| 1. |
- Agudo, Antonio, et al.
(author)
-
Hemochromatosis (HFE) gene mutations and risk of gastric cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study
- 2013
-
In: Carcinogenesis. - : Oxford University Press. - 0143-3334 .- 1460-2180. ; 34:6, s. 1244-1250
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a strong risk factor for hepatocellular cancer, and mutations in the HFE gene associated with HH and iron overload may be related to other tumors, but no studies have been reported for gastric cancer (GC). A nested case-control study was conducted within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), including 365 incident gastric adenocarcinoma and 1284 controls matched by center, sex, age and date of blood collection. Genotype analysis was performed for two functional polymorphisms (C282Y/rs1800562 and H63D/rs1799945) and seven tagSNPs of the HFE genomic region. Association with all gastric adenocarcinoma, and according to anatomical localization and histological subtype, was assessed by means of the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) estimated by unconditional logistic regression adjusted for the matching variables. We observed a significant association for H63D with OR (per rare allele) of 1.32 (CI = 1.03-1.69). In subgroup analyses, the association was stronger for non-cardia anatomical subsite (OR = 1.60, CI = 1.16-2.21) and intestinal histological subtype (OR = 1.82, CI = 1.27-2.62). Among intestinal cases, two tagSNPs (rs1572982 and rs6918586) also showed a significant association that disappeared after adjustment for H63D. No association with tumors located in the cardia or with diffuse subtype was found for any of the nine SNPs analyzed. Our results suggest that H63D variant in HFE gene seems to be associated with GC risk of the non-cardia region and intestinal type, possibly due to its association with iron overload although a role for other mechanisms cannot be entirely ruled out.
|
|
| 2. |
- Aleksandrova, Krasimira, et al.
(author)
-
A prospective study of the immune system activation biomarker neopterin and colorectal cancer risk
- 2015
-
In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press. - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 107:4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Neopterin may be relevant for colorectal cancer (CRC) development, as a biomarker of cellular immune activity exerting pleiotropic effects on cellular ageing, oxidative stress, and inflammation. So far, the association between prediagnostic neopterin and colon and rectal cancer risk has not been evaluated in human populations. Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort using data on plasma concentrations of total neopterin (T-N, sum of neopterin and 7,8-dihydroneopterin) in 830 incident CRC case patients (561 colon and 269 rectal) matched within risk sets to 830 control participants. A subsequent replication study used data from the Hordaland Health Study, where 173 CRC case patients have been diagnosed among 6594 healthy participants over 12 years of follow-up. Results: After multivariable adjustment for a priori chosen CRC risk factors, a "U-shaped" association of T-N with CRC was revealed. Compared with the second quintile of the T-N distribution, the relative risks for the first, third, fourth, and fifth quintiles were 2.37 (95% CI = 1.66 to 3.39), 1.24 (95% CI = 0.87 to 1.77), 1.55 (95% CI = 1.08 to 2.22), and 2.31 (95% CI = 1.63 to 3.27), respectively. Replication of these associations within the Hordaland Health Study yielded similar results. No differences have been observed when the associations were explored by colon and rectal cancer site (two-sided P-difference = .87) and after excluding case patients diagnosed within the first four follow-up years. Conclusions: These novel findings provide evidence of the role of both suppressed and activated cell-mediated immunity as reflected by prediagnostic T-N concentrations in the development of CRC.
|
|
| 3. |
- Aleksandrova, Krasimira, et al.
(author)
-
Adult weight change and risk of colorectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
- 2013
-
In: European Journal of Cancer. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-0852 .- 0959-8049. ; 49:16, s. 3526-3536
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: Weight change during adult life may reflect metabolic changes and influence colorectal cancer (CRC) development, but such role is not well established. We aimed to explore the association between adult weight change (from age 20 to 50) and CRC risk. In particular, we investigated differences according to colon and rectal cancer, sex and measures of attained adiposity. Methods: We included 201,696 participants from six participating countries in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (1992-2010). During a mean follow-up of 11.2 years 2384 (1194 in men and 1190 in women) incident CRC cases occurred. Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for body mass index at age 20 and lifestyle factors at study recruitment were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: After multivariable adjustment, each kg of weight gained annually from age 20 to 50 was associated with a 60% higher risk of colon cancer (95% CI 1.20-2.09), but not rectal cancer (HR 1.13, 95% CI 0.79-1.62, P-interaction = 0.04). The higher risk of colon cancer was restricted to people with high attained waist circumference at age 50 (HR 1.82, 95% CI 1.14-2.91, P-interaction = 0.02). Results were not different in men and women (P-interaction = 0.81). Conclusion(s): Adult weight gain, as reflected by attained abdominal obesity at age 50, increases colon cancer risk in both men and women. These data underline the importance of weight management and metabolic health maintenance in early adult life years for colon cancer prevention. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 4. |
- Aleksandrova, Krasimira, et al.
