Stang A, Trabert B, Rusner C, Poole C, Almstrup K, Rajpert-De Meyts E, McGlynn K A
Zentrum für Klinische Epidemiologie, Institut für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie, Universitätsklinikum Essen, Essen, Germany; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Andrology. 2015 Jan;3(1):19-26. doi: 10.1111/andr.306. Epub 2014 Dec 23.
Basic research results can provide new ideas and hypotheses to be examined in epidemiological studies. We conducted a survey among testicular cancer researchers on hypotheses concerning the etiology of this malignancy. All researchers on the mailing list of Copenhagen Testis Cancer Workshops and corresponding authors of PubMed-indexed articles identified by the search term 'testicular cancer' and published within 10 years (in total 2750 recipients) were invited to respond to an e-mail-based survey. Participants of the 8th Copenhagen Testis Cancer Workshop in May 2014 were subsequently asked to rate the plausibility of the suggested etiologic hypotheses on a scale of 1 (very implausible) to 10 (very plausible). This report describes the methodology of the survey, the score distributions by individual hypotheses, hypothesis group, and the participants' major research fields, and discuss the hypotheses that scored as most plausible. We also present plans for improving the survey that may be repeated at a next international meeting of experts in testicular cancer. Overall 52 of 99 (53%) registered participants of the 8th Copenhagen Testis Cancer Workshop submitted the plausibility rating form. Fourteen of 27 hypotheses were related to exposures during pregnancy. Hypotheses with the highest mean plausibility ratings were either related to pre-natal exposures or exposures that might have an effect during pregnancy and in post-natal life. The results of the survey may be helpful for triggering more specific etiologic hypotheses that include factors related to endocrine disruption, DNA damage, inflammation, and nutrition during pregnancy. The survey results may stimulate a multidisciplinary discussion about new etiologic hypotheses of testicular cancer.
基础研究成果可为流行病学研究提供有待检验的新思路和假设。我们针对睾丸癌研究人员开展了一项关于该恶性肿瘤病因假设的调查。哥本哈根睾丸癌研讨会邮件列表中的所有研究人员以及通过搜索词“睾丸癌”确定并在10年内发表的PubMed索引文章的通讯作者（总计2750名收件人）受邀参与一项基于电子邮件的调查。随后，2014年5月第八届哥本哈根睾丸癌研讨会的参与者被要求按照1（极不可信）至10（极可信）的评分标准对所提出的病因假设的可信度进行评分。本报告描述了调查方法、各个假设、假设组以及参与者主要研究领域的得分分布情况，并讨论了可信度最高的假设。我们还提出了改进调查的计划，该调查可能会在下次睾丸癌国际专家会议上重复进行。第八届哥本哈根睾丸癌研讨会的99名注册参与者中，共有52名（53%）提交了可信度评级表。27个假设中有14个与孕期暴露有关。平均可信度评级最高的假设要么与产前暴露有关，要么与可能在孕期及产后产生影响的暴露有关。该调查结果可能有助于引发更具体的病因假设，这些假设包括与孕期内分泌干扰、DNA损伤、炎症和营养相关的因素。调查结果可能会激发关于睾丸癌新病因假设的多学科讨论。
