A multi-ancestry cerebral cortex transcriptome-wide association study identifies genes associated with smoking behaviors.

Transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) have provided valuable insight in identifying genes that may impact cigarette smoking. Most of previous studies, however, mainly focused on European ancestry. Limited TWAS studies have been conducted across multiple ancestries to explore genes that may impact smoking behaviors. In this study, we used cis-eQTL data of cerebral cortex from multiple ancestries in MetaBrain, including European, East Asian, and African samples, as reference panels to perform multi-ancestry TWAS analyses on ancestry-matched GWASs of four smoking behaviors including smoking initiation, smoking cessation, age of smoking initiation, and number of cigarettes per day in GWAS & Sequencing Consortium of Alcohol and Nicotine use (GSCAN). Multiple-ancestry fine-mapping approach was conducted to identify credible gene sets associated with these four traits. Enrichment and module network analyses were further performed to explore the potential roles of these identified gene sets. A total of 719 unique genes were identified to be associated with at least one of the four smoking traits across ancestries. Among those, 249 genes were further prioritized as putative causal genes in multiple ancestry-based fine-mapping approach. Several well-known smoking-related genes, including PSMA4, IREB2, and CHRNA3, showed high confidence across ancestries. Some novel genes, e.g., TSPAN3 and ANK2, were also identified in the credible sets. The enrichment analysis identified a series of critical pathways related to smoking such as synaptic transmission and glutamate receptor activity. Leveraging the power of the latest multi-ancestry GWAS and eQTL data sources, this study revealed hundreds of genes and relevant biological processes related to smoking behaviors. These findings provide new insights for future functional studies on smoking behaviors.

Association between plant-based dietary pattern and biological aging trajectory in a large prospective cohort.

BACKGROUND: Aging is a dynamic and heterogeneous process that may better be captured by trajectories of aging biomarkers. Biological age has been advocated as a better biomarker of aging than chronological age, and plant-based dietary patterns have been found to be linked to aging. However, the associations of biological age trajectories with mortality and plant-based dietary patterns remained unclear. METHODS: Using group-based trajectory modeling approach, we identified distinctive aging trajectory groups among 12,784 participants based on a recently developed biological aging measure acquired at four-time points within an 8-year period. We then examined associations between aging trajectories and quintiles of plant-based dietary patterns assessed by overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthful PDI (hPDI), and unhealthful PDI (uPDI) among 10,191 participants who had complete data on dietary intake, using multivariable multinomial logistics regression adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyles factors. Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied to investigate the association between aging trajectories and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: We identified three latent classes of accelerated aging trajectories: slow aging, medium-degree, and high-degree accelerated aging trajectories. Participants who had higher PDI or hPDI had lower odds of being in medium-degree (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.65, 0.86 for PDI; OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.62, 0.85 for hPDI) or high-degree (OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.46, 0.86 for PDI; OR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.88 for hPDI) accelerated aging trajectories. Participants in the highest quintile of uPDI were more likely to be in medium-degree (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.48, 1.99) or high-degree (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.38) accelerated aging trajectories. With a mean follow-up time of 8.40 years and 803 (6.28%) participants died by the end of follow-up, we found that participants in medium-degree (HR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.29, 1.89) or high-degree (HR = 3.72, 95% CI: 2.73, 5.08) accelerated aging trajectory groups had higher risks of death than those in the slow aging trajectory. CONCLUSIONS: We identified three distinctive aging trajectories in a large Asian cohort and found that adopting a plant-based dietary pattern, especially when rich in healthful plant foods, was associated with substantially lowered pace of aging.

