The associations of individual dietary fatty acids with prostate cancer risk have not been examined comprehensively. We examined the prospective association of individual dietary fatty acids with prostate cancer risk overall, by tumor subtypes, and prostate cancer death. 142,239 men from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition who were free from cancer at recruitment were included. Dietary intakes of individual fatty acids were estimated using center-specific validated dietary questionnaires at baseline and calibrated with 24-h recalls. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). After an average follow-up of 13.9 years, 7,036 prostate cancer cases and 936 prostate cancer deaths were ascertained. Intakes of individual fatty acids were not related to overall prostate cancer risk. There was evidence of heterogeneity in the association of some short chain saturated fatty acids with prostate cancer risk by tumor stage (pheterogeneity
Noninvasive biomarkers for early pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) diagnosis and disease risk stratification are greatly needed. We conducted a nested case-control study within the Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort to evaluate prediagnostic microRNAs (miRs) as biomarkers of subsequent PDAC risk. A panel of eight miRs (miR-10a, -10b, -21-3p, -21-5p, -30c, -106b, -155 and -212) based on previous evidence from our group was evaluated in 225 microscopically confirmed PDAC cases and 225 controls matched on center, sex, fasting status and age/date/time of blood collection. MiR levels in prediagnostic plasma samples were determined by quantitative RT-PCR. Logistic regression was used to model levels and PDAC risk, adjusting for covariates and to estimate area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC). Plasma miR-10b, -21-5p, -30c and -106b levels were significantly higher in cases diagnosed within 2 years of blood collection compared to matched controls (all p-values <0.04). Based on adjusted logistic regression models, levels for six miRs (miR-10a, -10b, -21-5p, -30c, -155 and -212) overall, and for four miRs (-10a, -10b, -21-5p and -30c) at shorter follow-up time between blood collection and diagnosis (≤5 yr, ≤2 yr), were statistically significantly associated with risk. A score based on the panel showed a linear dose-response trend with risk (p-value = 0.0006). For shorter follow-up (≤5 yr), AUC for the score was 0.73, and for individual miRs ranged from 0.73 (miR-212) to 0.79 (miR-21-5p).
Evidence from in vivo, in vitro and ecological studies are suggestive of a protective effect of vitamin D against pancreatic cancer (PC). However, this has not been confirmed by analytical epidemiological studies. We aimed to examine the association between pre-diagnostic circulating vitamin D concentrations and PC incidence in European populations. We conducted a pooled nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) and the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study's second survey (HUNT2) cohorts. In total, 738 primary incident PC cases (EPIC n = 626; HUNT2 n = 112; median follow-up = 6.9 years) were matched to 738 controls. Vitamin D [25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 combined] concentrations were determined using isotope-dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Conditional logistic regression models with adjustments for body mass index and smoking habits were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Compared with a reference category of >50 to 75 nmol/L vitamin D, the IRRs (95% CIs) were 0.71 (0.42-1.20); 0.94 (0.72-1.22); 1.12 (0.82-1.53) and 1.26 (0.79-2.01) for clinically pre-defined categories of ≤25; >25 to 50; >75 to 100; and >100 nmol/L vitamin D, respectively (p for trend = 0.09). Corresponding analyses by quintiles of season-standardized vitamin D concentrations also did not reveal associations with PC risk (p for trend = 0.23). Although these findings among participants from the largest combination of European cohort studies to date show increasing effect estimates of PC risk with increasing pre-diagnostic concentrations of vitamin D, they are not statistically significant.
Other than the influence of ionizing radiation and benign thyroid disease, little is known about the risk factors for differentiated thyroid cancer (TC) which is an increasing common cancer worldwide. Consistent evidence shows that body mass is positively associated with TC risk. As excess weight is a state of chronic inflammation, we investigated the relationship between concentrations of leptin, adiponectin, C-reactive protein, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and the risk of TC. A case-control study was nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study and included 475 first primary incident TC cases (399 women and 76 men) and 1,016 matched cancer-free cohort participants. Biomarkers were measured in serum samples using validated and highly sensitive commercially available immunoassays. Odds ratios (ORs) of TC by levels of each biomarker were estimated using conditional logistic regression models, adjusting for BMI and alcohol consumption. Adiponectin was inversely associated with TC risk among women (ORT3vs.T1 = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.49-0.98, Ptrend = 0.04) but not among men (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.36, 95% CI: 0.67-2.76, Ptrend = 0.37). Increasing levels of IL-10 were positively associated with TC risk in both genders and significantly so in women (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.13-2.25, Ptrend = 0.01) but not in men (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.78, 95% CI: 0.80-3.98, Ptrend = 0.17). Leptin, CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α were not associated with TC risk in either gender. These results indicate a positive association of TC risk with IL-10 and a negative association with adiponectin that is probably restricted to women. Inflammation may play a role in TC in combination with or independently of excess weight.
