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Dietary patterns have been used to explore the association between dietary factors and risk of pancreatic cancer (PC) and renal cancer (RC); however, the association remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively review these associations.

Pertinent studies published prior to March 2016 were systematically searched and retrieved through PubMed and Scopus databases. Adjusted risk estimates were derived by comparing the highest with the lowest categories of dietary pattern scores and were combined by using the fixed-effects model when no substantial heterogeneity was observed; otherwise, the random-effects model was used.

A total of nine studies, five for PC (including 2,059 cases and 41,774 participants/controls) and four for RC (with 1,327 cases and 53,007 participants/controls), were included in this meta-analysis. A decreased risk of PC was shown for the highest compared with the lowest categories of the healthy dietary pattern (OR = 0.72, 95 per cent CI = 0.51-0.94, random effects (p-value for heterogeneity = 0.004)), whereas no significant association with Western dietary was observed (OR = 1.16, 95 per cent CI = 0.87-1.44, fixed effects). In the overall analysis, a significant association was found between the healthy dietary pattern and reduced risk of RC (OR = 0.59, 95 per cent CI = 0.48-0.71, fixed effects (p-value for heterogeneity = 0.459)), whereas the Western pattern was positively associated with risk of RC (OR = 1.42, 95 per cent CI = 1.14-1.69, fixed effects). For both cancers, the reduced risk associated with the healthy pattern was restricted to case-control, but not cohort, studies. Furthermore, drinking pattern was significantly related to reduced risk of RC (OR = 0.68, 95 per cent CI = 0.42-0.94).

To the authors’ knowledge, the present study is the first English document to summarize systematically the findings from observational studies in response to this question whether a posteriori dietary patterns are associated with susceptibility to the risk of renal and ovarian cancers.

The purpose of this study was to design a paper strip-based non-invasive urine analysis system for the qualitative detection of biomarker aquaporin-1 (AQP1) in renal cancer (RC). RC accounts for 3% of all cancers and 85% of all kidney tumors and mainly originates from the kidney cortex. In recent times, higher urine concentration of AQP1 in patients with RC was confirmed as a specific biomarker of the disease. Hence, the noninvasive, user-friendly and self-diagnostic method is required for the detection of aquaporin biomarkers in RC.

The present research work was focused on the development and characterization of a dye conjugated cyclodextrin-based miniaturized system for impregnation on Whatman filter paper to identify RC using AQP1 biomarker present in urine samples.

It was observed that the test strip dipped into the urine sample, and the yellow color intensity increased with a decrease in AQP1 concentration due to the transformation of the dye system of free basic form into bound acidic form. The Hue-Saturation-Value profiling was used to observe the effect of color change using a smartphone application. The paper strip-based urine analysis system is highly sensitive for the detection of AQP1 in the range of 10 to 1,000 ng.

The successful validation indicated that this biosensor is likely to contribute to the development of point-of-care, novel, personalized diagnostics and ensure prolonged survival of RC patients in the near future.

Recent research has suggested the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids on kidney function; however, differences in these benefits have not been well-documented with respect to different omega-3 fatty acid sources. Hence, the purpose of this study is to compare the effects of plants, marine sources of omega-3 fatty acids and their combination on biomarkers of renal function in overweight and obese individuals.

Ninety-nine overweight and obese women from a weight loss clinic received three weight-reducing diets with fish (300 g/week), walnuts (18 walnuts/week) or fish + walnuts (150 g fish + 9 walnuts/week) for 12 weeks. Serum biomarkers of renal function were measured at the beginning and the end of the intervention.

After 12 weeks, a reduction in serum creatinine was statistically higher for both the fish + walnut (−0.16 ± 0.09 mg/dL, p = 0.001) and walnut (−0.15 ± 0.05 mg/dL, p = 0.001) diets compared with the fish diet (−0.05 ± 0.04 mg/dL). A significant decrease was seen in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level in the fish + walnut group (−0.12 ± 0.05 mg/dL, p = 0.03) and walnut group (−0.10 ± 0.04 mg/dL, p = 0.03) compared to the fish group (−0.05 ± 0.03 mg/dL). The effect of serum creatinine and BUN in the fish + walnut diet group was relatively higher than in the walnut diet group. Also, a significant difference was observed regarding weight loss in the fish + walnut diet (−7.2 ± 0.9 kg, p = 0.03) compared to in the other groups. The change in other indices was not different among the three diets.

This study found synergistic benefits of the plant and marine omega-3 fatty acids in reducing serum creatinine, BUN and weight compared with isolated marine omega-3s in overweight and obese women.

Objective – To present the challenges arising from the double burden of disease in developing countries, focusing on the case of Mexico, and to propose a strategy for addressing these challenges.

Methodology/approach – Mortality and morbidity data are presented for selected countries and groups of diseases. Specific examples of the pressures faced by the public health services in Mexico to provide and finance treatment for communicable and non-communicable diseases are used to illustrate the extent of the challenges in the context of a country with limited resources.

Findings – Public health systems in developing countries face strong pressure to provide and finance treatment for both communicable and non-communicable diseases, inevitably producing competition among diseases and conditions and requiring trade-offs between equity and efficiency goals.

Implications for policy – In developing countries, addressing the challenges presented by the double burden of disease requires a multidisciplinary approach to develop and strengthen the policymaking process. This involves the use of analytical tools applied to each stage of the planning cycle, in particular the use of an explicit priority setting process together with monitoring and assessment to strengthen decision making under limited resources.