Real-World Study of Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes Among Patients with KRAS p.G12C-Mutated or Other KRAS Mutated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The KRAS p.G12C mutation has recently become an actionable drug target. To further understand KRAS p.G12C disease, we describe clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment patterns, overall survival (OS), and real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), KRAS p.G12C mutations (KRAS G12C), and other KRAS mutations (KRAS non-G12C) using a de-identified database. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Clinical and tumor characteristics, including treatments received, genomic profile, and clinical outcomes were assessed for patients from a US clinical genomic database with mCRC diagnosed between January 1, 2011, and March 31, 2020, with genomic sequencing data available. RESULTS: Of 6477 patients with mCRC (mCRC cohort), 238 (3.7%) had KRAS G12C and 2947 (45.5%) had KRAS non-G12C mutations. Treatment patterns were generally comparable across lines of therapy (LOT) in KRAS G12C versus KRAS non-G12C cohorts. Median (95% CI) OS after the first LOT was 16.1 (13.0-19.0) months for the KRAS G12C cohort versus 18.3 (17.2-19.3) months for the KRAS non-G12C cohort, and 19.2 (18.5-19.8) months for the mCRC overall cohort; median (95% CI) rwPFS was 7.4 (6.3-9.5), 9.0 (8.2-9.7), and 9.2 (8.6-9.7) months, respectively. The different KRAS non-G12C mutations examined did not affect clinical outcomes. Median OS and rwPFS for all cohorts declined with each subsequent LOT. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with KRAS p.G12C-mutant mCRC have poor treatment outcomes, and outcomes appear numerically worse than for those without this mutation, indicating potential prognostic implications for KRAS p.G12C mutations and an unmet medical need in this population.

Immune checkpoint-related serum proteins and genetic variants predict outcomes of localized prostate cancer, a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The clinical predictors and biological mechanisms for localized prostate cancer (PCa) outcomes remain mostly unknown. We aim to evaluate the role of serum immune-checkpoint-related (ICK) proteins and genetic variations in predicting outcomes of localized PCa. METHODS: We profiled the serum levels of 14 ICK-related proteins (BTLA, GITR, HVEM, IDO, LAG-3, PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2, Tim-3, CD28, CD80, 4-1BB, CD27, and CTLA-4) in 190 patients with localized PCa. The genotypes of 97 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 19 ICK-related genes were analyzed in an extended population (N = 1762). Meta-data from ArrayExpress and TCGA was employed to validate and to probe functional data. Patients were enrolled and tumor aggressiveness, biochemical recurrence (BCR), and progression information were obtained. Statistical analyses were performed analyzing associations between serum biomarkers, genotypes, mRNA and outcomes. RESULTS: We showed that serum (s)BTLA and sTIM3 levels were associated with PCa aggressiveness (P < 0.05). sCD28, sCD80, sCTLA4, sGITR, sHVEM and sIDO correlated with both BCR and progression risks (all P < 0.05). We further identified ICK variants were significantly associated with aggressiveness, BCR and progression. Among them, 4 SNPs located in CD80 (rs7628626, rs12695388, rs491407, rs6804441) were not only associated with BCR and progression risk, but also correlated with sCD80 level (P < 0.01). rs491407 was further validated in an independent cohort. The CD80 mRNA expression was associated with BCR (HR, 1.85, 95% CI 1.06-3.22, P = 0.03) in meta-analysis of validation cohorts. CONCLUSION: We highlight the prognostic value of serum ICK-related proteins for predicting aggressiveness, BCR and progression of PCa. The genetic variations and mRNA expression in CD80 could be predictors and potential targets of localized PCa.

Circulating obesity-driven biomarkers are associated with risk of clear cell renal cell carcinoma: a two-stage, case-control study.

