| 1. |
- Sampson, Joshua N., et al.
(author)
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Analysis of Heritability and Shared Heritability Based on Genome-Wide Association Studies for 13 Cancer Types
- 2015
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In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 107:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Studies of related individuals have consistently demonstrated notable familial aggregation of cancer. We aim to estimate the heritability and genetic correlation attributable to the additive effects of common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for cancer at 13 anatomical sites. Methods: Between 2007 and 2014, the US National Cancer Institute has generated data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for 49 492 cancer case patients and 34 131 control patients. We apply novel mixed model methodology (GCTA) to this GWAS data to estimate the heritability of individual cancers, as well as the proportion of heritability attributable to cigarette smoking in smoking-related cancers, and the genetic correlation between pairs of cancers. Results: GWAS heritability was statistically significant at nearly all sites, with the estimates of array-based heritability, h(l)(2), on the liability threshold (LT) scale ranging from 0.05 to 0.38. Estimating the combined heritability of multiple smoking characteristics, we calculate that at least 24% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 14% to 37%) and 7% (95% CI = 4% to 11%) of the heritability for lung and bladder cancer, respectively, can be attributed to genetic determinants of smoking. Most pairs of cancers studied did not show evidence of strong genetic correlation. We found only four pairs of cancers with marginally statistically significant correlations, specifically kidney and testes (rho = 0.73, SE = 0.28), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and pediatric osteosarcoma (rho = 0.53, SE = 0.21), DLBCL and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (rho = 0.51, SE = 0.18), and bladder and lung (rho = 0.35, SE = 0.14). Correlation analysis also indicates that the genetic architecture of lung cancer differs between a smoking population of European ancestry and a nonsmoking Asian population, allowing for the possibility that the genetic etiology for the same disease can vary by population and environmental exposures. Conclusion: Our results provide important insights into the genetic architecture of cancers and suggest new avenues for investigation.
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| 2. |
- Ricceri, Fulvio, et al.
(author)
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Risk of second primary malignancies in women with breast cancer: Results from the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC)
- 2015
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 137:4, s. 940-948
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Women with a diagnosis of breast cancer are at increased risk of second primary cancers, and the identification of risk factors for the latter may have clinical implications. We have followed-up for 11 years 10,045 women with invasive breast cancer from a European cohort, and identified 492 second primary cancers, including 140 contralateral breast cancers. Expected and observed cases and Standardized Incidence Ratios (SIR) were estimated using Aalen-Johansen Markovian methods. Information on various risk factors was obtained from detailed questionnaires and anthropometric measurements. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the role of risk factors. Women with breast cancer had a 30% excess risk for second malignancies (95% confidence interval-CI 18-42) after excluding contralateral breast cancers. Risk was particularly elevated for colorectal cancer (SIR, 1.71, 95% CI 1.43-2.00), lymphoma (SIR 1.80, 95% CI 1.31-2.40), melanoma (2.12; 1.63-2.70), endometrium (2.18; 1.75-2.70) and kidney cancers (2.40; 1.57-3.52). Risk of second malignancies was positively associated with age at first cancer, body mass index and smoking status, while it was inversely associated with education, post-menopausal status and a history of full-term pregnancy. We describe in a large cohort of women with breast cancer a 30% excess of second primaries. Among risk factors for breast cancer, a history of full-term pregnancy was inversely associated with the risk of second primary cancer. What's new? For the first time, researchers have used cohort data to show that people who survive breast cancer have a higher risk of developing another cancer later. By collecting data on 10,000 breast cancer patients over 11 years, these authors calculated a 30% boost in the patients' risk of developing a second primary malignancy, particularly colorectal cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, endometrial cancer, and kidney cancer. These findings, plus the data they collected on risk factors such as age, smoking, body mass index, and others, will help guide clinicians in screening procedures and follow up care for breast cancer patients.
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| 3. |
- Wang, Zhaoming, et al.
