Background: Esophageal cancer is one of the most serious tumor diseases worldwide, owing to its rapid development and fatal prognosis in most cases. To compare epidemiologic characteristics, data published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France and data from Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Brno, Czech Republic were used.Methods: We conducted a search of selected Czech and foreign literature focused on the epidemiology of esophageal cancer and its main risk factors.Results and Conclusion: An overview of esophageal cancer epidemiology is presented. Prevention of esophageal cancer should be based on early detection and surveillance of precancerous lesions, especially of Barrett's esophagus, and attention should also focus on modifi cation of changeable risk factors, including tobacco smoking, alcohol abuse, and ingestion of hot and spicy food. Carefully designed epidemiologic studies, both descriptive and analytical, are required to increase understanding of the complexity of esophageal cancer etiology.

In conclusion, our study confirmed in vivo that atorvastatin reduces serum A-FABP by a pleiotropic mechanism and supports the hypothesis that A-FABP is involved in atherosclerotic actions.

This review article presents kidney cancer epidemiology as well as main environmental and life style risk factors.

Objective: determination of risk groups for eating disorders in the population of young girls, primarily affiliated to certain sports or professional categories.Method: standardized Eating Attitude Test (EAT) questionnaire (40 questions) and general attitude questionnaire (43 other questions specific to eating disorders) were used.Results: out of the total 403 persons questioned 11.7 % had a score from EAT questionnaire >29 points. These persons represent a potential risk population for the eventual development of eating disorder. Out of the total 403 persons 10.9 % had the Body Mass Index (BMI) lower or equal to 17.5. Out of these, only 5 individuals had the score > 29 because, especially at potential or initial stages, these two parameters do not have to necessarily correspond. Top gymnasts and figure skaters, followed by the models, dancers, ballet dancers and the cosmetic school students can be classified as having the highest degree of risk.Discussion: assessment of the frequency of the condition which already shows signs of the beginning of a food intake disorder is important prerequisite for primary and secondary prevention of this disorder.

Excess body weight was shown to be associated with risk of several types of cancer. In the Czech Republic, malignant tumors are the second leading cause of death. The aim of this study was to assess the association between the most frequent types of cancer and obesity. Methods: A case-control study was accomplished, using data from the National Cancer Registry and from a preventive oncologic checkup database. Cases were defined as persons from the studied population who developed skin, breast, colorectal, prostate, lung, cervical, endometrial, kidney, ovarian, urinary bladder, stomach, pancreatic, or gallbladder cancers from 1987 to 2002. Controls were cancer-free men and women from the population. Among the cancer patients and healthy controls, proportions of obese, overweight, and nonobese individuals were compared, and odds ratios (OR) were computed. Results: After adjustment for confounders, obese men had a significantly increased risk of colorectal cancer (OR: 2.07, 95% CI: 1.56-2.76) and kidney cancer (OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.14-3.24). Obese women were at higher risk of endometrial cancer (OR: 3.25, 95% CI: 1.65-6.37). An inverse association was observed between obesity and lung cancer (in men: OR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.37-0.66; in women: OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.21-0.80). Conclusion: Obesity is associated with several frequent types of tumors and represents an important preventable cause of cancer in the population of the District Sumperk, Czech Republic.