No abstract

a on behalf of the EU-TOPIA consortium 1

Background: Populations differ with respect to their cancer risk and screening preferences, which may influence the performance of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programs. This review aims to systematically compare the mortality effect of CRC screening across European regions. Methods: Six databases including Embase, Medline, Web of Science, PubMed publisher, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies published before March 2018. Bibliographic searches were conducted to select studies assessing the effect of various screening tests (guaiac fecal occult blood test [gFOBT]; flexible sigmoidoscopy [FS]; fecal immunochemical test [FIT] and colonoscopy) on CRC mortality in Europe (PROSPERO protocol: CRD42016042433). Abstract reviewing, data extraction and risk of bias assessment were conducted independently by two reviewers. Results: A total of 18 studies were included; of which, 11 were related to gFOBT, 4 to FS, 2 to FIT and 1 to colonoscopy; 8 were randomised clinical trials, and 10, observational studies, and an approximately equal number of studies represented Northern, Western and Southern European regions. Among individuals invited to screening, CRC mortality reductions varied from 8% to 16% for gFOBT and from 21% to 30% for FS. When studies with a high risk of bias were considered, ranges were more extensive. The estimated effectiveness of gFOBT and FS screening appeared similar across different European regions.

Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affecting DNA repair capacity and modifying cancer susceptibility have been described. We evaluated the association of SNPs Arg194Trp, Arg280His, and Arg399Gln in the X-ray cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) and Thr241Met in the X-ray cross-complementing group 3 (XRCC3) DNA repair genes with the risk of brain tumors. The Caucasian study population consisted of 701 glioma (including 320 glioblastoma) cases, 524 meningioma cases, and 1,560 controls in a prospective population-based case-control study conducted in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the UK. The studied SNPs were not significantly associated with the risk of brain tumors. The highest odds ratios (ORs) for the associations were observed between the homozygous variant genotype XRCC1 Gln399Gln and the risk of glioma (OR = 1.32; 95% confidence interval, CI, 0.97-1.81), glioblastoma (OR = 1.48; 95% CI, 0.98-2.24), and meningioma (OR = 1.34; 95% CI, 0.96-1.86). However, in pair-wise comparisons a few SNP combinations were associated with the risk of brain tumors: Among others, carriers of both homozygous variant genotypes, i.e., XRCC1 Gln399Gln and XRCC3 Met241Met, were associated with a three-fold increased risk of glioma (OR = 3.18; 95% CI, 1.26-8.04) and meningioma (OR = 2.99; 95% CI, 1.16-7.72). In conclusion, no significant association with brain tumors was found for any of the polymorphisms, when examined one by one. Our results indicated possible associations between combinations of XRCC1 and XRCC3 SNPs and the risk of brain tumors.

Background: The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of organised mammography screening on breast cancer mortality across European regions. Therefore, a systematic review was performed including different types of studies from all European regions and stringently used clearly defined quality appraisal to summarise the best evidence. Methods: Six databases were searched including Embase, Medline and Web of Science from inception to March 2018. To identify all eligible studies which assessed the effect of organised screening on breast cancer mortality, two reviewers independently applied predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Original studies in English with a minimum follow-up of five years that were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or observational studies were included. The Cochrane risk of bias instrument and the NewcastleeOttawa Scale were used to assess the risk of bias. Results: Of the 5015 references initially retrieved, 60 were included in the final analysis. Those comprised 36 cohort studies, 17 caseecontrol studies and 7 RCTs. None were from Eastern Europe. The quality of the included studies varied: Nineteen of these studies were of very good or good quality. Of those, the reduction in breast cancer mortality in attenders versus non-