| 1. |
- Jiang, X., et al.
(author)
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Shared heritability and functional enrichment across six solid cancers
- 2019
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Quantifying the genetic correlation between cancers can provide important insights into the mechanisms driving cancer etiology. Using genome-wide association study summary statistics across six cancer types based on a total of 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, here we estimate the pair-wise genetic correlations between breast, colorectal, head/neck, lung, ovary and prostate cancer, and between cancers and 38 other diseases. We observed statistically significant genetic correlations between lung and head/neck cancer (r(g) = 0.57, p = 4.6 x 10(-8)), breast and ovarian cancer (r(g) = 0.24, p = 7 x 10(-5)), breast and lung cancer (r(g) = 0.18, p = 1.5 x 10(-6)) and breast and colorectal cancer (r(g) = 0.15, p = 1.1 x 10(-4)). We also found that multiple cancers are genetically correlated with non-cancer traits including smoking, psychiatric diseases and metabolic characteristics. Functional enrichment analysis revealed a significant excess contribution of conserved and regulatory regions to cancer heritability. Our comprehensive analysis of cross-cancer heritability suggests that solid tumors arising across tissues share in part a common germline genetic basis.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Key, T. J., et al.
(author)
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Circulating sex hormones and breast cancer risk factors in postmenopausal women: reanalysis of 13 studies
- 2011
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In: British Journal of Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1532-1827 .- 0007-0920. ; 105:5, s. 709-722
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Breast cancer risk for postmenopausal women is positively associated with circulating concentrations of oestrogens and androgens, but the determinants of these hormones are not well understood. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses of breast cancer risk factors and circulating hormone concentrations in more than 6000 postmenopausal women controls in 13 prospective studies. RESULTS: Concentrations of all hormones were lower in older than younger women, with the largest difference for dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), whereas sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) was higher in the older women. Androgens were lower in women with bilateral ovariectomy than in naturally postmenopausal women, with the largest difference for free testosterone. All hormones were higher in obese than lean women, with the largest difference for free oestradiol, whereas SHBG was lower in obese women. Smokers of 15+ cigarettes per day had higher levels of all hormones than non-smokers, with the largest difference for testosterone. Drinkers of 20+ g alcohol per day had higher levels of all hormones, but lower SHBG, than non-drinkers, with the largest difference for DHEAS. Hormone concentrations were not strongly related to age at menarche, parity, age at first full-term pregnancy or family history of breast cancer. CONCLUSION: Sex hormone concentrations were strongly associated with several established or suspected risk factors for breast cancer, and may mediate the effects of these factors on breast cancer risk. British Journal of Cancer (2011) 105, 709-722. doi:10.1038/bjc.2011.254 www.bjcancer.com Published online 19 July 2011 (C) 2011 Cancer Research UK
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| 4. |
- Brenner, Darren R, et al.
(author)
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Identification of lung cancer histology-specific variants applying Bayesian framework variant prioritization approaches within the TRICL and ILCCO consortia
- 2015
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In: Carcinogenesis. - : Oxford University Press. - 0143-3334 .- 1460-2180. ; 36:11, s. 1314-1326
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have likely uncovered all common variants at the GWAS significance level. Additional variants within the suggestive range (0.0001> P > 5×10−8) are, however, still of interest for identifying causal associations. This analysis aimed to apply novel variant prioritization approaches to identify additional lung cancer variants that may not reach the GWAS level. Effects were combined across studies with a total of 33456 controls and 6756 adenocarcinoma (AC; 13 studies), 5061 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; 12 studies) and 2216 small cell lung cancer cases (9 studies). Based on prior information such as variant physical properties and functional significance, we applied stratified false discovery rates, hierarchical modeling and Bayesian false discovery probabilities for variant prioritization. We conducted a fine mapping analysis as validation of our methods by examining top-ranking novel variants in six independent populations with a total of 3128 cases and 2966 controls. Three novel loci in the suggestive range were identified based on our Bayesian framework analyses: KCNIP4 at 4p15.2 (rs6448050, P = 4.6×10−7) and MTMR2 at 11q21 (rs10501831, P = 3.1×10−6) with SCC, as well as GAREM at 18q12.1 (rs11662168, P = 3.4×10−7) with AC. Use of our prioritization methods validated two of the top three loci associated with SCC (P = 1.05×10−4 for KCNIP4, represented by rs9799795) and AC (P = 2.16×10−4 for GAREM, represented by rs3786309) in the independent fine mapping populations. This study highlights the utility of using prior functional data for sequence variants in prioritization analyses to search for robust signals in the suggestive range.