Obesity is one of modifiable risk factors for clear cell renal cell cancer (ccRCC). We aim to identify the association between obesity-driven biomarkers and ccRCC risk. This is a retrospective, two-phase, case-control study involving 682 cases and 733 controls. Obesity-driven biomarkers [gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), C-peptide, insulin, resistin, adipsin, peptide YY, pancreatic polypeptide, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, lipocalin2, leptin, adiponectin] were measured using the Milliplex method. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the associations between biomarkers and ccRCC risk. Results revealed that GIP, C-peptide, IL-6 and TNF-α levels were consistently distinct between cases and controls. These markers were significantly associated with ccRCC risk in both phases (except C-peptide). In the combined population, compared with individuals with low levels of the biomarkers, individuals with high level of GIP [odds ratio (OR) = 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.40-0.67] had lower risk, whereas individuals with high levels of C-peptide (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.15-1.87), IL-6 (OR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.50-3.22), TNF-α (OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.49-2.43) had significantly higher risk. Stratified analysis showed consistent associations with ccRCC risk in most subgroups (P < 0.05). The risk score based on the IL-6, TNF-α and GIP was positively associated with ccRCC risk in a dose-response manner (P for trend = 2.18E-13). Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas indicate that insulin signaling, IL-6 signaling and TNF-α signaling were enhanced in tumors. Collectively, our study demonstrates the integrative effect of insulin resistance and inflammation in ccRCC development, which may elucidate the basis of association between obesity and carcinogenesis. Further confirmation in prospective cohort studies are warranted for clinical applications in prevention and precision medicine of ccRCC.

Loss of Life Expectancy by 10 Years or More From Elevated Aspartate Aminotransferase: Finding Aspartate Aminotransferase a Better Mortality Predictor for All-Cause and Liver-Related than Alanine Aminotransferase.

OBJECTIVES: Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are 2 commonly ordered liver function tests, and ALT has long been considered more liver-specific than AST. Between the 2, the one which is better in predicting liver or non-liver-related mortality remains unsettled. METHODS: The cohort, 416,122 adults, came from a self-paying comprehensive health surveillance program during 1994-2008 and was followed up till 2008. Mortality came from National Death Index, with 10,412 deaths identified. Hazard ratios (HRs), computed by Cox model, and life expectancy, by life table method, were presented for 5 levels of AST and ALT with elevated AST or ALT defined as ≥40 IU/L. Liver disease included liver cancer and other liver conditions. RESULTS: There were 3 times more elevated ALT (15.4%) than AST (5.7%). However, those with elevated AST had higher mortality for all-cause (HR = 2.44), for liver disease (HR = 27.2), and for liver cancer (HR = 47.6) than its ALT counterparts (HR = 1.69, 10.8, and 20.2, respectively). Elevated AST also lost more years of life expectancy (10.2) than those lost by ALT (5.2) and larger than most common risks. Elevated AST had increased mortality from all cancers (HR = 3.57), stroke (HR = 1.36), respiratory diseases (HR = 1.34), and injuries (HR = 1.82), other than just liver disease. All-cause mortality remained significantly increased, when high risk groups were excluded, such as frequent drinkers, hepatitis carriers, those died from nonmedical conditions, those died in the first 3 years, or advanced fibrosis index based on 4 factors or aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index. Results were consistent between those returned for second visits and those analyzed in initial visits. DISCUSSION: Those with elevated AST (≥40 IU/L) had life expectancy cut short by 10.2 years, doubled the number of years lost with elevated ALT. For all-cause and for liver-related mortality, AST was an important predictor, better than ALT.

Dietary patterns and risk of recurrence and progression in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

The association of dietary factors with urinary bladder cancer prognosis has scarcely been investigated, and results of studies conducted to date are inconsistent. We investigated whether empirically derived dietary patterns are associated with risks of recurrence and progression in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients. Data from 595 newly diagnosed NMIBC patients from an ongoing prospective cohort study were used to derive dietary patterns using exploratory factor analysis. Factor scores were calculated and then categorized in sex-specific tertiles. Multivariable-adjusted proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the associations between tertiles of adherence to the dietary patterns and risks of recurrence and progression. We identified four dietary patterns: "fruits and vegetables," "Western," "low-fat," and "Tex-Mex." Patients in the highest tertile of adherence to the Western pattern experienced a 1.48 times higher risk of recurrence (95% CI 1.06-2.06) compared to patients in the lowest tertile. No statistically significant associations of a Western diet with risk of progression or of the other dietary patterns with risk of recurrence and progression were found. Overall, we found that adherence to a Western diet was associated with a higher risk of recurrence but further studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Glycemic index, glycemic load and carbohydrate intake in association with risk of renal cell carcinoma.

