Background

Estrogens are recognized causal factors in breast cancer. Interindividual variation in estrogen metabolism may also influence the risk of breast cancer and could provide clues to mechanisms of breast carcinogenesis. Long-standing hypotheses about how estrogen metabolism might influence breast cancer have not been adequately evaluated in epidemiological studies because of the lack of accurate, reproducible, and high-throughput assays for estrogen metabolites.

Methods

We conducted a prospective case–control study nested within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO). Participants included 277 women who developed invasive breast cancer (case subjects) and 423 matched control subjects; at PLCO baseline, all subjects were aged 55–74 years, postmenopausal and not using hormone therapy, and provided a blood sample. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure serum concentrations of 15 estrogens and estrogen metabolites, in unconjugated and conjugated forms, including the parent estrogens, estrone and estradiol, and estrogen metabolites in pathways defined by irreversible hydroxylation at the C-2, C-4, or C-16 positions of the steroid ring. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) approximating risk in highest vs lowest deciles of individual estrogens and estrogen metabolites, estrogens and estrogen metabolites grouped by metabolic pathways, and metabolic pathway ratios using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results

Nearly all estrogens, estrogen metabolites, and metabolic pathway groups were associated with an increased risk of breast cancer; the serum concentration of unconjugated estradiol was strongly associated with the risk of breast cancer (HR = 2.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.19 to 3.62). No estrogen, estrogen metabolite, or metabolic pathway group remained statistically significantly associated with the risk of breast cancer after adjusting for unconjugated estradiol. The ratio of the 2-hydroxylation pathway to parent estrogens (HR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.51 to 0.87) and the ratio of 4-hydroxylation pathway catechols to 4-hydroxylation pathway methylated catechols (HR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.72) were statistically significantly associated with the risk of breast cancer and remained so after adjustment for unconjugated estradiol.

Conclusions

More extensive 2-hydroxylation of parent estrogens is associated with lower risk, and less extensive methylation of potentially genotoxic 4-hydroxylation pathway catechols is associated with higher risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES

Osteosarcoma typically occurs during puberty. Studies of the association between height and/or birth-weight and osteosarcoma are conflicting. Therefore, we conducted a large pooled analysis of height and birth-weight in osteosarcoma.

METHODS

Patient data from 7 studies of height, and 3 of birth-weight were obtained, resulting in 1067 cases with height and 434 cases with birth-weight data. We compared cases to the 2000 US National Center for Health Statistics Growth Charts by simulating 1000 age and gender matched controls per case. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between height or birth-weight and risk of osteosarcoma for each study were estimated using logistic regression. All of the case data were combined for an aggregate analysis.

RESULTS

Compared to average birth-weight subjects (2665–4045g), individuals with high birth-weight (≥4046g) had an increased osteosarcoma risk (OR 1.35, 95%CI 1.01–1.79). Taller than average (51st–89th percentile) and very tall individuals (≥90th percentile) had an increased risk of osteosarcoma (OR 1.35, 95%CI 1.18–1.54, and OR 2.60, 95%CI 2.19–3.07, respectively; Ptrend <0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

This is the largest analysis of height at diagnosis and birth-weight in relation to osteosarcoma. It suggests that rapid bone growth during puberty and in utero contributes to OS etiology.

Background

The objective of this study was to comprehensively profile biological factors in pregnancy that have been postulated to be important components of the in utero environment and may also have relevance to later susceptibility to cancer and other chronic diseases.

Methods

Steroid sex hormones, IGFs, and angiogenic factors were measured in maternal and cord serum from term, normotensive pregnancies. Spearman correlations and linear regression estimated relationships among the biological factors and clinical characteristics.

Results

The analytes were generally not correlated between maternal and fetal circulations. However, significant correlations were demonstrated among several analytes within maternal or cord samples. A few analytes were associated with clinical characteristics (e.g., maternal IGF-1and IGFBP-3 were inversely correlated with offspring birth weight, while maternal leptin and cord testosterone were positively correlated with this characteristic). Maternal androgens were higher in African-Americans than whites and maternal PlGF and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) were higher in male than female offspring.

Conclusions

There were significant correlations among analytes but the patterns differed depending on whether they were measured in the maternal or fetal circulation. The number and magnitude of correlations among analytes, however, should affect the design and interpretation of future studies.

Objective

We sought to determine if maternal characteristics are associated with angiogenic profile in the first and second trimester of normotensive pregnancies.