(author)
-
Combined impact of healthy lifestyle factors on colorectal cancer : a large European cohort study
- 2014
-
In: BMC Medicine. - : BioMed Central. - 1741-7015. ; 12:1, s. 168-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Excess body weight, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and certain dietary factors are individually related to colorectal cancer (CRC) risk; however, little is known about their joint effects. The aim of this study was to develop a healthy lifestyle index (HLI) composed of five potentially modifiable lifestyle factors - healthy weight, physical activity, non-smoking, limited alcohol consumption and a healthy diet, and to explore the association of this index with CRC incidence using data collected within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. METHODS: In the EPIC cohort, a total of 347,237 men and women, 25- to 70-years old, provided dietary and lifestyle information at study baseline (1992 to 2000). Over a median follow-up time of 12 years, 3,759 incident CRC cases were identified. The association between a HLI and CRC risk was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models and population attributable risks (PARs) have been calculated. RESULTS: After accounting for study centre, age, sex and education, compared with 0 or 1 healthy lifestyle factors, the hazard ratio (HR) for CRC was 0.87 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44 to 0.77) for two factors, 0.79 (95% CI: 0.70 to 0.89) for three factors, 0.66 (95% CI: 0.58 to 0.75) for four factors and 0.63 (95% CI: 0.54 to 0.74) for five factors; P-trend <0.0001. The associations were present for both colon and rectal cancers, HRs, 0.61 (95% CI: 0.50 to 0.74; P for trend <0.0001) for colon cancer and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.53 to 0.88; P-trend <0.0001) for rectal cancer, respectively (P-difference by cancer sub-site = 0.10). Overall, 16% of the new CRC cases (22% in men and 11% in women) were attributable to not adhering to a combination of all five healthy lifestyle behaviours included in the index. CONCLUSIONS: Combined lifestyle factors are associated with a lower incidence of CRC in European populations characterized by western lifestyles. Prevention strategies considering complex targeting of multiple lifestyle factors may provide practical means for improved CRC prevention.
|
|
| 5. |
- Aleksandrova, Krasimira, et al.
(author)
-
Inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers and risk of liver and bilary tract cancer
- 2014
-
In: Hepatology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0270-9139 .- 1527-3350. ; 60:3, s. 858-871
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Obesity and associated metabolic disorders have been implicated in liver carcinogenesis; however there is little data on the role of obesity-related biomarkers on liver cancer risk. We studied prospectively the association of inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers with risks of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intra-hepatic bile duct (IBD) and gallbladder and bilary tract cancers outside of the liver (GBTC) in a nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Over an average of 7.7 years, 296 participants developed HCC (n=125), GBTC (n=137) or IBD (n=34). Using risk set sampling, controls were selected in a 2:1 ratio and matched for recruitment center, age, sex, fasting status, time of blood collection. Baseline serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-peptide, total, high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin, leptin, fetuin-a, and glutamatdehydrogenase (GLDH) were measured and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI-s) estimated using conditional logistic regression. After adjustment for lifestyle factors, diabetes, hepatitis infection and adiposity measures, higher concentrations of CRP, IL-6, C-peptide and non-HMW adiponectin were associated with higher risk of HCC (IRR per doubling of concentrations = 1.22; 95%CI = 1.02-1.46, P=0.03; 1.90; 95%CI = 1.30-2.77, P=0.001; 2.25; 95%CI = 1.43-3.54, P=0.0005 and 2.09; 95%CI = 1.19-3.67, P=0.01, respectively). CRP was associated also with risk of GBTC (IRR = 1.22; 95%CI = 1.05-1.42, P=0.01). GLDH was associated with risks of HCC (IRR = 1.62; 95%CI = 1.25-2.11, P=0.0003) and IBD (IRR = 10.5; 95%CI = 2.20-50.90, P=0.003). The continuous net reclassification index was 0.63 for CRP, IL-6, C-peptide and non-HMW adiponectin, and 0.46 for GLDH indicating good predictive ability of these biomarkers. Conclusion: Elevated levels of biomarkers of inflammation and hyperinsulinemia are associated with a higher risk of HCC, independent of obesity and established liver cancer risk factors.
|
|
| 6. |
- Aleksandrova, Krasimira, et al.
