3 results
1 - Epidemiology of myeloma
- from Section 1 - Overview of myeloma
- Edited by Stephen A. Schey, Kwee L. Yong, Robert Marcus, Kenneth C. Anderson
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- Book:
- Myeloma
- Published online:
- 18 December 2013
- Print publication:
- 05 December 2013, pp 1-10
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Summary
Introduction
Epidemiology is the basic quantitative science of public health; and as such is concerned with the distribution, determinants, treatment, management and potential control of disease. Concentrating on the first two of these, this chapter reviews the epidemiology of myeloma, which accounts for around 1%–2% of all newly diagnosed cancers, and 10%–15% of all newly diagnosed hematological malignancies[1,2].
Descriptive epidemiology
The accurate description of underlying disease patterns and trends provides the foundation for etiological research[3], hence before considering the epidemiology of myeloma in any depth issues relating to disease ascertainment and classification are briefly discussed below.
Cancer ascertainment and classification
Whilst cancer registration has a long history in many countries, particularly those in the more affluent regions of the world, nearly 80% of the global population is not covered by such systems [1]. Furthermore, for hematological cancers, information gathering and dissemination has long been acknowledged to be a major problem even in countries that have adequate collations processes. These concerns were summarized in EUROCARE 4 in their 2009 statement that “the evolving classification and poor standardization of data collection on haematological malignancies vitiate the comparison of disease incidence and survival over time and across regions” [4]. The main issue here is that, unlike many other cancers, the majority of hematological neoplasms are diagnosed by using multiple parameters, including a combination of histology, cytology, immunophenotyping, cytogenetics, imaging and clinical information.
1 - Epidemiology
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- By Eve Roman, University of York, Alexandra G. Smith, University of York
- Edited by Robert Marcus, King's College London, John W. Sweetenham, University of Utah, Michael E. Williams
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- Book:
- Lymphoma
- Published online:
- 18 December 2013
- Print publication:
- 05 December 2013, pp 1-10
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- Chapter
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Summary
Introduction
Epidemiology is the basic quantitative science of public health and, as such, is concerned with the distribution, determinants, treatment, management, and potential control of disease. Concentrating on the first two of these, this chapter reviews the epidemiology of lymphomas – a heterogeneous group of malignancies that is estimated to account for around 3–4% of cancers worldwide.
Epidemiological reports on lymphomas often begin, and sometimes end, by stating that little is known about the causes of the cancers under study. This is slowly changing, as evidence about the pathological diversity of the various lymphoma subtypes accumulates. At present, however, the issue of lymphoma classification continues to permeate much of the literature, since, in order to originate and test hypotheses about pathogenesis, it is vitally important to describe accurately and understand underlying descriptive disease patterns. Implicit in this is the need to use appropriate disease classifications; it is this requirement that has beleaguered epidemiological research into the lymphoid malignancies.
In short, the classification of hematological malignancies has changed markedly over recent decades, and will continue to do so as biological understanding increases and new diagnostic methods and techniques are developed. One problem for epidemiological research concerns the use of historical classifications emanating from the latter half of the nineteenth century – long before there were any effective treatments or real understanding of the relationships between lymphoid malignancies, the normal bone marrow and immune system, and before anything was known about the cellular and genetic basis of malignant transformation.
1 - Epidemiology
- from Part I - LYMPHOMA OVERVIEW
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- By Eleanor V. Willett, Epidemiology and Genetics Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK, Eve Roman, Epidemiology and Genetics Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
- Edited by Robert Marcus, John W. Sweetenham, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, Michael E. Williams, University of Virginia
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- Book:
- Lymphoma: Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment
- Published online:
- 05 March 2010
- Print publication:
- 21 June 2007, pp 3-11
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Summary
INTRODUCTION
Lymphomas, a heterogeneous group of malignancies arising in the lymphoid tissue, account for over 3% of cancers occurring worldwide. Most lymphomas are B-cell in origin, with a minority being T-cell. These cancers are primarily divided into Hodgkin's (HL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), where HLs are B-cell malignancies distinguishable by the presence of Reed–Sternberg cells, and NHLs are of either B- or T-cell origin. A few inherited disorders, immunosuppressive drug therapies and certain viruses are known to be associated with specific types of lymphoma. However, for the most part, little is currently known about the etiology of lymphomas. The heterogeneous nature and inconsistent definitions of the specific lymphomas has hindered the identification of potential risk factors, but with the introduction of the Revised European–American Lymphoma (REAL) classification in 1994 and its 2001 successor, the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours of the Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues, lymphomas are more consistently segregated on the basis of morphology, immunophenotype, and genetic and clinical features.
DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY
With a view to elucidating potential causes of disease, descriptive epidemiological studies are routinely concerned with measures of disease incidence, prevalence, mortality and survival in well-defined populations and/or subgroups. For cancer, disease occurrence is commonly estimated from national, or specialist, cancer registries and the “population at risk” of disease from national, or local, census data.