Study Design

Circulating levels of maternal placental like growth factor (PlGF), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor (sFlt1), and soluble endoglin (sEng) were measured in serum samples collected during the first (median 11.3 weeks) and second trimester (median 17.1 weeks) of 182 normotensive pregnancies. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured at the same visits when samples were collected to measure angiogenic factors. Linear regression analysis was used to examine associations of the angiogenic measures with maternal characteristics. The association between blood pressure measures and concentrations of angiogenic factors was evaluated using Spearman correlation and linear regression analysis.

Results

In adjusted analyses, nulliparous women had higher sFlt1 concentrations in both first (P=0.06) and second (P=0.001) trimester. Higher BMI was associated with greater sFlt1 concentrations in both the first (P=0.004) and second trimester (P=0.008), but significantly lower sEng concentrations in both trimesters (P=0.002 for first trimester and P=0.0009 for second). Nulliparity and higher BMI also were associated with higher sFlt1/PLGF anti-angiogenic ratios in both first (p=0.05 and p=0.007, respectively) and second trimesters (p=0.003 and p=0.02, respectively). First trimester sFlt1 levels were weakly correlated with first trimester SBP (rs=0.18, p=0.03) and MAP (rs=0.16, p=0.04). Second trimester sEng levels were inversely associated with second trimester MAP (rs= −0.17, p=0.05). Including blood pressure measures in the linear regression models did not change the reported associations of angiogenic factors with maternal characteristics.

Conclusions

These results demonstrate that even early in normotensive pregnancies maternal characteristics are associated with variations in angiogenic profile across this population.

Background

Recently, several genome-wide association studies have identified various genetic susceptibility loci for breast cancer. Relatively little is known about the possible interactions between these loci and the established risk factors for breast cancer.

Methods

To assess interactions between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and established risk factors, we prospectively collected DNA samples and questionnaire data from 8576 breast cancer case subjects and 11 892 control subjects nested within the National Cancer Institute’s Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3). We genotyped 17 germline SNPs (FGFR2-rs2981582, FGFR2-rs3750817, TNRC9-rs3803662, 2q35-rs13387042, MAP3K1-rs889312, 8q24-rs13281615, CASP8-rs1045485, LSP1-rs3817198, COL1A1-rs2075555, COX11-rs6504950, RNF146-rs2180341, 6q25-rs2046210, SLC4A7-rs4973768, NOTCH2-rs11249433, 5p12-rs4415084, 5p12-rs10941679, RAD51L1-rs999737), and odds ratios were estimated by logistic regression to confirm previously reported associations with breast cancer risk. We performed likelihood ratio test to assess interactions between 17 SNPs and nine established risk factors (age at menarche, parity, age at menopause, use of hormone replacement therapy, family history, height, body mass index, smoking status, and alcohol consumption), and a correction for multiple testing of 153 tests (adjusted P value threshold = .05/153 = 3 × 10−4) was done. Case–case comparisons were performed for possible differential associations of polymorphisms by subgroups of tumor stage, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, and age at diagnosis. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results

We confirmed the association of 14 SNPs with breast cancer risk (Ptrend = 2.57 × 10−3 –3.96 × 10−19). Three SNPs (LSP1-rs3817198, COL1A1-rs2075555, and RNF146-rs2180341) did not show association with breast cancer risk. After accounting for multiple testing, no statistically significant interactions were detected between the 17 SNPs and the nine risk factors. We also confirmed that SNPs in FGFR2 and TNRC9 were associated with greater risk of estrogen receptor–positive than estrogen receptor–negative breast cancer (Pheterogeneity = .0016 for FGFR2-rs2981582 and Pheterogeneity = .0053 for TNRC9-rs3803662). SNP 5p12-rs10941679 was statistically significantly associated with greater risk of progesterone receptor–positive than progesterone receptor–negative breast cancer (Pheterogeneity = .0028).

Conclusion

This study does not support the hypothesis that known common breast cancer susceptibility loci strongly modify the associations between established risk factors and breast cancer.

