International Journal of Cancer

BackgroundImprovements in cancer control have led to a drastic increase in cancer survivors who may be at an elevated risk of developing a subsequent primary cancer (SPC). In this study, we assessed the risk and patterns of SPC development among 134,693 adult cancer survivors in Alberta, Canada. MethodsWe used data from the Alberta Cancer Registry to identify all first primary cancers (FPC) occurring between 2004 and 2015. A SPC was considered as the next primary cancer occurring in a different...

ObjectivePolygenic risk scores (PRSs) derived from genome-wide association studies are strong predictors of colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. We applied the straightforward approach of risk advancement periods (RAPs) to derive risk-adapted starting ages of CRC screening according to sex and PRS in the UK Biobank. MethodsAmong 242,779 participants (40-69 years; no previous CRC screening; no family history of CRC), we assessed associations of sex and a PRS with CRC risk and mortality using Cox regres...

Differences in cancer rates have been documented in Japan between Okinawa and mainland Japan. Limited data exist on whether these differences are also present for established populations of Okinawans and mainland Japanese in the United States. Dimensionality reduction techniques for genetic data combined with Okinawan surnames were used to identify Multiethnic Cohort Japanese American participants (N=24,484) of Okinawan or mainland descent. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare ca...

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) screening reduces CRC incidence and mortality. However, current screening methods are either hampered by invasiveness or suboptimal performance, limiting their effectiveness as primary screening methods. To aid in the development of a non-invasive screening test with improved sensitivity and specificity, we have initiated a prospective biomarker study (CRCbiome), nested within a large randomized CRC screening trial in Norway. We aim to develop a microbiome-based...

ObjectiveTo evaluate risk of early-onset dementia (EOD) after diagnosis of cancer among Medicaid beneficiaries. DesignLongitudinal observational study of Medicaid enrollment, inpatient, and outpatient claims data from 26 states and Washington, DC, 2001-2019. MethodsBeneficiaries aged 18-64 with [≥]6 months of enrollment were matched 1:1 on cancer status (lung, colon, breast, prostate) by age, sex, race, year and state. We estimated the weighted cumulative incidence functions of EOD at 1, 2,...

BackgroundSurvival rates from colorectal cancer (CRC) are drastically higher if the disease is detected and treated earlier. Current screening guidelines involve stool-based tests and colonoscopies, whose acceptability and uptake remains low. Routinely collected blood-based biomarkers may offer a low-cost alternative or aid for detecting CRC. MethodsHere we aimed to evaluate the pre-diagnostic and diagnostic value of a wide-range of multimodal biomarkers in the UK Biobank dataset, including soc...

BackgroundAge is the most important risk factor for cancer, but aging rates are heterogeneous across individuals. We explored a new measure of aging-Phenotypic Age (PhenoAge)-in the risk prediction of site-specific and overall cancer. MethodsUsing Cox regression models, we examined the association of Phenotypic Age Acceleration (PhenoAgeAccel) with cancer incidence by genetic risk group among 374,463 participants from the UK Biobank. We generated PhenoAge using chronological age and 9 biomarker...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cancer in women and third most common cancer in men. Genome-wide association studies have identified numerous genetic variants (SNPs) independently associated with CRC. The effects of such SNPs can be combined into a single polygenic risk score (PRS). Stratification of individuals according to PRS could be introduced to primary and secondary prevention. Our aim was to combine risk stratification of a sex-specific PRS model with recommendations fo...

BackgroundGeographic disparities in U.S. cancer mortality rates raise concerns about whether different states are equally benefiting from advances in best practices for cancer prevention, early detection, and care. This study assesses whether U.S. states are catching up to the frontier of best practices while accounting for state-level differences in cancer risk factors. MethodsWe analyze age-adjusted cancer mortality rates across 48 U.S. states and evaluate their convergence over the period fr...

Despite ethical and historical arguments for removing race corrections from clinical algorithms, the consequences of removal remain unclear. An important and underdiscussed consideration in this debate is the fact that medical data quality frequently varies across race groups. For example, family history of cancer is an essential predictor in cancer risk prediction algorithms but is less reliably documented for Black patients and may therefore be less predictive of cancer outcomes. We assessed w...

