| 1. |
- Bakker, Marije F., et al.
(author)
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Plasma carotenoids, vitamin C, tocopherols, and retinol and the risk of breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort
- 2016
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In: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9165 .- 1938-3207. ; 103:2, s. 454-464
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Carotenoids and vitamin C are thought to be associated with reduced cancer risk because of their antioxidative capacity.Objective: This study evaluated the associations of plasma carotenoid, retinol, tocopherol, and vitamin C concentrations and risk of breast cancer.Design: In a nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, 1502 female incident breast cancer cases were included, with an oversampling of premenopausal (n = 582) and estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) cases (n = 462). Controls (n = 1502) were individually matched to cases by using incidence density sampling. Prediagnostic samples were analyzed for alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, retinol, alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, and 454 vitamin C. Breast cancer risk was computed according to hormone receptor status and age at diagnosis (proxy for menopausal status) by using conditional logistic regression and was further stratified by smoking status, alcohol consumption, and body mass index (BMI). All statistical tests were 2-sided.Results: In quintile 5 compared with quintile 1, alpha-carotene (OR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.39, 0.98) and beta-carotene (OR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.26, 0.65) were inversely associated with risk of ER- breast tumors. The other analytes were not statistically associated with ER- breast cancer. For estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) tumors, no statistically significant associations were found. The test for heterogeneity between ER- and ER+ tumors was statistically significant only for beta-carotene (P-heterogeneity = 0.03). A higher risk of breast cancer was found for retinol in relation to ER-/progesterone receptor-negative tumors (OR: 2.37; 95% CI: 1.20, 4.67; P-heterogeneity with ER+/progesterone receptor positive = 0.06). We observed no statistically significant interaction between smoking, alcohol, or BMI and all investigated plasma analytes (based on tertile distribution).Conclusion: Our results indicate that higher concentrations of plasma beta-carotene and alpha-carotene are associated with lower breast cancer risk of ER tumors.
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| 2. |
- Campanella, Gianluca, et al.
(author)
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Epigenome-wide association study of adiposity and future risk of obesity-related diseases
- 2018
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In: International Journal of Obesity. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0307-0565 .- 1476-5497. ; 42:12, s. 2022-2035
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Obesity is an established risk factor for several common chronic diseases such as breast and colorectal cancer, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases; however, the biological basis for these relationships is not fully understood. To explore the association of obesity with these conditions, we investigated peripheral blood leucocyte (PBL) DNA methylation markers for adiposity and their contribution to risk of incident breast and colorectal cancer and myocardial infarction.Methods: DNA methylation profiles (Illumina Infinium® HumanMethylation450 BeadChip) from 1941 individuals from four population-based European cohorts were analysed in relation to body mass index, waist circumference, waist-hip and waistheight ratio within a meta-analytical framework. In a subset of these individuals, data on genome-wide gene expression level, biomarkers of glucose and lipid metabolism were also available. Validation of methylation markers associated with all adiposity measures was performed in 358 individuals. Finally, we investigated the association of obesity-related methylation marks with breast, colorectal cancer and myocardial infarction within relevant subsets of the discovery population.Results: We identified 40 CpG loci with methylation levels associated with at least one adiposity measure. Of these, one CpG locus (cg06500161) in ABCG1 was associated with all four adiposity measures (P=9.07×10−8 to 3.27×10−18) and lower transcriptional activity of the full-length isoform of ABCG1 (P=6.00×10−7), higher triglyceride levels (P=5.37×10−9) and higher triglycerides-to-HDL cholesterol ratio (P=1.03×10−10). Of the 40 informative and obesity-related CpG loci, two (in IL2RB and FGF18) were significantly associated with colorectal cancer (inversely, P<1.6×10−3) and one intergenic locus on chromosome 1 was inversely associated with myocardial infarction (P<1.25×10−3), independently of obesity and established risk factors.Conclusion: Our results suggest that epigenetic changes, in particular altered DNA methylation patterns, may be an intermediate biomarker at the intersection of obesity and obesity-related diseases, and could offer clues as to underlying biological mechanisms.
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| 3. |
- Fedirko, Veronika, et al.