Large prospective cohort studies are critical for identifying etiologic factors for disease, but they require substantial long-term research investment. Such studies can be conducted as multisite consortia of academic medical centers, combinations of smaller ongoing studies, or a single large site such as a dominant regional health-care provider. Still another strategy relies upon centralized conduct of most or all aspects, recruiting through multiple temporary assessment centers. This is the approach used by a large-scale national resource in the United Kingdom known as the “UK Biobank,” which completed recruitment/examination of 503,000 participants between 2007 and 2010 within budget and ahead of schedule. A key lesson from UK Biobank and similar studies is that large studies are not simply small studies made large but, rather, require fundamentally different approaches in which “process” expertise is as important as scientific rigor. Embedding recruitment in a structure that facilitates outcome determination, utilizing comprehensive and flexible information technology, automating biospecimen processing, ensuring broad consent, and establishing essentially autonomous leadership with appropriate oversight are all critical to success. Whether and how these approaches may be transportable to the United States remain to be explored, but their success in studies such as UK Biobank makes a compelling case for such explorations to begin.

The use of cellular telephones has grown explosively during the past two decades, and there are now more than 279 million wireless subscribers in the United States. If cellular phone use causes brain cancer, as some suggest, the potential public health implications could be considerable. One might expect the effects of such a prevalent exposure to be reflected in general population incidence rates, unless the induction period is very long or confined to very long-term users. To address this issue, we examined temporal trends in brain cancer incidence rates in the United States, using data collected by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. Log-linear models were used to estimate the annual percent change in rates among whites. With the exception of the 20–29-year age group, the trends for 1992–2006 were downward or flat. Among those aged 20–29 years, there was a statistically significant increasing trend between 1992 and 2006 among females but not among males. The recent trend in 20–29-year-old women was driven by a rising incidence of frontal lobe cancers. No increases were apparent for temporal or parietal lobe cancers, or cancers of the cerebellum, which involve the parts of the brain that would be more highly exposed to radiofrequency radiation from cellular phones. Frontal lobe cancer rates also rose among 20–29-year-old males, but the increase began earlier than among females and before cell phone use was highly prevalent. Overall, these incidence data do not provide support to the view that cellular phone use causes brain cancer.

Objective

Animal studies have suggested that prenatal Diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure may alter immune system development and function including antigen self-recognition. A cohort study was conducted to investigate whether prenatal DES exposure might influence the incidence of at least some specific autoimmune diseases in women.

Methods

Women who were and were not prenatally exposed to DES have been followed for more than 25 years for numerous health outcomes including autoimmune disease. To verify diagnoses, medical records or physician abstracts were requested for all women who reported a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), optic neuritis (ON) and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Incidence rates of these autoimmune diseases were compared between women who were or were not prenatally DES-exposed.

Results

Overall there was no increase in verified autoimmune disease among DES-exposed women relative to those who were not exposed (Relative Rate (RR) = 1.2; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.7, 2.1). There was, however, a positive association between prenatal DES exposure and RA among women younger than 45 years (RR = 4.9; 95% CI: 1.1, 21.6) and an inverse association among women who were 45 years and older (RR = 0.1; 95% CI 0.01, 0.7).

Conclusions

Overall, these data provide little support for an association between prenatal DES exposure and development of autoimmune disease. The implication that such exposure may be related to RA in an unusual age-related manner is based on small numbers of cases and warrants further study.

Osteosarcoma is a primary bone malignancy that typically occurs during the pubertal growth spurt. Only a few small association studies have evaluated common germ line variation in individuals with osteosarcoma. The 8q24 chromosomal region contains several loci that are associated with risk of many different cancers. We conducted an association study of common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across 8q24 to explore the role this region may play in osteosarcoma risk. We genotyped 214 tag SNPs in 99 osteosarcoma cases and 1430 controls (65 controls from a hospital-based case–control study and 1365 controls from a population-based study). Additive, dominant and recessive genetic models were evaluated using unconditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Analyses of nine SNPs previously associated with cancer did not show strong statistically significant associations. Of the remaining 205 SNPs, 7 were statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05) in one or more genetic models; the most significant association was observed for the additive effect of the minor allele at rs896324 (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.13–2.69, P = 0.01). This study suggests that several SNPs in 8q24 may be associated with osteosarcoma, but the susceptibility observed was modest. Future large studies of osteosarcoma genetic risk factors are warranted to improve our understanding of the genetic contribution to this cancer of adolescents and young adults.

Background

Several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in populations of European descent have identified more than a dozen common genetic variants that are associated with prostate cancer risk.

Methods

To determine whether these variants are also associated with prostate cancer risk in the Chinese population, we evaluated 17 prostate cancer susceptibility loci in a population-based case-control study from Shanghai, including 288 prostate cancer cases and 155 population controls.