(author)
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Imputation and subset-based association analysis across different cancer types identifies multiple independent risk loci in the TERT-CLPTM1L region on chromosome 5p15.33
- 2014
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In: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 23:24, s. 6616-6633
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have mapped risk alleles for at least 10 distinct cancers to a small region of 63 000 bp on chromosome 5p15.33. This region harbors the TERT and CLPTM1L genes; the former encodes the catalytic subunit of telomerase reverse transcriptase and the latter may play a role in apoptosis. To investigate further the genetic architecture of common susceptibility alleles in this region, we conducted an agnostic subset-based meta-analysis (association analysis based on subsets) across six distinct cancers in 34 248 cases and 45 036 controls. Based on sequential conditional analysis, we identified as many as six independent risk loci marked by common single-nucleotide polymorphisms: five in the TERT gene (Region 1: rs7726159, P = 2.10 × 10(-39); Region 3: rs2853677, P = 3.30 × 10(-36) and PConditional = 2.36 × 10(-8); Region 4: rs2736098, P = 3.87 × 10(-12) and PConditional = 5.19 × 10(-6), Region 5: rs13172201, P = 0.041 and PConditional = 2.04 × 10(-6); and Region 6: rs10069690, P = 7.49 × 10(-15) and PConditional = 5.35 × 10(-7)) and one in the neighboring CLPTM1L gene (Region 2: rs451360; P = 1.90 × 10(-18) and PConditional = 7.06 × 10(-16)). Between three and five cancers mapped to each independent locus with both risk-enhancing and protective effects. Allele-specific effects on DNA methylation were seen for a subset of risk loci, indicating that methylation and subsequent effects on gene expression may contribute to the biology of risk variants on 5p15.33. Our results provide strong support for extensive pleiotropy across this region of 5p15.33, to an extent not previously observed in other cancer susceptibility loci.
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| 4. |
- Kaaks, Rudolf, et al.
(author)
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Insulin-like growth factor I and risk of breast cancer by age and hormone receptor status : A prospective study within the EPIC cohort
- 2014
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 134:11, s. 2683-2690
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Experimental evidence shows cross-talk in mammary cells between estrogen, insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and their respective receptors and possible synergistic effects of estrogen receptor (ER) activation and increased IGF-I signaling with regard to breast tumor development, and epidemiological evidence suggests that circulating IGF-I levels may be related more to the risk of ER-positive than ER-negative breast cancer. Using a case–control study nested within the prospective European EPIC cohort (938 breast cancer cases and 1,394 matched control subjects), we analyzed the relationships of prediagnostic serum IGF-I levels with the risk of estrogen and progesterone receptor-positive and -negative breast tumors. IGF-I levels were positively associated with the risk of ER+ breast tumors overall (pre- and postmenopausal women combined, odds ratio (OR)Q4-Q1 = 1.41 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.98] for the highest vs. lowest quartile; OR = 1.17 [95% CI 1.04–1.33] per 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in IGF-I, ptrend = 0.01) and among women who were diagnosed with breast cancer at 50 years or older (ORQ3-Q1 = 1.38 [95% CI 1.01–1.89]; OR = 1.19 [95% CI 1.04–1.36] per 1-SD increase in IGF-I, ptrend = 0.01) but not with receptor-positive disease diagnosed at an earlier age. No statistically significant associations were observed for ER− breast tumors overall and by age at diagnosis. Tests for heterogeneity by receptor status of the tumor were not statistically significant, except for women diagnosed with breast cancer at 50 years or older (phet = 0.03 for ER+/PR+ vs. ER−/PR− disease). Our data add to a global body of evidence indicating that higher circulating IGF-I levels may increase risk specifically of receptor-positive, but not receptor-negative, breast cancer diagnosed at 50 years or older.
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| 5. |
- Kaaks, Rudolf, et al.
(author)
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Premenopausal serum sex hormone levels in relation to breast cancer risk, overall and by hormone receptor status-Results from the EPIC cohort
- 2014
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 134:8, s. 1947-1957
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Results from prospective studies on premenopausal serum hormone levels in relation to breast cancer risk have been inconclusive, especially with regard to tumor subtypes. Using a case-control study nested within the prospective European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort (801 breast cancer cases and 1,132 matched control subjects), we analyzed the relationships of prediagnostic serum estradiol, free estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, free testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels with the risk of breast cancer by estrogen and progesterone receptor-positive and -negative breast tumors and by age at diagnoses. Higher prediagnostic serum levels of testosterone and free testosterone were associated with an increased overall risk of breast cancer [ORQ4-Q1=1.56 (95% CI 1.15-2.13), p(trend)=0.02 for testosterone and ORQ4-Q1=1.33 (95% CI 0.99-1.79), p(trend)=0.04 for free testosterone], but no significant risk association was observed for estradiol, free estradiol, progesterone and SHBG. Tests for heterogeneity between receptor-positive and -negative tumors were not significant. When analysis were stratified by age at tumor diagnosis, the odds ratios observed for estradiol were stronger and borderline significant for breast cancer diagnosed at age less than 50 [ORQ4-Q1=1.32 (95% CI 0.87-2.01), p(trend)=0.05] compared to breast cancer diagnosed at age 50 or above [ORQ4-Q1=0.94 (95% CI 0.60-1.47), p(trend)=0.34, p(het)=0.04]. In conclusion, our data indicate that higher premenopausal circulating testosterone levels are associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer, but do not show a significant association of estradiol or progesterone with breast cancer risk, overall, by menstrual cycle phase or by tumor receptor status, although a possible risk increase with higher estradiol levels for tumors diagnosed before age 50 was seen.