Carbohydrate intake affects postprandial glucose levels and insulin response, which plays a role in carcinogenesis. The relationship between carbohydrate intake, dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL), and risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unclear. We conducted a case-control study including 854 patients with newly diagnosed RCC (cases) and 1255 healthy participants (controls) recruited since 2002. GI, GL and carbohydrate intake were obtained via a validated food frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders. We found that higher GI was significantly associated with RCC risk with an OR of 1.32 (95% CI, 0.99-1.74; Ptrend = 0.026) (the highest versus the lowest quartiles). We also observed an inverse association between fiber intake and RCC risk with OR of 0.70 (95% CI = 0.50-0.99) as well as between starch intake and risk of RCC with OR of 0.65 (95% CI = 0.49-0.87). Individuals with a high-GI diet and hypertension or high body mass index (BMI) had a 2.7 times (OR = 2.67, 95% CI = 1.96-3.64) and two times (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.29-2.92) higher RCC risk, respectively, than those without these factors. Our findings suggest that a high-GI diet is associated with an increased risk of RCC, whereas increased fiber and starch intakes appear to be associated with a decreased risk of RCC. We found that reducing GI levels and increasing fiber intake could be a dietary strategy to decrease RCC risk, especially for individuals with hypertension or high BMI.

A Serological Biopsy Using Five Stomach-Specific Circulating Biomarkers for Gastric Cancer Risk Assessment: A Multi-Phase Study.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess a serological biopsy using five stomach-specific circulating biomarkers-pepsinogen I (PGI), PGII, PGI/II ratio, anti-Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) antibody, and gastrin-17 (G-17)-for identifying high-risk individuals and predicting risk of developing gastric cancer (GC). METHODS: Among 12,112 participants with prospective follow-up from an ongoing population-based screening program using both serology and gastroscopy in China, we conducted a multi-phase study involving a cross-sectional analysis, a follow-up analysis, and an integrative risk prediction modeling analysis. RESULTS: In the cross-sectional analysis, the five biomarkers (especially PGII, the PGI/II ratio, and H. pylori sero-positivity) were associated with the presence of precancerous gastric lesions or GC at enrollment. In the follow-up analysis, low PGI levels and PGI/II ratios were associated with higher risk of developing GC, and both low (<0.5 pmol/l) and high (>4.7 pmol/l) G-17 levels were associated with higher risk of developing GC, suggesting a J-shaped association. In the risk prediction modeling analysis, the five biomarkers combined yielded a C statistic of 0.803 (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.789-0.816) and improved prediction beyond traditional risk factors (C statistic from 0.580 to 0.811, P<0.001) for identifying precancerous lesions at enrollment, and higher serological biopsy scores based on the five biomarkers at enrollment were associated with higher risk of developing GC during follow-up (P for trend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A serological biopsy composed of the five stomach-specific circulating biomarkers could be used to identify high-risk individuals for further diagnostic gastroscopy, and to stratify individuals' risk of developing GC and thus to guide targeted screening and precision prevention.

Polymorphic rs9471643 and rs6458238 upregulate PGC transcription and protein expression in overdominant or dominant models.