Results

After adjusting for age, two of the 17 loci were significantly associated with prostate cancer risk, while the other 15 loci were suggestively associated with prostate cancer risk in this population. The strongest associations were found for chromosome 8q24 Region 2 (rs1016343: OR=2.07, 95% CI: 1.35-3.20, P=9.4×10-4) and 8q24 Region 1 (rs10090154: OR=2.07, 95% CI: 1.31-3.28, P=0.002); additional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) assessed in these two 8q24 regions were also significant (ORRegion2=1.92-2.05, P=9.4×10-4-0.003, and ORRegion1=1.77-1.81, P=0.01 for all SNPs).

Conclusions

Our study shows that multiple prostate cancer risk loci identified in European populations using GWAS are also associated with prostate cancer risk in Chinese men, a low-risk population with mostly clinically relevant cancers. Larger studies in Chinese and Asian populations are needed to confirm these findings and the role of these risk loci in prostate cancer etiology in Asian men.

Background

Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) is associated with adverse health outcomes, including anatomic anomalies of the reproductive tract in women and of the genitourinary tract in men. The mouse model, which replicates many DES-related effects seen in humans, suggests that prenatal DES exposure causes alterations that may affect the next generation of offspring.

Methods

Women participating in a large multi-center study of prenatal DES exposure were asked to report birth defects occurring among 4,029 sons and 3,808 daughters (i.e., the third generation). A subcohort of 793 third generation daughters were also queried for birth defects. We used logistic regression models to generate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association between prenatal DES exposure in the mother and birth defects in the offspring.

Results

Based on the mothers’ reports, overall birth defects were elevated in the sons (OR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.04, 2.23) and in the daughters (OR = 2.35; 95% CI = 1.44, 3.82). Most estimates of association were imprecise, but daughters appeared to have an excess of heart conditions (OR = 4.56; 95% CI = 1.27, 16.34.

Conclusions

. Our data suggest a possible association between the mother’s prenatal DES exposure and birth defects in their offspring, particularly in daughters. We cannot, however, rule-out the possible influence of reporting bias. In particular, the exposed daughters’ elevated risk of cardiac defects may be due to the underreporting of these conditions by unexposed mothers.

Background

Epidemiologic studies of BMI in relation to mortality commonly exclude persons with health conditions and/or a history of smoking in order to prevent bias resulting from illness-related weight loss (“reverse causation”). Analysis of BMI from an earlier time period may minimize reverse causation without requiring exclusion of participants based on disease or smoking history.

Methods

We prospectively examined BMI based on technician measurements of weight and height from 10 years prior to start of follow-up in relation to subsequent mortality in a cohort of 50,186 women who were 40 to 93 years old at baseline in 1987–1989. Deaths were ascertained through the U.S. National Death Index. Proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios of mortality, adjusted for age, education, race/ethnicity, income, menopausal hormone use, smoking, and physical activity.

Results

During 10 years of follow-up through 1997, 5,201 women died. Overall, we observed a J-shaped association between BMI and mortality, with increased risk for women who were underweight, overweight, or obese. The hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of mortality for BMI categories of <18.5, 18.5–20.9, 21.0–23.4 (reference), 23.5–24.9, 25.0–27.4, 27.5–29.9, 30.0–34.9, and 35.0+ kg/m2 were 1.43 (1.19, 1.72), 1.07 (0.98, 1.17), 1.0 (reference), 1.10 (1.00, 1.20), 1.20 (1.11, 1.31), 1.23 (1.11, 1.37), 1.60 (1.44, 1.77), and 1.92 (1.64, 2.24). There was little evidence that preexisting conditions (heart disease, diabetes, and/or cancer) or smoking history modified the past BMI and mortality relation (p=0.54 and 0.76).

Conclusions

In this large cohort of women, BMI based on technician measurements of weight and height from 10 years prior to baseline showed increased risk for mortality across the range of overweight and obesity, regardless of disease and smoking history. Observed associations between overweight, obesity, and mortality in healthy individuals may also apply to persons with a history of disease or smoking.