(author)
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Vitamin D-Related Genes, Blood Vitamin D Levels and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Western European Populations
- 2019
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In: Nutrients. - : MDPI. - 2072-6643. ; 11:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Higher circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (25(OH)D) have been found to be associated with lower risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) in prospective studies. Whether this association is modified by genetic variation in genes related to vitamin D metabolism and action has not been well studied in humans. We investigated 1307 functional and tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; individually, and by gene/pathway) in 86 vitamin D-related genes in 1420 incident CRC cases matched to controls from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. We also evaluated the association between these SNPs and circulating 25(OH)D in a subset of controls. We confirmed previously reported CRC risk associations between SNPs in the VDR, GC, and CYP27B1 genes. We also identified additional associations with 25(OH)D, as well as CRC risk, and several potentially novel SNPs in genes related to vitamin D transport and action (LRP2, CUBN, NCOA7, and HDAC9). However, none of these SNPs were statistically significant after Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) multiple testing correction. When assessed by a priori defined functional pathways, tumor growth factor beta (TGF beta) signaling was associated with CRC risk (P <= 0.001), with most statistically significant genes being SMAD7 (P-BH = 0.008) and SMAD3 (P-BH = 0.008), and 18 SNPs in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) binding sites (P = 0.036). The 25(OH)D-gene pathway analysis suggested that genetic variants in the genes related to VDR complex formation and transcriptional activity are associated with CRC depending on 25(OH)D levels (interaction P = 0.041). Additional studies in large populations and consortia, especially with measured circulating 25(OH)D, are needed to confirm our findings.
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| 4. |
- Figueroa, Jonine D., et al.
(author)
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Identification of a novel susceptibility locus at 13q34 and refinement of the 20p12.2 region as a multi-signal locus associated with bladder cancer risk in individuals of European ancestry
- 2016
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In: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press. - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 25:6, s. 1203-1214
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Candidate gene and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 15 independent genomic regions associated with bladder cancer risk. In search for additional susceptibility variants, we followed up on four promising single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that had not achieved genome-wide significance in 6911 cases and 11 814 controls (rs6104690, rs4510656, rs5003154 and rs4907479, P < 1 × 10−6), using additional data from existing GWAS datasets and targeted genotyping for studies that did not have GWAS data. In a combined analysis, which included data on up to 15 058 cases and 286 270 controls, two SNPs achieved genome-wide statistical significance: rs6104690 in a gene desert at 20p12.2 (P = 2.19 × 10−11) and rs4907479 within the MCF2L gene at 13q34 (P = 3.3 × 10−10). Imputation and fine-mapping analyses were performed in these two regions for a subset of 5551 bladder cancer cases and 10 242 controls. Analyses at the 13q34 region suggest a single signal marked by rs4907479. In contrast, we detected two signals in the 20p12.2 region—the first signal is marked by rs6104690, and the second signal is marked by two moderately correlated SNPs (r2 = 0.53), rs6108803 and the previously reported rs62185668. The second 20p12.2 signal is more strongly associated with the risk of muscle-invasive (T2-T4 stage) compared with non-muscle-invasive (Ta, T1 stage) bladder cancer (case–case P ≤ 0.02 for both rs62185668 and rs6108803). Functional analyses are needed to explore the biological mechanisms underlying these novel genetic associations with risk for bladder cancer.
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| 5. |
- Fonseca-Nunes, Ana, et al.
(author)
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Body iron status and gastric cancer risk in the EURGAST study.
- 2015
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 137:12, s. 2904-2914
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although it appears biologically plausible for iron to be associated with gastric carcinogenesis, the evidence is insufficient to lead to any conclusions. To further investigate the relationship between body iron status and gastric cancer risk, we conducted a nested case-control study in the multicentric European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The study included 456 primary incident gastric adenocarcinoma cases and 900 matched controls that occurred during an average of 11 years of follow-up. We measured prediagnostic serum iron, ferritin, transferrin and C-reactive protein, and further estimated total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) and transferrin saturation (TS). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of gastric cancer by iron metrics were estimated from multivariable conditional logistic regression models. After adjusting for relevant confounders, we observed a statistically significant inverse association between gastric cancer and ferritin and TS indices (ORlog2 = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.72-0.88; OR10%increment = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.78-0.97, respectively). These associations appear to be restricted to noncardia gastric cancer (ferritin showed a p for heterogeneity = 0.04 and TS had a p for heterogeneity = 0.02), and no differences were found by histological type. TIBC increased risk of overall gastric cancer (OR50 µg/dl = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.02-1.2) and also with noncardia gastric cancer (p for heterogeneity = 0.04). Additional analysis suggests that time between blood draw and gastric cancer diagnosis could modify these findings. In conclusion, our results showed a decreased risk of gastric cancer related to higher body iron stores as measured by serum iron and ferritin. Further investigation is needed to clarify the role of iron in gastric carcinogenesis.