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| 6. |
- Kühn, Tilman, et al.
(author)
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Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and the risk of breast cancer in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition : A nested case-control study
- 2013
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 133:7, s. 1689-1700
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Experimental evidence suggests that vitamin D might play a role in the development of breast cancer. Although the results of case-control studies indicate that circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is inversely associated with the risk of breast cancer, the results of prospective studies are inconsistent. A case-control study embedded in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) was carried out comprising 1,391 incident breast cancer cases and 1,391 controls. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models did not reveal a significant overall association between season-standardized 25(OH)D levels and the risk of breast cancer (ORQ4-Q1 [95% CI]: 1.07 [0.85-1.36], ptrend = 0.67). Moreover, 25(OH)D levels were not related to the risks of estrogen receptor positive tumors (ORQ4-Q1 [95% CI]: 0.97 [0.67-1.38], ptrend = 0.90) and estrogen receptor negative tumors (ORQ4-Q1 [95% CI]: 0.97 [0.66-1.42], ptrend = 0.98). In hormone replacement therapy (HRT) users, 25(OH)D was significantly inversely associated with incident breast cancer (ORlog2 [95% CI]: 0.62 [0.42-0.90], p = 0.01), whereas no significant association was found in HRT nonusers (ORlog2 [95% CI]: 1.14 [0.80-1.62], p = 0.48). Further, a nonsignificant inverse association was found in women with body mass indices (BMI) < 25 kg/m(2) (ORlog2 [95% CI]: 0.83 [0.67-1.03], p = 0.09), as opposed to a borderline significant positive association in women with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m(2) (ORlog2 [95% CI]: 1.30 [1.0-1.69], p = 0.05). Overall, prediagnostic levels of circulating 25(OH)D were not related to the risk of breast cancer in the EPIC study. This result is in line with findings in the majority of prospective studies and does not support a role of vitamin D in the development of breast cancer.
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| 7. |
- Sieri, Sabina, et al.
(author)
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Dietary Fat Intake and Development of Specific Breast Cancer Subtypes.
- 2014
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In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2105 .- 0027-8874. ; 106:5, s. 068-068
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We prospectively evaluated fat intake as predictor of developing breast cancer (BC) subtypes defined by estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor 2 receptor (HER2), in a large (n = 337327) heterogeneous cohort of women, with 10062 BC case patients after 11.5 years, estimating BC hazard ratios (HRs) by Cox proportional hazard modeling. High total and saturated fat were associated with greater risk of ER(+)PR(+) disease (HR = 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00 to 1.45; HR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.52; highest vs lowest quintiles) but not ER(-)PR(-) disease. High saturated fat was statistically significantly associated with greater risk of HER2(-) disease. High saturated fat intake particularly increases risk of receptor-positive disease, suggesting saturated fat involvement in the etiology of this BC subtype.
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| 8. |
- Emaus, Marleen J., et al.