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| 5. |
- Fortner, Renee T., et al.
(author)
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Ovarian Cancer Risk Factor Associations by Primary Anatomic Site : The Ovarian Cancer Cohort Consortium
- 2020
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In: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - : American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 29:10, s. 2010-2018
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers have shared developmental pathways. Few studies have prospectively examined heterogeneity in risk factor associations across these three anatomic sites.Methods: We identified 3,738 ovarian, 337 peritoneal, and 176 fallopian tube incident cancer cases in 891,731 women from 15 prospective cohorts in the Ovarian Cancer Cohort Consortium. Associations between 18 putative risk factors and risk of ovarian, peritoneal, and fallopian tube cancer, overall and for serous and high-grade serous tumors, were evaluated using competing risks Cox proportional hazards regression. Heterogeneity was assessed by likelihood ratio tests.Results: Most associations did not vary by tumor site (P-het = 0.05). Associations between first pregnancy (P-het = 0.04), tubal ligation (P-het = 0.01), and early-adult (age 18-21 years) body mass index (BMI; P-het = 0.02) and risk differed between ovarian and peritoneal cancers. The association between early-adult BMI and risk further differed between peritoneal and fallopian tube cancer (P-het = 0.03). First pregnancy and tubal ligation were inversely associated with ovarian, but not peritoneal, cancer. Higher early-adult BMI was associated with higher risk of peritoneal, but not ovarian or fallopian tube, cancer. Patterns were generally similar when restricted to serous and high-grade serous cases.Conclusions: Ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers appear to have both shared and distinct etiologic pathways, although most risk factors appear to have similar associations by anatomic site.Impact: Further studies on the mechanisms underlying the differences in risk profiles may provide insights regarding the developmental origins of tumors arising in the peritoneal cavity and inform prevention efforts.
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| 6. |
- Hathaway, Cassandra A., et al.
(author)
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Prolactin and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer
- 2021
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In: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - : American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 30:9, s. 1652-1659
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Prolactin is synthesized in the ovaries and may play a role in ovarian cancer etiology. One prior prospective study observed a suggestive positive association between prolactin levels and risk of ovarian cancer.Methods: Weconducted a pooled case-control study of 703 cases and 864 matched controls nested within five prospective cohorts. We used unconditional logistic regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between prolactin and ovarian cancer risk. We examined heterogeneity by menopausal status at blood collection, body mass index (BMI), age, and histotype.Results: Among women with known menopausal status, we observed a positive trend in the association between prolactin and ovarian cancer risk (Ptrend = 0.045; OR, quartile 4 vs. 1 = 1.34; 95% CI = 0.97–1.85), but no significant association was observed for premenopausal or postmenopausal women individually (corresponding OR = 1.38; 95% CI = 0.74–2.58; Ptrend = 0.32 and OR = 1.41; 95% CI = 0.93–2.13; Ptrend = 0.08, respectively; Pheterogeneity = 0.91). In stratified analyses, we observed a positive association between prolactin and risk for women with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, but not BMI < 25 kg/m2 (corresponding OR = 2.68; 95% CI = 1.56–4.59; Ptrend < 0.01 and OR = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.58–1.40; Ptrend = 0.98, respectively; Pheterogeneity < 0.01). Associations did not vary by age, postmenopausal hormone therapy use, histotype, or time between blood draw and diagnosis.Conclusions: We found a trend between higher prolactin levels and increased ovarian cancer risk, especially among women with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2.Impact: This work supports a previous study linking higher prolactin with ovarian carcinogenesis in a high adiposity setting. Future work is needed to understand the mechanism underlying this association.