Recent evidence suggested a weak relationship between alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer (PC) risk. In our study, the association between lifetime and baseline alcohol intakes and the risk of PC was evaluated, including the type of alcoholic beverages and potential interaction with smoking. Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, 1,283 incident PC (57% women) were diagnosed from 476,106 cancer-free participants, followed up for 14 years. Amounts of lifetime and baseline alcohol were estimated through lifestyle and dietary questionnaires, respectively. Cox proportional hazard models with age as primary time variable were used to estimate PC hazard ratios (HR) and their 95% confidence interval (CI). Alcohol intake was positively associated with PC risk in men. Associations were mainly driven by extreme alcohol levels, with HRs comparing heavy drinkers (>60 g/day) to the reference category (0.1-4.9 g/day) equal to 1.77 (95% CI: 1.06, 2.95) and 1.63 (95% CI: 1.16, 2.29) for lifetime and baseline alcohol, respectively. Baseline alcohol intakes from beer (>40 g/day) and spirits/liquors (>10 g/day) showed HRs equal to 1.58 (95% CI: 1.07, 2.34) and 1.41 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.94), respectively, compared to the reference category (0.1-2.9 g/day). In women, HR estimates did not reach statistically significance. The alcohol and PC risk association was not modified by smoking status. Findings from a large prospective study suggest that baseline and lifetime alcohol intakes were positively associated with PC risk, with more apparent risk estimates for beer and spirits/liquors than wine intake.
Several dietary factors have been studied in relation to prostate cancer; however, most studies have not reported on subtypes of fruit and vegetables or tumor characteristics, and results obtained so far are inconclusive. This study aimed to examine the prospective association of total and subtypes of fruit and vegetable intake with the incidence of prostate cancer overall, by grade and stage of disease, and prostate cancer death. Lifestyle information for 142,239 men participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition from 8 European countries was collected at baseline. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). After an average follow-up time of 13.9 years, 7,036 prostate cancer cases were identified. Compared with the lowest fifth, those in the highest fifth of total fruit intake had a significantly reduced prostate cancer risk (HR = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.83-0.99; p-trend = 0.01). No associations between fruit subtypes and prostate cancer risk were observed, except for citrus fruits, where a significant trend was found (HR = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.86-1.02; p-trend = 0.01). No associations between total and subtypes of vegetables and prostate cancer risk were observed. We found no evidence of heterogeneity in these associations by tumor grade and stage, with the exception of significant heterogeneity by tumor grade (pheterogeneity <0.001) for leafy vegetables. No significant associations with prostate cancer death were observed. The main finding of this prospective study was that a higher fruit intake was associated with a small reduction in prostate cancer risk. Whether this association is causal remains unclear.
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
In vitro and animal studies suggest that bioactive constituents of coffee and tea may have anticarcinogenic effects against cutaneous melanoma; however, epidemiological evidence is limited to date. We examined the relationships between coffee (total, caffeinated or decaffeinated) and tea consumption and risk of melanoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). EPIC is a multicentre prospective study that enrolled over 500,000 participants aged 25-70 years from ten European countries in 1992-2000. Information on coffee and tea drinking was collected at baseline using validated country-specific dietary questionnaires. We used adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations between coffee and tea consumption and melanoma risk. Overall, 2,712 melanoma cases were identified during a median follow-up of 14.9 years among 476,160 study participants. Consumption of caffeinated coffee was inversely associated with melanoma risk among men (HR for highest quartile of consumption vs. non-consumers 0.31, 95% CI 0.14-0.69) but not among women (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.62-1.47). There were no statistically significant associations between consumption of decaffeinated coffee or tea and the risk of melanoma among both men and women. The consumption of caffeinated coffee was inversely associated with melanoma risk among men in this large cohort study. Further investigations are warranted to confirm our findings and clarify the possible role of caffeine and other coffee compounds in reducing the risk of melanoma.
Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I has cancer promoting activities. However, the hypothesis that circulating IGF-I concentration is related to risk of lymphoma overall or its subtypes has not been examined prospectively. IGF-I concentration was measured in pre-diagnostic plasma samples from a nested case-control study of 1,072 cases of lymphoid malignancies and 1,072 individually matched controls from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs) for lymphoma were calculated using conditional logistic regression. IGF-I concentration was not associated with overall lymphoma risk (multivariable-adjusted OR for highest versus lowest third = 0.77 [95% CI = 0.57-1.03], ptrend = 0.06). There was no statistical evidence of heterogeneity in this association with IGF-I by sex, age at blood collection, time between blood collection and diagnosis, age at diagnosis, or body mass index (pheterogeneity for all ≥ 0.05). There were no associations between IGF-I concentration and risk for specific BCL subtypes, T-cell lymphoma or Hodgkin lymphoma, although number of cases were small. In this European population, IGF-I concentration was not associated with risk of overall lymphoma. This study provides the first prospective evidence on circulating IGF-I concentrations and risk of lymphoma. Further prospective data are required to examine associations of IGF-I concentrations with lymphoma subtypes.
Bile acids (BAs) play different roles in cancer development. Some are carcinogenic and BA signaling is also involved in various metabolic, inflammatory and immune-related processes. The liver is the primary site of BA synthesis. Liver dysfunction and microbiome compositional changes, such as during hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, may modulate BA metabolism increasing concentration of carcinogenic BAs. Observations from prospective cohorts are sparse. We conducted a study (233 HCC case-control pairs) nested within a large observational prospective cohort with blood samples taken at recruitment when healthy with follow-up over time for later cancer development. A targeted metabolomics method was used to quantify 17 BAs (primary/secondary/tertiary; conjugated/unconjugated) in prediagnostic plasma. Odd ratios (OR) for HCC risk associations were calculated by multivariable conditional logistic regression models. Positive HCC risk associations were observed for the molar sum of all BAs (ORdoubling = 2.30, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.76-3.00), and choline- and taurine-conjugated BAs. Relative concentrations of BAs showed positive HCC risk associations for glycoholic acid and most taurine-conjugated BAs. We observe an association between increased HCC risk and higher levels of major circulating BAs, from several years prior to tumor diagnosis and after multivariable adjustment for confounders and liver functionality. Increase in BA concentration is accompanied by a shift in BA profile toward higher proportions of taurine-conjugated BAs, indicating early alterations of BA metabolism with HCC development. Future studies are needed to assess BA profiles for improved stratification of patients at high HCC risk and to determine whether supplementation with certain BAs may ameliorate liver dysfunction.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development entails changes in liver metabolism. Current knowledge on metabolic perturbations in HCC is derived mostly from case-control designs, with sparse information from prospective cohorts. Our objective was to apply comprehensive metabolite profiling to detect metabolites whose serum concentrations are associated with HCC development, using biological samples from within the prospective European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort (>520 000 participants), where we identified 129 HCC cases matched 1:1 to controls. We conducted high-resolution untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics on serum samples collected at recruitment prior to cancer diagnosis. Multivariable conditional logistic regression was applied controlling for dietary habits, alcohol consumption, smoking, body size, hepatitis infection and liver dysfunction. Corrections for multiple comparisons were applied. Of 9206 molecular features detected, 220 discriminated HCC cases from controls. Detailed feature annotation revealed 92 metabolites associated with HCC risk, of which 14 were unambiguously identified using pure reference standards. Positive HCC-risk associations were observed for N1-acetylspermidine, isatin, p-hydroxyphenyllactic acid, tyrosine, sphingosine, l,l-cyclo(leucylprolyl), glycochenodeoxycholic acid, glycocholic acid and 7-methylguanine. Inverse risk associations were observed for retinol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, glycerophosphocholine, γ-carboxyethyl hydroxychroman and creatine. Discernible differences for these metabolites were observed between cases and controls up to 10 years prior to diagnosis. Our observations highlight the diversity of metabolic perturbations involved in HCC development and replicate previous observations (metabolism of bile acids, amino acids and phospholipids) made in Asian and Scandinavian populations. These findings emphasize the role of metabolic pathways associated with steroid metabolism and immunity and specific dietary and environmental exposures in HCC development.
