Highlights of This Issue

It has been suggested that the likelihood of survival among women with ovarian cancer could be increased by post-diagnosis statin use. This study, by Harding and colleagues, examines the potential association between post-diagnosis statin use and cancer-specific mortality among women with ovarian cancer. Using SEER-Medicare data on women 66+ years of age diagnosed with ovarian cancer during 2007-2012 who were enrolled in Medicare parts A, B and D during the year after diagnosis, the finding of this cohort study (and prior work) suggest statin use following a diagnosis with ovarian cancer is associated with a lower risk of cancer death.

Shiftwork exerts its carcinogenic activity largely via nightly light exposure and resulting alterations in circadian rhythms. Razavi and colleagues followed 130 participants of the Nurses' Health Study during their actual shiftwork in a comprehensive field study, collecting over 3 days 24/7 light measurements via a light-meter worn close to the eye, and 15 urine specimens for detailed melatonin measurements. They verified alterations in melatonin rhythms during nightwork, showing that these appeared gravest when work-hours were at odds with preferred sleep-timing i.e. morning persons working nightshifts, or evening persons working morning/day shifts. This work represents an important step towards individualized risk assessment/cancer prevention among night workers.

Population-level awareness of the association between alcohol and cancer is understudied in the U.S., as are personal characteristics associated with awareness. In a nationally representative survey, only 38% of U.S. residents acknowledged that drinking too much alcohol can increase risk of cancer, and 36% were uncertain (i.e., reported “don't know”). People who had ever looked up information about cancer had higher odds of awareness; people with lower levels of health self-efficacy had higher odds of uncertainty. This study by Wiseman and Klein supports that broad-reaching public health campaigns are warranted to increase awareness of the association between alcohol and cancer in the U.S.

Experiencing financial hardship (e.g., borrowing, debt, using assets, experiencing a decrease in income) due to cancer is associated with lower health-related quality of life among cancer survivors, but the mechanisms or actionable targets for intervention are not clear. In this study, Hastert and colleagues, use data from the Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors (ROCS) pilot cohort to assess the role that limiting care due to cost plays in this association, finding that limiting care explained 40% of the association between financial hardship and health-related quality of life overall, and 50% among African American survivors. These findings suggest that policies and interventions to ensure cancer survivors can access necessary treatment without financial hardship could improve health-related quality of life, particularly for African American survivors.