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| 6. |
- Huang, Jiaqi, et al.
(author)
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Helicobacter pylori infection, chronic corpus atrophic gastritis and pancreatic cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort : A nested case-control study
- 2017
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 140:8, s. 1727-1735
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The association between H. pylori infection and pancreatic cancer risk remains controversial. We conducted a nested case-control study with 448 pancreatic cancer cases and their individually matched control subjects, based on the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort, to determine whether there was an altered pancreatic cancer risk associated with H. pylori infection and chronic corpus atrophic gastritis. Conditional logistic regression models were applied to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for matching factors and other potential confounders. Our results showed that pancreatic cancer risk was neither associated with H. pylori seropositivity (OR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.70, 1.31) nor CagA seropositivity (OR = 1.07; 95% CI: 0.77, 1.48). We also did not find any excess risk among individuals seropositive for H. pylori but seronegative for CagA, compared with the group seronegative for both antibodies (OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.63, 1.38). However, we found that chronic corpus atrophic gastritis was non-significantly associated with an increased pancreatic cancer risk (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 0.77, 2.37), and although based on small numbers, the excess risk was particularly marked among individuals seronegative for both H. pylori and CagA (OR = 5.66; 95% CI: 1.59, 20.19, p value for interaction < 0.01). Our findings provided evidence supporting the null association between H. pylori infection and pancreatic cancer risk in western European populations. However, the suggested association between chronic corpus atrophic gastritis and pancreatic cancer risk warrants independent verification in future studies, and, if confirmed, further studies on the underlying mechanisms.
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| 7. |
- Hughes, David J., et al.
(author)
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Prediagnostic selenium status and hepatobiliary cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort
- 2016
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In: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9165 .- 1938-3207. ; 104:2, s. 406-414
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Selenium status is suboptimal in many Europeans and may be a risk factor for the development of various cancers, including those of the liver and biliary tract.Objective: We wished to examine whether selenium status in advance of cancer onset is associated with hepatobiliary cancers in the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study.Design: We assessed prediagnostic selenium status by measuring serum concentrations of selenium and selenoprotein P (SePP; the major circulating selenium transfer protein) and examined the association with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; n = 121), gallbladder and biliary tract cancers (GBTCs; n = 100), and intrahepatic bile duct cancer (IHBC; n = 40) risk in a nested case-control design within the EPIC study. Selenium was measured by total reflection X-ray fluorescence, and SePP was determined by a colorimetric sandwich ELISA. Multivariable ORs and 95% CIs were calculated by using conditional logistic regression.Results: HCC and GBTC cases, but not IHBC cases, showed significantly lower circulating selenium and SePP concentrations than their matched controls. Higher circulating selenium was associated with a significantly lower HCC risk (OR per 20-mg/L increase: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.72) but not with the risk of GBTC or IHBC. Similarly, higher SePP concentrations were associated with lowered HCC risk only in both the categorical and continuous analyses (HCC: P-trend <= 0.0001; OR per 1.5-mg/L increase: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.63).Conclusion: These findings from a large prospective cohort provide evidence that suboptimal selenium status in Europeans may be associated with an appreciably increased risk of HCC development.
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| 8. |
- Huseinovic, Ena, et al.
(author)
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Timing of eating across ten European countries : results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) calibration study
- 2019
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In: Public Health Nutrition. - : Nutrition Society. - 1368-9800 .- 1475-2727. ; 22:2, s. 324-335
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To examine timing of eating across ten European countries.DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) calibration study using standardized 24 h diet recalls collected during 1995-2000. Eleven predefined food consumption occasions were assessed during the recall interview. We present time of consumption of meals and snacks as well as the later:earlier energy intake ratio, with earlier and later intakes defined as 06.00-14.00 and 15.00-24.00 hours, respectively. Type III tests were used to examine associations of sociodemographic, lifestyle and health variables with timing of energy intake.SETTING: Ten Western European countries.SUBJECTS: In total, 22 985 women and 13 035 men aged 35-74 years (n 36 020).RESULTS: A south-north gradient was observed for timing of eating, with later consumption of meals and snacks in Mediterranean countries compared with Central and Northern European countries. However, the energy load was reversed, with the later:earlier energy intake ratio ranging from 0·68 (France) to 1·39 (Norway) among women, and from 0·71 (Greece) to 1·35 (the Netherlands) among men. Among women, country, age, education, marital status, smoking, day of recall and season were all independently associated with timing of energy intake (all P<0·05). Among men, the corresponding variables were country, age, education, smoking, physical activity, BMI and day of recall (all P<0·05).CONCLUSIONS: We found pronounced differences in timing of eating across Europe, with later meal timetables but greater energy load earlier during the day in Mediterranean countries compared with Central and Northern European countries.