While the association between fruit consumption and bladder cancer risk has been extensively reported, studies have had inadequate statistical power to investigate associations between types of fruit and bladder cancer risk satisfactorily. Fruit consumption in relation to bladder cancer risk was investigated by pooling individual data from 13 cohort studies. Cox regression models with attained age as time scale were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for intakes of total fruit and citrus fruits, soft fruits, stone fruits, tropical fruits, pome fruits and fruit products. Analyses were stratified by sex, smoking status and bladder cancer subtype. During on average 11.2 years of follow-up, 2836 individuals developed incident bladder cancer. Increasing fruit consumption (by 100 g/day) was inversely associated with the risk of bladder cancer in women (HR = 0.92; 95% CI 0.85-0.99). Although in women the association with fruit consumption was most evident for higher-risk nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC; HR = 0.72; 95% CI 0.56-0.92), the test for heterogeneity by bladder cancer subtype was nonsignificant (P-heterogeneity = .14). Increasing fruit consumption (by 100 g/day) was not associated with bladder cancer risk in men (HR = 0.99; 95% CI 0.94-1.03), never smokers (HR = 0.96; 95% CI 0.88-1.05), former smokers (HR = 0.98; 95% CI 0.92-1.05) or current smokers (HR = 0.95; 95% CI 0.89-1.01). The consumption of any type of fruit was not found to be associated with bladder cancer risk (P values > .05). Our study supports no evidence that the consumption of specific types of fruit reduces the risk of bladder cancer. However, increasing total fruit consumption may reduce bladder cancer risk in women.
Evidence suggests an influence of sex hormones on cutaneous melanoma risk, but epidemiologic findings are conflicting. We examined the associations between use of oral contraceptives (OCs) and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and melanoma risk in women participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). EPIC is a prospective cohort study initiated in 1992 in 10 European countries. Information on exogenous hormone use at baseline was derived from country-specific self-administered questionnaires. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Over 1992-2015, 1,696 melanoma cases were identified among 334,483 women, whereof 770 cases among 134,758 postmenopausal women. There was a positive, borderline-significant association between OC use and melanoma risk (HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.00-1.26), with no detected heterogeneity across countries (phomogeneity = 0.42). This risk increased linearly with duration of use (ptrend = 0.01). Among postmenopausal women, ever use of MHT was associated with a nonsignificant increase in melanoma risk overall (HR = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.97-1.43), which was heterogeneous across countries (phomogeneity = 0.05). Our findings do not support a strong and direct association between exogenous hormone use and melanoma risk. In order to better understand these relations, further research should be performed using prospectively collected data including detailed information on types of hormone, and on sun exposure, which may act as an important confounder or effect modifier on these relations.
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.
Despite the potential cancer preventive effects of flavonoids and lignans, their ability to reduce pancreatic cancer risk has not been demonstrated in epidemiological studies. Our aim was to examine the association between dietary intakes of flavonoids and lignans and pancreatic cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. A total of 865 exocrine pancreatic cancer cases occurred after 11.3 years of follow-up of 477,309 cohort members. Dietary flavonoid and lignan intake was estimated through validated dietary questionnaires and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Phenol Explorer databases. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using age, sex and center-stratified Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for energy intake, body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol and diabetes status. Our results showed that neither overall dietary intake of flavonoids nor of lignans were associated with pancreatic cancer risk (multivariable-adjusted HR for a doubling of intake = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.95-1.11 and 1.02; 95% CI: 0.89-1.17, respectively). Statistically significant associations were also not observed by flavonoid subclasses. An inverse association between intake of flavanones and pancreatic cancer risk was apparent, without reaching statistical significance, in microscopically confirmed cases (HR for a doubling of intake = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.91-1.00). In conclusion, we did not observe an association between intake of flavonoids, flavonoid subclasses or lignans and pancreatic cancer risk in the EPIC cohort.