The pepsinogen C (PGC) gene encodes a major differentiation biomarker for gastric mucosa and has two single nucleotide polymorphisms, rs9471643 G>C and rs6458238 G>A, within its 5' upstream region that are involved in gastric carcinogenesis. However, in what genetic models the two polymorphisms modulate disease risk and how they relate to gastric carcinogenesis needs further study. We fitted the most appropriate genetic models to the PGC polymorphisms and validated their robustness; then with knowledge of the genetic model, we investigated the influence of functional variant alleles or genotypes on gene expression in vitro and in vivo. We confirmed that rs9471643 CG genotype was stably associated with reduced gastric cancer risk in complete overdominant model. This favorable CG genotype was also associated with reduced atrophic gastritis risk in subjects carrying rs6458238 AG/AA genotype. The G>C transition at rs9471643 enhanced promoter activity and transcription factor binding ability, and the CG genotype was consistently associated with elevated levels of PGC mRNA, in situ protein and serum protein in complete overdominant model based-analyses. Additionally, rs6458238 AG/AA genotype was associated with reduced atrophic gastritis risk in dominant model. Its favorable A allele was related to higher promoter activity and lower transcription factor binding ability, and the AG/AA genotype showed association with elevated levels of serum PGC protein in dominant model based-analyses. Our results suggest that rs9471643 CG and rs6458238 AG/AA genotypes have important roles in up-regulating PGC expression, which may partially explain why individuals with these favorable genotypes have decreased risks of getting gastric cancer.

No association between mitochondrial DNA copy number and colorectal adenomas.

Despite previously reported associations between peripheral blood mtDNA copy number and colorectal cancer, it remains unclear whether altered mtDNA copy number in peripheral blood is a risk factor for colorectal cancer or a biomarker for undiagnosed colorectal cancer. Though colorectal adenomas are well-recognized precursor lesions to colorectal cancer, no study has evaluated an association between mtDNA copy number and colorectal adenoma risk. Hence, we investigated an association between peripheral blood mtDNA copy number and incident, sporadic colorectal adenoma in 412 colorectal adenoma cases and 526 cancer-free controls pooled from three colonoscopy-based case-control studies that used identical methods for case ascertainment, risk factor determination, and biospecimen collection. We also evaluated associations between relative mtDNA copy number and markers of oxidative stress, including circulating F2 -isoprostanes, carotenoids, and fluorescent oxidation products. We measured mtDNA copy number using a quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We used unconditional logistic regression to analyze the association between mtDNA copy number and colorectal adenoma risk after multivariable adjustment. We found no association between logarithmically transformed relative mtDNA copy number, analyzed as a continuous variable, and colorectal adenoma risk (odds ratio = 1.02, 95%CI: 0.82-1.27; P = 0.86). There were no statistically significant associations between relative mtDNA copy number and other markers of oxidative stress. Our findings, taken together with those from previous studies, suggest that relative mtDNA copy number in peripheral blood may more likely be a marker of early colorectal cancer than of risk for the disease or of in vivo oxidative stress. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Temporal changes in serum biomarkers and risk for progression of gastric precancerous lesions: a longitudinal study.

Effectively managing precancerous lesions is crucial to reducing the gastric cancer (GC) burden. We evaluated associations of temporal changes in multiple serological markers (pepsinogen I [PGI], PGII, PGI/II ratio, gastrin-17 and anti-Helicobacter pylori IgG) with risk for progression of gastric precancerous lesions. From 1997 to 2011, repeated esophagogastroduodenoscopies with gastric mucosal biopsies and blood sample collections were conducted on 2,039 participants (5,070 person-visits) in the Zhuanghe Gastric Diseases Screening Program, Liaoning, China. Serum biomarkers were measured using ELISA, and gastric biopsies were evaluated using standardized histologic criteria. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using generalized estimating equations for correlated binary outcomes. The ORs for progression of gastric conditions comparing those whose serum PGI, PGII, and anti-H. pylori IgG levels increased ≥ 50% relative to those whose decreased ≥ 50% were, respectively 1.67 (CI, 1.22-2.28), 1.80 (CI, 1.40-2.33) and 1.93 (CI, 1.48-2.52). The OR for those whose PGI/II ratio decreased ≥ 50% relative to those whose increased ≥ 50% was 1.40 (CI, 1.08-1.81), and for those whose PGII and anti-H. pylori IgG levels both increased ≥ 50% relative to those whose levels both decreased ≥ 50% the OR was 3.18 (CI, 2.05-4.93). Changes in gastrin-17 were not statistically significantly associated with progression. These findings suggest that temporal changes in serum PGI, PGII, PGI/II ratio, and anti-H. pylori IgG levels (especially PGII and anti-H. pylori IgG combined) may be useful for assessing and managing risk for progression of gastric precancerous lesions.