BackgroundRed and processed meat has been consistently associated with risk for colorectal cancer, but evidence for other cancer sites is limited and few studies have examined the association between poultry intake and cancer risk. We examined associations between total meat, red meat, processed meat and poultry intake and incidence for 20 common cancer sites. Methods and FindingsWe analysed data from 475,023 participants (54% women) in UK Biobank. Participants were aged 37-73 years and cancer ...

BackgroundStratifying the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) based on polygenic risk scores (PRSs) within populations has the potential to optimize screening and develop targeted prevention strategies. MethodsA meta-analysis of eleven genome-wide association studies (GWAS), comprising 16 871 cases and 26 328 controls, was performed to capture CRC susceptibility variants. Genetic models with several candidate PRSs were generated from Scottish CRC case-control studies (6478 cases and 11 043 controls...

PurposeExposure to Agent Orange, a known carcinogen, might increase risk of prostate cancer (PCa). We sought to investigate the association of Agent Orange exposure and PCa risk when accounting for race/ethnicity, family history, and genetic risk in a diverse population of US Vietnam War veterans. Methods & MaterialsThis study utilized the Million Veteran Program (MVP), a national, population-based cohort study of United States military veterans conducted 2011-2021 with 590,750 male participant...

Although it is known that social deprivation is associated with higher risks of cardiovascular and cancer mortality in the general population, these associations may not be directly applicable to cancer survivors. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2013-2017 with follow-up till the end of 2019, we examined the associations between social determinants of health (SDOH) and the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in cancer survivors, with separate modell...

ObjectiveWe described the role of patient-related and clinical factors on age disparities in colon cancer survival among patients aged 50-99 using New Zealand population-based cancer registry data linked to hospitalization data. DesignWe included new colon cancer cases diagnosed between 1 January 2006 and 31 July 2017, followed up to 31 December 2019. We linked these cases to hospitalisation data for the five years before the cancer diagnosis. We modelled the effect of age at diagnosis, sex, de...

ObjectiveTo investigate whether the higher risks of certain cancers associated with high cardiorespiratory fitness can be explained by increased detection and unobserved confounders. DesignNationwide sibling-controlled cohort study of adolescents. SettingSweden. Participants1 124 049 men of which 477 453 were full siblings, who underwent mandatory military conscription examinations between 1972 and 1995 at a mean age of 18.3 years. Main outcome measuresHazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence i...

BackgroundSalicylic acid (SA) is a metabolite that can be obtained from the diet via fruit and vegetable ingestion, of which increased consumption has observationally been shown to decrease risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Whilst primary prevention trials of SA and CRC risk are lacking, there is strong evidence from clinical trials and prospective cohort studies that aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is an effective primary and secondary chemopreventative agent. Since aspirin is rapidly deacetylate...

ImportanceWe recently observed an inverse and time-dependent association between systemic oxidative stress (OxS), measured by urinary biomarkers of nucleic acid oxidation, and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. Further investigations into other types of OxS markers are warranted. ObjectiveTo extend the investigation into systemic lipid peroxidation and CRC risk. Design, Setting, and ParticipantsUtilizing a nested case-control design, this studys primary analysis was performed in two large prospecti...

BackgroundCancer diagnostics and surgery have been disrupted by the response of healthcare services to the COVID-19 pandemic. Progression of cancers during delay will impact on patient long-term survival. MethodsWe generated per-day hazard ratios of cancer progression from observational studies and applied these to age-specific, stage-specific cancer survival for England 2013-2017. We modelled per-patient delay of three months and six months and periods of disruption of one year and two years. ...

BackgroundRed and/or processed meat are established colorectal cancer (CRC) risk factors. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have reported over 200 variants associated with CRC risk. We used functional annotation data to identify subsets of variants within known pathways to construct pathway-based Polygenic Risk Scores (pPRS) to assess interactions with meat intake. MethodsA pooled sample of 30,812 cases and 40,504 CRC controls from 27 studies were analyzed. Quantiles for red and processed ...