As genome-wide association studies of breast cancer are replicating findings and refinement studies are narrowing the signal location, additional efforts are necessary to elucidate the underlying functional relationships. One approach is to evaluate variation in risk by genotype based on known breast carcinogens, such as ionizing radiation. Given the public health concerns associated with recent increases in medical radiation exposure, this approach may also identify potentially susceptible sub-populations. We examined interaction between 27 newly identified breast cancer risk alleles (identified within the NCI Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility and the Breast Cancer Association Consortium genome-wide association studies) and occupational and medical diagnostic radiation exposure among 859 cases and 1083 controls nested within the United States Radiologic Technologists cohort. We did not find significant variation in the radiation-related breast cancer risk for the variant in RAD51L1 (rs10483813) on 14q24.1 as we had hypothesized. In exploratory analyses, we found that the radiation-associated breast cancer risk varied significantly by linked markers in 5p12 (rs930395, rs10941679, rs2067980, and rs4415084) in the mitochondrial ribosomal protein S30 (MRPS30) gene (pinteraction=0.04). Chance, however, may explain these findings, and as such, these results need to be confirmed in other populations with low to moderate levels of radiation exposure. Even though a complete understanding by which these variants may increase breast cancer risk remains elusive, this approach may yield clues for further investigation.

Absolute and relative concentrations of estrogens and estrogen metabolites (EM) are important for clinical decisions, as well as for epidemiologic, experimental, and clinical research on hormonal carcinogenesis. Radioimmunoassays (RIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are routinely used for measuring EM in blood and urine due to efficiency and low cost. Here we compare absolute and ranked concentrations of estrone, estradiol, and estriol measured by indirect RIA and of 2-hydroxyestrone and 16α-hydroxyestrone measured by ELISA to the concentrations obtained using a novel liquid-chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method which measures 15 EM concurrently. We used overnight urine samples collected from control women (362 premenopausal, 168 postmenopausal) participating in a population-based case-control study of breast cancer among Asian-American women ages 20–55 years. When comparing RIA or ELISA levels to LC-MS/MS, absolute concentrations for the five EM ranged from 1.6–2.9 and 1.4–11.8 times higher in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, respectively, (all p<0.0001). However, LC-MS/MS measurements were highly correlated [Spearman r (rs) =0.8–0.9] with RIA and ELISA measurements in premenopausal women, and moderately correlated (rs=0.4–0.8) in postmenopausal women. Measurements of the 2-hydroxyestrone:16α-hydroxyestrone ratio, a putative biomarker of breast cancer risk, were moderately correlated in premenopausal women (rs=0.6–0.7) but only weakly correlated in postmenopausal women (rs=0.2). LC-MS/MS had higher intraclass correlation coefficients (≥99.6%) and lower coefficients of variation (≤9.4%) than ELISA (≥97.2% and ≤14.2%) and RIA (≥95.2% and ≤17.8%). Comparison with the LC-MS/MS method suggests that the widely used RIA and ELISA EM measures may be problematic, especially at low EM levels characteristic of postmenopausal women.

Background

Excess mortality from lymphohematopoietic malignancies, in particular myeloid leukemia, and brain cancer has been found in surveys of anatomists, pathologists, and funeral industry workers, all of whom may have worked with formaldehyde. We investigated the relation of mortality to work practices and formaldehyde exposure levels among these professionals to address cancer risk in the funeral industry.

Methods

Professionals employed in the funeral industry who died between January 1, 1960, and January 1, 1986, from lymphohematopoietic malignancies (n = 168) or brain tumors (n = 48) (ie, case subjects) were compared with deceased matched control subjects (n = 265) with regard to lifetime work practices and exposures in the funeral industry, which were obtained by interviews with next of kin and coworkers, and to estimated levels of formaldehyde exposure. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by use of logistic regression. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results

Mortality from myeloid leukemia increased statistically significantly with increasing number of years of embalming (P for trend = .020) and with increasing peak formaldehyde exposure (P for trend = .036). Compared with subjects who performed fewer than 500 lifetime embalmings, mortality from myeloid leukemia was elevated among those who performed embalmings for more than 34 years (OR = 3.9, 95% CI = 1.2 to 12.5, P = .024), who performed more than 3068 embalmings (OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.0 to 9.2, P = .057), and those whose estimated cumulative formaldehyde exposure exceeded 9253 parts per million–hours (OR = 3.1; 95% CI = 1.0 to 9.6, P = .047). These exposures were not related to other lymphohematopoietic malignancies or to brain cancer.

Conclusion

Duration of embalming practice and related formaldehyde exposures in the funeral industry were associated with statistically significantly increased risk for mortality from myeloid leukemia.

