and Asians with NPC who were younger than 30 years...

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..The decreased ORs observed in this study may be due to recall bias assuming plausibly low values of sensitivity...

..However, additional investigations of the effects of certain obstetric and birth characteristics among more refined tumor subgroups may further our understanding of these factors in relation to Wilms tumor...

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..Thus, efforts to identify barriers and increase screening for breast and cervical cancers may be targeted toward obese women, whereas outreach to all women should remain the objective for colorectal cancer screening programs...

..Here we present data examining the association of genetic variation in one of the key enzymes of the PPP, Transaldolase 1 (TALDO1) with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN)...

..Overall, the presence of vaginal bleeding, a common and potentially alarming symptom of early pregnancy, may be assessed by interview later in pregnancy with reasonable accuracy...

..This study characterizes first trimester bleeding, setting aside bleeding that occurs at time of miscarriage...

..4, 95% confidence interval: 1.4, 8.4). This preliminary finding may be due to bias, confounding, or chance, and additional studies are needed for confirmation...

..Maternal age, race/ethnicity, and gravidity were associated with delayed onset and symptoms that persisted into the second trimester...

..To estimate the strength of association between first-trimester bleeding and miscarriage, setting aside bleeding at time of loss...

..These results should be viewed in the context of a potentially preventive biologic mechanism mitigated by possible confounding by healthy behaviors and practices that are also associated with vitamin supplement use during pregnancy...

..The increased risk of low maternal age and prepregnancy BMI associated with gastroschisis appears to suggest an aetiological role related to biological immaturity for this particular birth defect...

..To compare potential risk factors for uterine leiomyomata (UL) subtypes among premenopausal African American and Caucasian women...

..Risk factors for subtypes of esophageal and gastric cancer recently have been identified, but their effect on survival is unknown...

..Anti-inflammatory cytokines play a key role in pregnancy maintenance. Genetic variation in anti-inflammatory cytokines could influence a woman's risk of adverse reproductive outcomes...

..Earlier studies have shown an inverse association between the presence of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) and spontaneous abortion (SAB), but no study to date has examined the effects of symptom duration on the risk of SAB...

..In this study we assessed DBP exposure and testicular toxicity, as evidenced by altered semen quality...

..The combination of prior spontaneous and induced abortion showed a dose-response association with the occurrence of vaginal bleeding during pregnancy...

..We investigated the association between breast-feeding and Wilms tumor, a childhood kidney tumor...

..66-0.85). Overall, the reproducibility of nutrient estimates and supplement use in pregnancy was good and similar to that reported for adult diet...

..Esophageal atresia (EA) is a moderately frequent birth defect that often occurs with tracheo-esophageal fistula (TEF). Etiologic studies for EA+/-TEF have produced inconsistent results...

..The results of this study suggest that any protective effect of hormones on gliomas may be limited to exogenous hormones, but a more detailed history of exogenous hormone use is needed to confirm findings...

..27, CI = 1.22-15.0) had an elevated, but imprecise neuroblastoma risk. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the hypothesis of an association between neuroblastoma and congenital, especially urogenital and cardiac, anomalies...

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..Associations between family history of breast cancer and leukemia incidence may be the result of unmeasured, shared etiologies specific to these cancers...

..The relationship between p53 protein expression and radiation therapy is also unclear...

..CONCLUSIONS: Maternal recreational drug use and marijuana use during pregnancy were associated with increased risk of neuroblastoma in offspring. Further examination of these drugs and the risk of childhood cancer is warranted...

..Our objective was to determine if the GPRD could be used to identify cases of neural tube defects (NTDs)...

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..We examined this association for exposure to total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), 5 haloacetic acids (HAA5), and total organic halides...

..Incomplete geocoding may have resulted in a selection bias because of the under-representation of Latinas in our study population...

..We examined the effects of exposure to TTHMs, haloacetic acids, and total organic halide on the probability of delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant and on birth weight at term...

..Of 171 women with one initial fibroid, 36% had no identifiable fibroid at the time of postpartum ultrasound, and 79% of the remaining fibroids decreased in size...

..Researchers have suggested an inverse association between breast-feeding and risk of childhood cancer. We investigated the association between breast-feeding and neuroblastoma in a large case-control study in the United States and Canada...

..The data presented here, coupled with the lower radiation doses currently used, indicate that any further study of this question will require larger studies with improved exposure assessment...

..Family history of breast cancer might be a marker of susceptibility to a range of leukemia risk factors, whose effects are generally weak or nonexistent when considered alone...

..8 [0.5, 1.3]. These analyses generated potential clues regarding paternal occupational exposures as NTD risk factors. Risk variation observed by spina bifida phenotype is interesting and will need to be investigated further...

..This suggests a possible role of infectious agents in neuroblastoma etiology. Future epidemiologic studies should incorporate more direct data on infection...

..These considerations suggest the potential for the organization of a consortium of investigators conducting studies in this field...

..Progress in occupational cancer will require interdisciplinary research involving epidemiologists, industrial hygienists, toxicologists, and molecular biologists...

..Variants in the folate metabolism pathway affect the accumulation of homocysteine are modified by nutrient levels and have been linked to adverse birth outcomes...

..4% per year (95% CI: -2.7, -2.0; p < 0.001). The current low response rates for RDD indicate a substantial potential for selection bias and a need to seek alternative sources of controls...

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..There is mixed evidence for associations between reproductive history or infertility and acute leukemia among children without DS...

..0. This exploratory study suggests that household chemical exposure may play a role in the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children with Down's syndrome...

..Future research should include larger sample sizes as well as a full assessment of diet including vitamin supplementation to adequately examine the relation between nutritional status and childhood leukaemia...

..If the findings from this study are confirmed, they may serve as the foundation for genetic risk assessment of nutritional pathways in preterm birth...

..Consistent findings from three case-control studies suggest that selected DNA repair enzymes may play a role in head and neck carcinogenesis...

..Because children with Down syndrome (DS) experience a 20-fold higher risk of leukemia than the general population, the authors evaluated whether periconceptional vitamin supplementation reduced the risk of leukemia in children with DS...

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..The absence of an association should be encouraging for concerned parents of children with Down syndrome who undergo a series of diagnostic radiographs in the course of their standard care...

..These results suggest that birth registries may be used to select controls for studies of rare childhood diseases on a national scale...

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..The proposed study should contribute knowledge on gene-environment interactions for cancer of the head and neck, but also for other tobacco- and alcohol-related cancers and possibly cancers of unknown etiology. ..

..This study will provide important new advances in our understanding of Wilms tumor given the study size, quality of exposure assessment, and incorporation of clinical and biological markers of etiologic heterogeneity. ..

..The determination of preventive factors for neuroblastoma is also broadly relevant as vitamins have been associated with a reduced risk of other childhood cancers. ..