Browsing by Author "Scarbrough, Peter M"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Exploring the association between melanoma and glioma risks.
    (Ann Epidemiol, 2014-06) Scarbrough, Peter M; Akushevich, Igor; Wrensch, Margaret; Il'yasova, Dora
    PURPOSE: Gliomas are one of the most fatal malignancies, with largely unknown etiology. This study examines a possible connection between glioma and melanoma, which might provide insight into gliomas' etiology. METHODS: Using data provided by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program from 1992 to 2009, a cohort was constructed to determine the incidence rates of glioma among those who had a prior diagnosis of invasive melanoma. Glioma rates in those with prior melanoma were compared with those in the general population. RESULTS: The incidence rate of all gliomas was greater among melanoma cases than in the general population: 10.46 versus 6.13 cases per 100,000 person-years, standardized incidence ratios = 1.42 (1.22-1.62). The female excess rate was slightly greater (42%) than that among males (29%). Sensitivity analyses did not reveal evidence that radiation treatment of melanoma is responsible for the detected gap in the rates of gliomas. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis documented increased risk of glioma among melanoma patients. Because no common environmental risk factors are identified for glioma and melanoma, it is hypothesized that a common genetic predisposition may be responsible for the detected association.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Modulation of murine breast tumor vascularity, hypoxia and chemotherapeutic response by exercise.
    (J Natl Cancer Inst, 2015-05) Betof, Allison S; Lascola, Christopher D; Weitzel, Douglas; Landon, Chelsea; Scarbrough, Peter M; Devi, Gayathri R; Palmer, Gregory; Jones, Lee W; Dewhirst, Mark W
    Exercise has been shown to improve postischemia perfusion of normal tissues; we investigated whether these effects extend to solid tumors. Estrogen receptor-negative (ER-, 4T1) and ER+ (E0771) tumor cells were implanted orthotopically into syngeneic mice (BALB/c, N = 11-12 per group) randomly assigned to exercise or sedentary control. Tumor growth, perfusion, hypoxia, and components of the angiogenic and apoptotic cascades were assessed by MRI, immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction and analyzed with one-way and repeated measures analysis of variance and linear regression. All statistical tests were two-sided. Exercise statistically significantly reduced tumor growth and was associated with a 1.4-fold increase in apoptosis (sedentary vs exercise: 1544 cells/mm(2), 95% CI = 1223 to 1865 vs 2168 cells/mm(2), 95% CI = 1620 to 2717; P = .048), increased microvessel density (P = .004), vessel maturity (P = .006) and perfusion, and reduced intratumoral hypoxia (P = .012), compared with sedentary controls. We also tested whether exercise could improve chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide) efficacy. Exercise plus chemotherapy prolonged growth delay compared with chemotherapy alone (P < .001) in the orthotopic 4T1 model (n = 17 per group). Exercise is a potential novel adjuvant treatment of breast cancer.