Background

Cigarette smoking is a well-established risk factor for bladder cancer. The effects of smoking duration, intensity (cigarettes per day), and total exposure (pack-years); smoking cessation; exposure to environmental tobacco smoke; and changes in the composition of tobacco and cigarette design over time on risk of bladder cancer are unclear.

Methods

We examined bladder cancer risk in relation to smoking practices based on interview data from a large, population-based case–control study conducted in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont from 2001 to 2004 (N = 1170 urothelial carcinoma case patients and 1413 control subjects). We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using unconditional logistic regression. To examine changes in smoking-induced bladder cancer risk over time, we compared odds ratios from New Hampshire residents in this study (305 case patients and 335 control subjects) with those from two case–control studies conducted in New Hampshire in 1994–1998 and in 1998–2001 (843 case patients and 1183 control subjects).

Results

Regular and current cigarette smokers had higher risks of bladder cancer than never-smokers (for regular smokers, OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 2.4 to 3.6; for current smokers, OR = 5.2, 95% CI = 4.0 to 6.6). In New Hampshire, there was a statistically significant increasing trend in smoking-related bladder cancer risk over three consecutive periods (1994–1998, 1998–2001, and 2002–2004) among former smokers (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.0 to 2.0; OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.4 to 2.9; and OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.7 to 4.0, respectively) and current smokers (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 2.0 to 4.2; OR = 4.2, 95% CI = 2.8 to 6.3; OR = 5.5, 95% CI = 3.5 to 8.9, respectively) (P for homogeneity of trends over time periods = .04). We also observed that within categories of intensity, odds ratios increased approximately linearly with increasing pack-years smoked, but the slope of the increasing trend declined with increasing intensity.

Conclusions

Smoking-related risks of bladder cancer appear to have increased in New Hampshire since the mid-1990s. Based on our modeling of pack-years and intensity, smoking fewer cigarettes over a long time appears more harmful than smoking more cigarettes over a shorter time, for equal total pack-years of cigarettes smoked.

Introduction

In Asian women, soy consumption is associated with reduced breast cancer risk, perhaps due to effects on estrogen production or metabolism. In a sample of Asian-American women, we investigated associations of usual adult soy intake with urinary concentrations of 15 estrogens and estrogen metabolites (EM) measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Methods

Participants included 430 Chinese-, Japanese-, and Filipino-American women, aged 20–55 years, and living in San Francisco-Oakland (CA), Los Angeles (CA) or Oahu (HI). They were postmenopausal (n=167) or premenopausal in luteal phase (n=263) when they collected 12-hour urines. Robust linear regression was used to assess soy tertiles as predictors of log-transformed EM measures. Individual and grouped EM were considered as concentrations (pmol/mg creatinine) and as percentages of total EM (%EM).

Results

Factor analysis confirmed that EM groups defined by metabolic pathways appropriately captured covariation in EM profiles. Total EM concentrations (pmol/mg creatinine) were not significantly associated with soy in pre- or postmenopausal women. Among all women, %2-hydroxylated EM and %4-hydroxylated EM were 16.3% higher (ptrend= 0.02) and 18.6% higher (ptrend= 0.03) in highest vs. lowest soy tertiles. In contrast, %16-hydroxylated EM were 10.6% lower (ptrend< 0.01). Results were consistent across ethnic and menopausal groups and after adjustment for Westernization measured by birthplace (Asia or U.S.).

Discussion

Findings suggest that regular soy intake is associated with increased ratios of 2:16-pathway EM and with higher relative levels of 4-hydroxylated EM. Observed variations in estrogen metabolism may modify breast cancer risk.

Background

Traditional clinicopathological features of breast cancer do not account for all the variation in survival. Germline genetic variation may provide additional prognostic information.

Materials and Methods

We conducted a GWAS study of survival after a diagnosis of breast cancer by obtaining follow-up data and genotyping information on 528,252 SNPs for 1,145 postmenopausal women with invasive breast cancer (7,711 person years at risk) from the Nurses’ Health Study scanned in the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility initiative. We genotyped the ten most statistically significant loci (most significant SNP located in ARHGAP10, p = 2.28 × 10−7) in 4,335 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer (38,148 years at risk) in the SEARCH breast cancer study.

