Highlights of This Issue

Colorectal cancer screening studies by multitarget stool DNA (MT-sDNA) show false-positive (FP) rates of 7% to 13%, but it is unclear whether FP patients are at increased long-term risk of adverse outcomes. Cotter and colleagues compared subsequent clinical events among patients with apparent FP MT-sDNA with those in patients reported as true negative. Of 1,050 eligible patients, only eight aerodigestive cancers occurred. Cumulative incidence did not exceed SEER expectations from the general population. By any cutoff method, FP status was not associated with mortality or alarm symptoms. These findings do not justify aggressive follow-up evaluation for patients with FP MT-sDNA.

Stomach cancer incidence in the United States is highest among Korean Americans. To parcel this disparity, Lee and colleagues examined stomach cancer incidence trends in Korean Americans by tumor subsite, histology, and stage, and compared them with incidence rates of Japanese Americans and non-Hispanic whites (NHWs). Between 1988 and 2012 in California, Korean Americans had about 5 times greater incidence than NHWs and twice that of Japanese Americans. Although Korean Americans were diagnosed at an earlier stage than other Californians, the proportion with localized disease (43%) was much smaller than in South Korea (57%), where population-based screening is available. The persistent disparity warrants additional strategies for prevention and earlier diagnosis.

Recent studies suggest a higher risk of gallbladder cancer with high body mass index (BMI). Campbell and colleagues evaluated associations of adult BMI, young adult BMI, height, waist–height ratio, hip circumference, waist–hip ratio, adult weight gain, and waist circumference with gallbladder cancer risk. Data from 1,878,801 participants in 19 prospective cohort studies were included in this analysis. Higher adult BMI, young adult BMI, adult weight gain, height, waist circumference, waist–height ratio, and hip circumference were all associated with higher risks of gallbladder cancer. Excess body weight is an important, and potentially preventable, gallbladder cancer risk factor.

Do melanoma survivors alter their ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure following a melanoma diagnosis? To explore this, Vogel and colleagues compared measures of UVR exposure and protection behaviors between long-term melanoma survivors and controls. A total of 724 (62.0%) long-term melanoma survivors and 660 (59.9%) controls completed the follow-up survey. Melanoma survivors were significantly less likely to report high sun exposure, sunburns, or indoor tanning compared with controls. Report of optimal sun protection behaviors were higher in melanoma survivors compared to controls. However, some melanoma survivors reported indoor tanning, intentionally seeking sun to tan, and sunburns.