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| 7. |
- Trabert, Britton, et al.
(author)
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The Risk of Ovarian Cancer Increases with an Increase in the Lifetime Number of Ovulatory Cycles : An Analysis from the Ovarian Cancer Cohort Consortium (OC3)
- 2020
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In: Cancer Research. - : AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH. - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 80:5, s. 1210-1218
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Repeated exposure to the acute proinflammatory environment that follows ovulation at the ovarian surface and distal fallopian tube over a woman's reproductive years may increase ovarian cancer risk. To address this, analyses included individual-level data from 558,709 naturally menopausal women across 20 prospective cohorts, among whom 3,246 developed invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (2,045 serous, 319 endometrioid, 184 mucinous, 121 clear cell, 577 other/unknown). Cox models were used to estimate multivariable-adjusted HRs between lifetime ovulatory cycles (LOC) and its components and ovarian cancer risk overall and by histotype. Women in the 90th percentile of LOC (>514 cycles) were almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer than women in the 10th percentile (<294) [HR (95% confidence interval): 1.92 (1.60-2.30)]. Risk increased 14% per 5-year increase in LOC (60 cycles) [(1.10-1.17)]; this association remained after adjustment for LOC components: number of pregnancies and oral contraceptive use [1.08 (1.04-1.12)]. The association varied by histotype, with increased risk of serous [1.13 (1.09-1.17)], endometrioid [1.20 (1.10-1.32)], and clear cell [1.37 (1.18-1.58)], but not mucinous [0.99 (0.88-1.10), P-heterogeneity = 0.01] tumors. Heterogeneity across histotypes was reduced [P-heterogeneity = 0.15] with adjustment for LOC components [1.08 serous, 1.11 endometrioid, 1.26 clear cell, 0.94 mucinous]. Although the 10-year absolute risk of ovarian cancer is small, it roughly doubles as the number of LOC rises from approximately 300 to 500. The consistency and linearity of effects strongly support the hypothesis that each ovulation leads to small increases in the risk of most ovarian cancers, a risk that cumulates through life, suggesting this as an important area for identifying intervention strategies.
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| 8. |
- Yang, Meng, et al.
(author)
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Prediagnosis leukocyte telomere length and risk of ovarian cancer
- 2016
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In: Clinical Cancer Research. - : American Association for Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 22
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Introduction: Ovarian cancer is characterized by substantial genomic instability. Telomeres, which protect the physical integrity of chromosomes, are shortened by each cell division, and evidence supports that longer telomeres may reduce genomic instability. While retrospective studies generally support an inverse association of telomere length and ovarian cancer risk, the measures of telomere length after diagnosis may be influenced by treatment. Therefore, we examined the relationship between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) assessed prior to diagnosis and risk of ovarian cancer in three prospective studies. Methods: We used buffy coat samples collected from healthy participants in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), NHSII, and the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (NSHDS). Women who later developed ovarian cancer were matched to one or two controls on age, menopausal status, and date of blood collection. LTL was assessed using quantitative PCR-based assays in 5 batches with coefficients of variation of 10-15%. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression, based on study-specific quartiles in controls, for each study separately. We used fixed-effects models for meta-analysis. Multivariate models adjusted for oral contraceptive use, tubal ligation, family history of ovarian cancer, parity, smoking status, and body mass index. Results: In total, there were 487 cases and 810 controls across the three studies. The mean age at blood collection ranged from 45 (NHSII) to 57 (NHS) years. In unadjusted and multivariate models, we observed a suggestion of an inverse association between LTL and ovarian cancer risk in each study, although none of the trend tests were statistically significant. In a meta-analysis of the multivariate adjusted models, women in the longest versus shortest quartile of LTL had a non-significant 26% lower risk of ovarian cancer (OR=0.74; 95%CI=0.49-1.12; p-trend=0.33). Conclusion: In this first prospective study of telomere length and ovarian cancer risk, we observed that longer leukocyte telomere length was suggestively associated with lower ovarian cancer risk. Given that serous tumors are more likely to exhibit genomic instability, we are currently evaluating the association for this subtype as well as conducting pooled analyses with common quartile cut points across studies.