Results

None of the loci replicated in the SEARCH study (all p > 0.10). Assuming a minimum of ten associated loci, the power to detect at least one with a minor allele frequency of 0.2 conferring a relative hazard of 2.0 at genome-wide significance (5×10−8) was 99 percent.

Conclusions

We did not identify any common germline variants associated with breast cancer survival overall.

Impact

Our data suggest it is unlikely that there are common germline variants with large effect sizes for breast cancer survival overall (HR>2). Instead, it is plausible that common variants associated with survival could be specific to tumor subtypes or treatment approaches. New studies, sufficiently powered, are needed to discover new regions associated with survival overall or by subtype or treatment subgroups.

We conducted a multi-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) of tanning response after exposure to sunlight in over 9,000 men and women of European ancestry who live in the United States. An initial analysis of 528,173 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped on 2,287 women identified LOC401937 (rs966321) on chromosome 1 as a novel locus highly associated with tanning ability, and we confirmed this association in 870 women controls from a skin-cancer case-control study with joint p-value=1.6×10−9. We further genotyped this SNP in two subsequent replication studies (one with 3,750 women and the other with 2,405 men). This association was not replicated in either of these two studies. We found that several SNPs reaching the genome-wide significance level are located in or adjacent to the loci previously known as pigmentation genes: MATP, IRF4, TYR, OCA2, and MC1R. Overall, these tanning ability-related loci are similar to those hair color-related loci reported previously in the GWAS of hair color.

Smoking is an established risk factor for pancreatic cancer; however, detailed examination of the association of smoking intensity, smoking duration, and cumulative smoking dose with pancreatic cancer is limited. The authors analyzed pooled data from the international Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium nested case-control study (1,481 cases, 1,539 controls). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using unconditional logistic regression. Smoking intensity effects were examined with an excess odds ratio model that was linear in pack-years and exponential in cigarettes smoked per day and its square. When compared with never smokers, current smokers had a significantly elevated risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.38, 2.26). Risk increased significantly with greater intensity (≥30 cigarettes/day: OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.42), duration (≥50 years: OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.62), and cumulative smoking dose (≥40 pack-years: OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.34). Risk more than 15 years after smoking cessation was similar to that for never smokers. Estimates of excess odds ratio per pack-year declined with increasing intensity, suggesting greater risk for total exposure delivered at lower intensity for longer duration than for higher intensity for shorter duration. This finding and the decline in risk after smoking cessation suggest that smoking has a late-stage effect on pancreatic carcinogenesis.

Little is known about the association between alcohol and breast cancer by different tumor characteristics. The study consisted of 184,418 postmenopausal women aged 50–71 years in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study (1995–2003). Alcohol use, diet, and potential risk factors for cancer were assessed with a mailed questionnaire at baseline. The relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by using Cox proportional hazards regression. Breast cancer cases and estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status were identified through linkage to state cancer registries. During an average of 7 years of follow-up, 5,461 breast cancer cases were identified. Alcohol was significantly positively associated with total breast cancer: Even a moderate amount of alcohol (>10 g/day) significantly increased breast cancer risk. In a comparison of >35 g versus 0 g/day, the multivariate relative risks were 1.35 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17, 1.56) for total breast cancer, 1.46 (95% CI: 1.22, 1.75) for ductal tumors, and 1.52 (95% CI: 0.95, 2.44) for lobular tumors. The multivariate relative risks for estrogen receptor-positive/progesterone receptor-positive, estrogen receptor-positive/progesterone receptor-negative, and estrogen receptor-negative/progesterone receptor-negative tumors were 1.46 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.91) for >35 g versus 0 g/day, 1.13 (95% CI: 0.73, 1.77) for >20 g versus 0 g/day, and 1.21 (95% CI: 0.79, 1.84) for >20 g versus 0 g/day, respectively. Moderate consumption of alcohol was associated with breast cancer, specifically hormone receptor-positive tumors.

Background

Formaldehyde exposure is associated with leukemia in some epidemiological studies. In the National Cancer Institute’s formaldehyde cohort, previously followed through December 31, 1979, and updated through December 31, 1994, formaldehyde exposure was associated with an increased risk for leukemia, particularly myeloid leukemia, that increased with peak and average intensity of exposure.