The purpose of this paper is to review evidence on the impact of black tea on health, highlighting the role of flavonoids.

This review builds on previous systematic reviews by incorporating new studies on black tea and health published between 2004 and 2009.

Black tea was strongly associated with heart disease prevention by plausible mechanisms linked to flavonoid bioactivity. In vitro studies suggest that tea has anti‐cancer properties, but this needs to be confirmed by additional long‐term human studies. Emerging research indicates that tea may benefit cognitive function and weight management, although more studies are needed. Tea flavonoids are bioavailable with or without milk.

The benefits of tea drinking are of relevance to public health as tea is the main contributor to dietary flavonoids in Western countries. Consuming one to eight cups of black tea per day is associated with a reduced risk of chronic disease. Caffeine intakes at this level are moderate.

People are ambivalent about high technology medicine. Unnecessary deaths and preventable disability are sometimes blamed on access to technology having been delayed or denied. But when used to extend only briefly the lives of the hopelessly ill technology is sometimes held to have caused needless distress to patients and families. Such use is also a waste of resources, as is the unnecessary use of diagnostic technology. So health authorities are often accused of under‐provision of high technology, while doctors are more often criticised for over‐use of what has been provided.

Singapore's rapid economic progress has been accompanied by a series of experiments in medical savings and health insurance. This paper aims to examine the “three Ms” – Medisave, MediShield, and Medifund – in order to establish the way in which the policy‐instruments are expected to deliver the status required.

The paper collects evidence on both outcomes and payments.

Results show that a nation in which the median citizen is under 40 is in a strong position to rely principally on individual medical savings accounts. The paper predicts that Singapore, as its population ages, will probably rely more heavily on risk pooling and insurance.

The practical implications are that an extension of insurance is inevitable, but that earmarked savings will probably remain the first line of defence.

The paper is the first to document the Singapore experience of payment for health. It draws inferences and makes recommendations that will be of interest to policy makers both in poorer and in richer countries.

Purpose – Objective measures of a new treatment's expected ability to improve patients’ health are presumed to be significant factors influencing physicians’ treatment decisions. Physicians’ behavior may also be influenced by their patients’ disease severity and insurance reimbursement policies, firm promotional activities and public media reports. This chapter examines how objective evidence of the incremental effectiveness of novel drugs to treat cancer (“chemotherapies”) impacts the rate at which physicians’ adopt these treatments into practice, holding constant other factors.

Design/methodology – The novelty of the analysis resides in the dataset and estimation strategy employed. Data is derived from a United States population-based chemotherapy order entry system, IntrinsiQ Intellidose. Quality/price endogeneity is overcome by employing sample selection methods and an estimation strategy that exploits quality variation at the molecule-indication level. Pooled diffusion rates across molecule-indication pairs are estimated using nonparametric hazard models.

Findings – Results suggest incremental effectiveness is negatively and nonsignificantly associated with the diffusion of new chemotherapies; faster rates of diffusion are positively and significantly related to low five-year survival probabilities and measures of perceived clinical significance. Results are robust to numerous specification checks, including a measure of alternative therapeutic availability. We discuss the magnitude and potential direction of bias introduced by several threats to internal validity. Evidence of incremental effectiveness does not appear to motivate the rate of specialty physician diffusion of new medical treatment; in all models high risk of disease mortality and perceptions of therapeutic quality are significant drivers of physician use of novel chemotherapies.

Value/originality – Understanding the rate of technological advance across different clinical settings, as well as the product-, provider-, and patient-level determinants of this rate, is an important subject for future research.

Human health is strongly affected by diet. By the increased use of food industries products, public knowledge about health factors and side effects of chemical additives, the concepts of human health founded an important aspect during past years, and application of natural-based ingredients such as coloring, flavoring, texturizing and anti-oxidative agents was increased.

The aim of the present paper is to review the published scientific research studies about lycopene health benefits in different human disease or disorders and bold the necessity of study the health effects of lycopene after its formulation in food industrial products. About 190 papers were searched in Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science databases and 72 relevant papers were used. It was found that in medical studies, the lycopene oleoresin or powder is used directly to the subjects. However, it is necessary to study the effectiveness of lycopene in diet food products.

According to the literature, it has beneficial effects on cancers, glands, reproductive system, bone, gastric system, liver and fat reduction in the body. Also, it was concluded from the literature that lycopene oxidative cleavages make also its chemo protective effects which is a lost key element to study different food processing on lycopene products or its isomers in final food products and on human health.

Many ingredients in food formulations are substituted by natural products. Lycopene is a colorant but also, according to the literature, has a strong antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effect to reduce the risk of most important human disease and disorders. Future research in food science can emphasize the effect of different unit operations or formulations on lycopene effects on human health.

The purpose of this paper is to review the Mediterranean diet and its association to disease and health benefits derived from the adherence to it.

The review includes the most updated studies found in PubMed all in relation to the adaptation of the Mediterranean diet.

The cardioprotection of Mediterranean diet has been established. A number of cancer types could be prevented by following the Mediterranean type diet and the specific ingredients of it are also investigated to find their impact on health. Longevity is also favored by the adoption of this dietary pattern as is the population group diagnosed with metabolic syndrome and mental health disorders. The results about its consumption and obesity need further investigation. Patients with HIV, being on specific treatment, are advised not to follow the Mediterranean diet.

This paper gives a concise, up‐to‐date overview to nutritionists and dietitians on the Mediterranean diet and its relation to health and disease.