(author)
-
Leptin and soluble leptin receptor in risk of colorectal cancer in the European prospective investigation into Cancer and nutrition cohort
- 2012
-
In: Cancer Research. - Philadelphia, USA : American Association for Cancer Research. - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 72:20, s. 5328-5337
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Leptin, a peptide hormone produced primarily by the adipocytes, is hypothesized to play a role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) may regulate leptin's physiologic functions; however its relation to CRC risk is unknown. This study explored the association of leptin and sOB-R with risk of CRC in a prospective nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. A total of 1,129 incident CRC cases (713 colon, 416 rectal) were matched within risk sets to 1,129 controls. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). After multivariable adjustment including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and baseline leptin concentrations, sOB-R was strongly inversely associated with CRC (RR comparing the highest quintile vs. the lowest, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.40-0.76; P-trend = 0.0004) and colon cancer (RR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.28-0.63, P-trend = 0.0001); whereas no association was seen for rectal cancer (RR adjusted for BMI and waist circumference, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.48-1.44, P-trend = 0.38). In contrast, leptin was not associated with risk of CRC (RR adjusted for BMI and waist circumference, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.56-1.29, P-trend = 0.23). Additional adjustments for circulating metabolic biomarkers did not attenuate these results. These novel findings suggest a strong inverse association between circulating sOB-R and CRC risk, independent of obesity measures, leptin concentrations, and other metabolic biomarkers. Further research is needed to confirm the potentially important role of sOB-R in CRC pathogenesis. Cancer Res; 72(20); 5328-37. (C) 2012 AACR.
|
|
| 7. |
- Aleksandrova, Krasimira, et al.
(author)
-
The association of coffee intake with liver cancer risk is mediated by biomarkers of inflammation and hepatocellular injury : data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
- 2015
-
In: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : American Society for Nutrition. - 0002-9165 .- 1938-3207. ; 102:6, s. 1498-1508
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Higher coffee intake has been purportedly related to a lower risk of liver cancer. However, it remains unclear whether this association may be accounted for by specific biological mechanisms. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the potential mediating roles of inflammatory, metabolic, liver injury, and iron metabolism biomarkers on the association between coffee intake and the primary form of liver cancer-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Design: We conducted a prospective nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition among 125 incident HCC cases matched to 250 controls using an incidence-density sampling procedure. The association of coffee intake with HCC risk was evaluated by using multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression that accounted for smoking, alcohol consumption, hepatitis infection, and other established liver cancer risk factors. The mediating effects of 21 biomarkers were evaluated on the basis of percentage changes and associated 95% CIs in the estimated regression coefficients of models with and without adjustment for biomarkers individually and in combination. Results: The multivariable-adjusted RR of having >= 4 cups (600mL) coffee/d compared with <2 cups (300 mL)/d was 0.25 (95% CI: 0.11, 0.62; P-trend = 0.006). A statistically significant attenuation of the association between coffee intake and HCC risk and thereby suspected mediation was confirmed for the inflammatory biomarker IL-6 and for the biomarkers of hepatocellular injury glutamate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and total bilirubin, which-in combination-attenuated the regression coefficients by 72% (95% CI: 7%, 239%). Of the investigated biomarkers, IL-6, AST, and GGT produced the highest change in the regression coefficients: 40%, 56%, and 60%, respectively. Conclusion: These data suggest that the inverse association of coffee intake with HCC risk was partly accounted for by biomarkers of inflammation and hepatocellular injury.
|
|
| 8. |
- Aleksandrova, Krasimira, et al.