Methods

We extended follow-up through December 31, 2004 (median follow-up = 42 years), for 25 619 workers employed at one of 10 formaldehyde-using or formaldehyde-producing plants before 1966. We used Poisson regression to calculate relative risk (RR) estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to examine associations between quantitative formaldehyde exposure estimates (peak exposure, average intensity and cumulative exposure) and death from lymphohematopoietic malignancies. All statistical tests were two-sided and considered to be significant at P = .05.

Results

When follow-up ended in 2004, there were statistically significant increased risks for the highest vs lowest peak formaldehyde exposure category (≥4 parts per million [ppm] vs >0 to <2.0 ppm) and all lymphohematopoietic malignancies (RR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.81, P trend = .02) and Hodgkin lymphoma (RR = 3.96; 95% CI = 1.31 to 12.02, P trend = .01). Statistically nonsignificant associations were observed for multiple myeloma (RR = 2.04; 95% CI = 1.01 to 4.12, P trend > .50), all leukemia (RR = 1.42; 95% CI = 0.92 to 2.18, P trend = .12), and myeloid leukemia (RR = 1.78; 95% CI = 0.87 to 3.64, P trend = .13). There was little evidence of association for any lymphohematopoietic malignancy with average intensity or cumulative exposure at the end of follow-up in 2004. However, disease associations varied over time. For peak exposure, the highest formaldehyde-related risks for myeloid leukemia occurred before 1980, but trend tests attained statistical significance in 1990 only. After the mid-1990s, the formaldehyde-related risk of myeloid leukemia declined.

Conclusions

Evaluation of risks over time suggests a possible link between formaldehyde exposure and lymphohematopoietic malignancies, particularly myeloid leukemia but also perhaps Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Observed patterns could be due to chance but are also consistent with a causal association within the relatively short induction–incubation periods characteristic of leukemogenesis. Further epidemiological study and exploration of potential molecular mechanisms are warranted.

Aggregate results from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS)1-3, such as genotype frequencies for cases and controls were available until recently on public websites4-5 because they were thought to reveal negligible information concerning an individual’s participation in a study. Homer et al.6 suggested a method for forensic detection of an individual’s contribution to an admixed DNA sample could be applied to aggregate GWAS data. Using a likelihood-based statistical framework, we develop an improved statistic that uses genotype frequencies and an individual’s genotypes to infer whether the individual or a close relative participated in the GWAS and, if so, the participant’s phenotype status. Our statistic compares the logarithm of genotype frequencies, in contrast to that of Homer et al.6, which is based on differences in SNP probe intensity or allele frequencies. We derive the theoretical power of the test statistics and explore the empirical performance in scenarios with a varying numbers of randomly chosen or top-associated SNPs.

The association of maternal weight gain with serum hormone concentrations was explored in 75 women who had healthy, singleton pregnancies. Estradiol, estriol, estrone, androstenedione, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA sulfate concentrations were measured both in maternal and mixed umbilical cord serum to assess hormone levels in both the maternal and fetal circulation at delivery. Our data show no association of maternal or cord steroid hormone concentrations with pregnancy weight gain. Increased exposure to steroid hormones, especially estrogens, during pregnancy has been hypothesized to play a role in subsequent breast cancer risk for both mother and female offspring. Our results are not consistent with an effect of pregnancy weight gain being mediated by this pathway as reflected by hormone concentrations at the end of pregnancy.

Studies have shown that breast cancer incidence rates among Asian migrants to the United States approach U.S. incidence rates over several generations, implicating potentially modifiable exposures such as moderate alcohol use that has been linked to excess breast cancer risk in other populations. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of alcohol intake, primarily low levels, on breast cancer risk in Asian-American women and explore whether smoking and alcohol contributed to the in breast cancer incidence rates observed among Asian migrants to the United States. Study subjects in this population-based case-control study included 597 incident cases of breast cancer of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino ethnicity living in San Francisco-Oakland, Los Angeles, and Oahu, Hawaii and 966 population controls frequency matched on age, ethnicity, and area of residence. The fraction of smokers and drinkers was significantly higher in women born in Western compared with Eastern countries. However, breast cancer risk was not significantly associated with smoking (odds ratio (OR) = 1.2, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.9–1.6) or alcohol drinking (OR = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.7–1.1) in this population of low consumers of alcohol (median intake among drinkers in grams per day was 0.48 for cases and 0.40 for controls). These data suggest that low alcohol intake is not related to increased breast cancer risk in Asian-American women and that neither alcohol nor cigarette use contributed to the elevated risks in Asian-American women associated with migration patterns and Westernization.