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| 9. |
- Kelly, Rachel S., et al.
(author)
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Determinants of the t(14;18) translocation and their role in t(14;18)-positive follicular lymphoma
- 2015
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In: Cancer Causes and Control. - : Springer Netherlands. - 0957-5243 .- 1573-7225. ; 26:12, s. 1845-1855
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The strong association between t(14;18) translocation and follicular lymphoma (FL) is well known. However, the determinants of this chromosomal aberration and their role in t(14;18) associated FL remain to be established.Methods: t(14;18) frequency within the B cell lymphoma 2 major breakpoint region was determined for 135 incident FL cases and 251 healthy controls as part of a nested case–control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer cohort. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed in DNA extracted from blood samples taken at recruitment. The relationship between prevalence and frequency of the translocation with baseline anthropometric, lifestyle, and dietary factors in cases and controls was determined. Unconditional logistic regression was used to explore whether the risk of FL associated with these factors differed in t(14;18)+ as compared to t(14;18)− cases.Results: Among incident FL cases, educational level (χ 2 p = 0.021) and height (χ 2 p = 0.025) were positively associated with t(14;18) prevalence, and cases with high frequencies [t(14;18)HF] were significantly taller (t test p value = 0.006). These findings were not replicated in the control population, although there were a number of significant associations with dietary variables. Further analyses revealed that height was a significant risk factor for t(14;18)+ FL [OR 6.31 (95 % CI 2.11, 18.9) in the tallest versus the shortest quartile], but not t(14;18)− cases.Conclusions: These findings suggest a potential role for lifestyle factors in the prevalence and frequency of the t(14;18) translocation. The observation that the etiology of FL may differ by t(14;18) status, particularly with regard to height, supports the subdivision of FL by translocation status.
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| 10. |
- Key, Timothy J., et al.
(author)
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Consumption of Meat, Fish, Dairy Products, Eggs and Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease : A Prospective Study of 7198 Incident Cases Among 409,885 Participants in the Pan-European EPIC Cohort
- 2019
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In: Circulation. - : Wolters Kluwer. - 0009-7322 .- 1524-4539. ; 139:25, s. 2835-2845
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: There is uncertainty about the relevance of animal foods to the etiology of ischemic heart disease (IHD). We examined meat, fish, dairy products and eggs and risk for IHD in the pan-European EPIC cohort.METHODS: A prospective study of 409,885 men and women in nine European countries. Diet was assessed using validated questionnaires, calibrated using 24-hour recalls. Lipids and blood pressure were measured in a subsample. During 12.6 years mean follow up, 7198 participants had a myocardial infarction or died from IHD. The relationships of animal foods with risk were examined using Cox regression with adjustment for other animal foods and relevant covariates.RESULTS: The hazard ratio (HR) for IHD was 1.19 (95% CI 1.06-1.33) for a 100 g/d increment in intake of red and processed meat, and this remained significant after excluding the first 4 years of follow-up (HR 1.25 [1.09-1.42]). Risk was inversely associated with intakes of yogurt (HR 0.93 [0.89-0.98] per 100 g/d increment), cheese (HR 0.92 [0.86-0.98] per 30 g/d increment) and eggs (HR 0.93 [0.88-0.99] per 20 g/d increment); the associations with yogurt and eggs were attenuated and non-significant after excluding the first 4 years of follow-up. Risk was not significantly associated with intakes of poultry, fish or milk. In analyses modelling dietary substitutions, replacement of 100 kcal/d from red and processed meat with 100 kcal/d from fatty fish, yogurt, cheese or eggs was associated with approximately 20% lower risk of IHD. Consumption of red and processed meat was positively associated with serum non-HDL cholesterol concentration and systolic blood pressure, and consumption of cheese was inversely associated with serum non-HDL cholesterol.CONCLUSIONS: Risk for IHD was positively associated with consumption of red and processed meat, and inversely associated with consumption of yogurt, cheese and eggs, although the associations with yogurt and eggs may be influenced by reverse causation bias. It is not clear whether the associations with red and processed meat and cheese reflect causality, but they were consistent with the associations of these foods with plasma non-HDL cholesterol, and for red and processed meat with systolic blood pressure, which could mediate such effects.
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