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| 9. |
- Yang, Meng, et al.
(author)
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Prediagnosis Leukocyte Telomere Length and Risk of Ovarian Cancer
- 2017
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In: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 26:3, s. 339-345
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The associations between telomere length and cancer risk are equivocal, and none have examined the association between prediagnosis leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Methods: We prospectively measured LTL collected from 442 ovarian cancer cases and 727 controls in the Nurses' Health Studies and the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study. Cases were matched to one or two controls on age, menopausal status, and date of blood collection. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression. Results: LTL was measured a median of 9.5 years before ovarian cancer diagnosis among cases. We observed a decreased risk of ovarian cancer with longer LTL. In multivariable models, women in the top quartile of LTL had an OR for ovarian cancer of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.46-0.97) compared with those in the bottom quartile. Inverse associations were stronger for nonserous cases (ORquartile (4 vs. quartile 1 of LTL) = 0.55, 95% CI, 0.33-0.94) and rapidly fatal cases (i.e., cases who died within 3 years of diagnosis; ORquartile 4 vs. quartile 1 of LTL = 0.55, 95% CI, 0.32-0.95). Conclusions: Our prospective findings suggest that longer circulating LTL may be associated with a lower ovarian cancer risk, especially for nonserous and rapidly fatal cases. The evaluation of LTL in relation to ovarian cancer risk by tumor subtypes is warranted in larger prospective studies. Impact: Prediagnosis LTL may reflect an early event in the ovarian cancer development and could serve as a biomarker to predict future risk.
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| 10. |
- Fortner, Renée T., et al.
(author)
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Ovarian cancer risk factors by tumor aggressiveness : An analysis from the Ovarian Cancer Cohort Consortium
- 2019
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 145:1, s. 58-69
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ovarian cancer risk factors differ by histotype; however, within subtype, there is substantial variability in outcomes. We hypothesized that risk factor profiles may influence tumor aggressiveness, defined by time between diagnosis and death, independent of histology. Among 1.3 million women from 21 prospective cohorts, 4,584 invasive epithelial ovarian cancers were identified and classified as highly aggressive (death in <1 year, n = 864), very aggressive (death in 1 to < 3 years, n = 1,390), moderately aggressive (death in 3 to < 5 years, n = 639), and less aggressive (lived 5+ years, n = 1,691). Using competing risks Cox proportional hazards regression, we assessed heterogeneity of associations by tumor aggressiveness for all cases and among serous and endometrioid/clear cell tumors. Associations between parity (phet = 0.01), family history of ovarian cancer (phet = 0.02), body mass index (BMI; phet ≤ 0.04) and smoking (phet < 0.01) and ovarian cancer risk differed by aggressiveness. A first/single pregnancy, relative to nulliparity, was inversely associated with highly aggressive disease (HR: 0.72; 95% CI [0.58-0.88]), no association was observed for subsequent pregnancies (per pregnancy, 0.97 [0.92-1.02]). In contrast, first and subsequent pregnancies were similarly associated with less aggressive disease (0.87 for both). Family history of ovarian cancer was only associated with risk of less aggressive disease (1.94 [1.47-2.55]). High BMI (≥35 vs. 20 to < 25 kg/m2 , 1.93 [1.46-2.56] and current smoking (vs. never, 1.30 [1.07-1.57]) were associated with increased risk of highly aggressive disease. Results were similar within histotypes. Ovarian cancer risk factors may be directly associated with subtypes defined by tumor aggressiveness, rather than through differential effects on histology. Studies to assess biological pathways are warranted.
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