OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between coffee consumption and the risk of prostate cancer. METHODS We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the bibliographies of relevant articles in August 2009. Two evaluators independently reviewed and selected articles based on predetermined selection criteria. RESULTS Twelve epidemiological studies (eight case‐control studies and four cohort studies) were included in the final analysis. In a meta‐analysis of all included studies, when compared with the lowest level of coffee consumption, the overall relative risk (RR) of prostate cancer for the highest level of coffee consumption was 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.33). In subgroup meta‐analyses by study design, there was a significant positive (harmful) association between coffee consumption and prostate cancer risk in seven case‐control studies using both crude and adjusted data (RR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02–1.40; and RR 1.21, 95% CI 1.03–1.43, respectively), whereas there was no significant association in four cohort studies using crude or adjusted data (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.68–1.38; and RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.83–1.35, respectively). CONCLUSION Given that a cohort study gives a higher level of evidence than a case‐control study, there is no evidence to support a harmful effect of coffee consumption on prostate cancer risk. Further prospective cohort studies are required.

A meta-analysis found that pharmacologic therapy for smoking cessation among adolescent smokers did not have a significant effect on abstinence rates at short-term and mid-term follow-up times of <26 weeks, and the RCTs examined found few adverse events. However, the results may have been affected by the limited number of participants in published trials.

Aims: To investigate the effect of vitamin treatment or supplements with purported antioxidant properties on the primary and secondary prevention of skin cancer using a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library in June 2009. Among 398 articles searched, 11 articles on 10 RCTs were included in the final analysis. Results: In a fixed-effects meta-analysis of all 10 trials, vitamin treatment or supplements with purported antioxidant properties were found to have no preventive effect on skin cancer [relative risk (RR) = 0.98; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.94–1.03]. Similar findings were observed in a subgroup meta-analysis of 10 studies on both primary prevention trials (RR = 0.98; 95% CI = 0.93–1.03) and secondary prevention trials (RR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.83–1.13). Further, subgroup meta-analyses revealed no preventive effect on cancer by type of antioxidant, type of cancer and the methodological quality of the studies. Conclusion: The current meta-analysis of RCTs indicated that there is no clinical evidence to support an overall primary and secondary preventive effect of vitamin treatment or supplements with purported antioxidant properties on skin cancer. The effect of vitamin supplements on skin cancer should not be overemphasized.

As a very large percentage of the South Korean postmenopausal population has osteoporosis or high-risk osteopenia, greater effort at identifying and treating this population should be expended to prevent osteoporotic fracture.

Agenda setting should be emphasized in the communication skills curriculum of medical students. The Korean Clinical Skills Exam must assess medical students' ability to set an agenda.