(author)
-
Total and high-molecular-weight adiponectin and risk of colorectal cancer : the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition study
- 2012
-
In: Carcinogenesis. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0143-3334 .- 1460-2180. ; 33:6, s. 1211-1218
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Adiponectin - an adipose-tissue-derived protein may provide a molecular link between obesity and colorectal cancer (CRC), but evidence from large prospective studies is limited. In particular, no epidemiological study explored high-molecular-weight (HMW) and non-HMW adiponectin fractions in relation to CRC risk, despite they were hypothesised to have differential biological activities, i.e. regulating insulin sensitivity (HMW-adiponectin) versus inflammatory response (non-HMW-adiponectin). In a prospective nested case-control study we investigated whether pre-diagnostic serum concentrations of total, HMW and non-HMW-adiponectin are associated with risk of CRC, independent of obesity and other known CRC risk factors. A total of 1206 incident cases (755 colon, 451 rectal) were matched to 1206 controls using incidence density sampling. In conditional logistic regression, adjusted for dietary and lifestyle factors, total adiponectin and non-HMW-adiponectin concentrations were inversely associated with risk of CRC [relative risk (RR) comparing highest versus lowest quintile = 0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.53-0.95, P (trend)=0.03 for total adiponectin and 0.45, 95%CI=0.34-0.61, P (trend)<0.0001 for non-HMW-adiponectin]. HMW-adiponectin concentrations were not associated with CRC risk (RR=0.91, 95%CI=0.68-1.22, P (trend)=0.55). Non-HMW-adiponectin was associated with CRC risk even after adjustment for body mass index and waist circumference (RR=0.39, 95%CI=0.26-0.60, P (trend)<0.0001); whereas the association with total adiponectin was no longer significant (RR=0.81, 95%CI=0.60-1.09, P (trend)=0.23). When stratified by cancer site, non-HMW-adiponectin was inversely associated with both colon and rectal cancer. These findings suggest an important role of the relative proportion of non-HMW-adiponectin in CRC pathogenesis. Future studies are warranted to confirm these results and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
|
|
| 9. |
- Bamia, Christina, et al.
(author)
-
Coffee, tea and decaffeinated coffee in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma in a European population: Multicentre, prospective cohort study
- 2015
-
In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 136, s. 1899-1908
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2014 UICC. Inverse associations of coffee and/or tea in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk have been consistently identified in studies conducted mostly in Asia where consumption patterns of such beverages differ from Europe. In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC), we identified 201 HCC cases among 486,799 men/women, after a median follow-up of 11 years. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for HCC incidence in relation to quintiles/categories of coffee/tea intakes. We found that increased coffee and tea intakes were consistently associated with lower HCC risk. The inverse associations were substantial, monotonic and statistically significant. Coffee consumers in the highest compared to the lowest quintile had lower HCC risk by 72% [HR: 0.28; 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 0.16-0.50, p-trend < 0.001]. The corresponding association of tea with HCC risk was 0.41 (95% CI: 0.22-0.78, p-trend50.003). There was no compelling evidence of heterogeneity of these associations across strata of important HCC risk factors, including hepatitis B or hepatitis C status (available in a nested case-control study). The inverse, monotonic associations of coffee intake with HCC were apparent for caffeinated (p-trend50.009), but not decaffeinated (p-trend50.45) coffee for which, however, data were available for a fraction of subjects. Results from this multicentre, European cohort study strengthen the existing evidence regarding the inverse association between coffee/tea and HCC risk. Given the apparent lack of heterogeneity of these associations by HCC risk factors and that coffee/tea are universal exposures, our results could have important implications for high HCC risk subjects.
|
|
| 10. |
- Bamia, Christina, et al.
(author)
-
Mediterranean diet and colorectal cancer risk: results from a European cohort
- 2013
-
In: European Journal of Epidemiology. - Dordrecht : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-7284 .- 0393-2990. ; 28:4, s. 317-328
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The authors investigated the association of adherence to Mediterranean diet with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition study. Adherence to Mediterranean diet was expressed through two 10-unit scales, the Modified Mediterranean diet score (MMDS) and the Centre-Specific MMDS (CSMMDS). Both scales share the same dietary components but differ in the cut-off values that were used for these components in the construction of the scales. Adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for the associations of these scales with CRC incidence were estimated. After 5,296,617 person-years of follow-up, 4,355 incident CRC cases were identified. A decreased risk of CRC, of 8 and 11 % was estimated when comparing the highest (scores 6-9) with the lowest (scores 0-3) adherence to CSMMDS and MMDS respectively. For MMDS the HR was 0.89 (95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.80, 0.99). A 2-unit increment in either Mediterranean scale was associated with a borderline statistically significant 3 to 4 % reduction in CRC risk (HR for MMDS: 0.96; 95 % CI: 0.92, 1.00). These associations were somewhat more evident, among women, were mainly manifested for colon cancer risk and their magnitude was not altered when alcohol was excluded from MMDS. These findings suggest that following a Mediterranean diet may have a modest beneficial effect on CRC risk.
|
|