(author)
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Weight change in middle adulthood and breast cancer risk in the EPIC-PANACEA study
- 2014
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 135:12, s. 2887-2899
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Long-term weight gain (i.e., weight gain since age 20) has been related to higher risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, but a lower risk of premenopausal breast cancer. The effect of weight change in middle adulthood is unclear. We investigated the association between weight change in middle adulthood (i.e., women aged 40-50 years) and the risk of breast cancer before and after the age of 50. We included female participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, with information on anthropometric measures at recruitment and after a median follow-up of 4.3 years. Annual weight change was categorized using quintiles taking quintile 2 and 3 as the reference category (-0.44 to 0.36 kg/year). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to examine the association. 205,723 women were included and 4,663 incident breast cancer cases were diagnosed during a median follow-up of 7.5 years (from second weight assessment onward). High weight gain (Q5: 0.83-4.98 kg/year) was related to a slightly, but significantly higher breast cancer risk (HRQ5_versus_Q2/3: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.01-1.18). The association was more pronounced for breast cancer diagnosed before or at age 50 (HRQ5_versus_Q2/3: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.02-1.85). Weight loss was not associated with breast cancer risk. There was no evidence for heterogeneity by hormone receptor status. In conclusion, high weight gain in middle adulthood increases the risk of breast cancer. The association seems to be more pronounced for breast cancer diagnosed before or at age 50. Our results illustrate the importance of avoiding weight gain in middle adulthood.
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| 9. |
- McKenzie, Fiona, et al.
(author)
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Healthy lifestyle and risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort study
- 2015
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 136:11, s. 2640-2648
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and prevention strategies are needed to reduce incidence worldwide. A healthy lifestyle index score (HLIS) was generated to investigate the joint effect of modifiable lifestyle factors on postmenopausal breast cancer risk. The study included 242,918 postmenopausal women from the multinational European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort, with detailed information on diet and lifestyle assessed at baseline. The HLIS was constructed from five factors (diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and anthropometry) by assigning scores of 0-4 to categories of each component, for which higher values indicate healthier behaviours. Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated by Cox proportional regression models. During 10.9 years of median follow-up, 7,756 incident breast cancer cases were identified. There was a 3% lower risk of breast cancer per point increase of the HLIS. Breast cancer risk was inversely associated with a high HLIS when fourth versus second (reference) categories were compared [adjusted HR=0.74; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66-0.83]. The fourth versus the second category of the HLIS was associated with a lower risk for hormone receptor double positive (adjusted HR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.67-0.98) and hormone receptor double negative breast cancer (adjusted HR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.40-0.90). Findings suggest having a high score on an index of combined healthy behaviours reduces the risk of developing breast cancer among postmenopausal women. Programmes which engage women in long term health behaviours should be supported. What's new? How much does behavior really affect cancer risk? These authors set out to measure just that. First, they created a Healthy Lifestyle Index, which quantified five modifiable behaviors, such as smoking and physical activity. Then, using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), they assigned each participant a score between 0 and 4 on each of the behaviors. It turned out that with each point added to a person's Healthy Lifestyle Index score, breast cancer risk fell by 3%, suggesting that public programs to help women maintain these behaviors could be worthwhile for cancer prevention.
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| 10. |
- Ritte, Rebecca, et al.
(author)
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Height, age at menarche and risk of hormone receptor-positive and -negative breast cancer : A cohort study
- 2013
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 132:11, s. 2619-2629
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Associations of breast cancer overall with indicators of exposures during puberty are reasonably well characterized; however, uncertainty remains regarding the associations of height, leg length, sitting height and menarcheal age with hormone receptor-defined malignancies. Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, Cox proportional hazards models were used to describe the relationships of adult height, leg length and sitting height and age at menarche with risk of estrogen and progesterone receptor negative (ER-PR-) (n = 990) and ER+PR+ (n = 3,524) breast tumors. Height as a single risk factor was compared to a model combining leg length and sitting height. The possible interactions of height, leg length and sitting height with menarche were also analyzed. Risk of both ER-PR- and ER+PR+ malignancies was positively associated with standing height, leg length and sitting height and inversely associated with increasing age at menarche. For ER+PR+ disease, sitting height (hazard ratios: 1.14[95% confidence interval: 1.081.20]) had a stronger risk association than leg length (1.05[1.001.11]). In comparison, for ER-PR- disease, no distinct differences were observed between leg length and sitting height. Women who were tall and had an early menarche (13 years) showed an almost twofold increase in risk of ER+PR+ tumors but no such increase in risk was observed for ER-PR- disease. Indicators of exposures during rapid growth periods were associated with risks of both HR-defined breast cancers. Exposures during childhood promoting faster development may establish risk associations for both HR-positive and negative malignancies. The stronger associations of the components of height with ER+PR+ tumors among older women suggest possible hormonal links that could be specific for postmenopausal women.
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