Transforming growth factors and receptor as potential modifiable pre-neoplastic biomarkers of risk for colorectal neoplasms.

Increased colorectal epithelial cell proliferation is an early, common event in colorectal carcinogenesis. We conducted a pilot, colonoscopy-based case-control study (n = 49 cases, 154 controls) of incident, sporadic colorectal adenoma to investigate endogenous cell growth factors and receptor, as well as the balance of growth factors, as potential modifiable pre-neoplastic biomarkers of risk for colorectal neoplasms. We measured transforming growth factor alpha (TGFα), TGFß(1), and TGFß receptor II (TGFßRII) expression in normal-appearing mucosa from the rectum, sigmoid colon, and ascending colon using automated immunohistochemistry and quantitative image analysis. Diet and lifestyle were assessed via questionnaires. The mean ratio of rectal TGFα to TGFß(1) expression and mean rectal TGFα expression were, respectively, 110% (P = 0.02) and 49% (P = 0.04) higher in cases than in controls, and associated with a more than two-fold (OR 2.42, 95% CI 0.85-6.87) and a 62% (OR 1.62, 95% CI 0.63-4.19) higher risk of colorectal adenoma. TGFß(1) and TGFßRII expression were 6.7% (P = 0.75) and 7.2% (P = 0.49), respectively, lower in cases than in controls. The TGFα/TGFß(1) expression ratio was 105% higher among smokers than among non-smokers (P = 0.03). These preliminary data suggest that the balance of TGFα and TGFß(1) expression, and to a lesser extend TGFα alone, in the normal-appearing rectal mucosa may be directly associated with risk for incident, sporadic colorectal neoplasms, as well as with modifiable risk factors for colorectal neoplasms.

Effects of calcium and vitamin D3 on transforming growth factors in rectal mucosa of sporadic colorectal adenoma patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Transforming growth factor alpha (TGFα) and TGFß1 are growth-promoting and -inhibiting autocrine/paracrine growth factors, respectively, that may (1) affect risk for colorectal cancer and (2) be modifiable by anti-proliferative exposures. The effects of supplemental calcium and vitamin D3 on these two markers in the normal-appearing colorectal mucosa in humans are unknown. We conducted a pilot, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial clinical trial (n = 92; 23/treatment group) of calcium 2 g and/or vitamin D3 800 IU/d versus placebo over 6 mo. TGFα and TGFß1 expression was measured in biopsies of normal-appearing rectal mucosa using automated immunohistochemistry and quantitative image analysis at baseline and 6-mo follow-up. In the calcium, vitamin D3 , and calcium plus vitamin D3 groups relative to the placebo group (1) the mean overall expression of TGFß1 increased by 14% (P= 0.25), 19% (P = 0.17), and 22% (P = 0.09); (2) the ratio of TGFα expression in the upper 40% (differentiation zone) to that in the lower 60 (proliferation zone) of the crypts decreased by 34% (P = 0.11), 31% (P = 0.22), and 26% (P = 0.33); and (3) the TGFα/TGFß1 ratio in the upper 40% of the crypts decreased by 28% (P = 0.09), 14% (P = 0.41), and 22% (P = 0.24), respectively. These preliminary results, although not statistically significant, suggest that supplemental calcium and vitamin D3 may increase TGFß1 expression and shift TGFα expression downward from the differentiation to the proliferation zone in the crypts in the normal-appearing colorectal mucosa of sporadic colorectal adenoma patients, and support further investigation in a larger clinical trial.

Serum anti-Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G titer correlates with grade of histological gastritis, mucosal bacterial density, and levels of serum biomarkers.

OBJECTIVE. Clinical implications of serum anti-Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G (IgG) titer were unclear. This study investigated the associations of serum anti-H. pylori IgG titer with grade of histological gastritis, mucosal bacterial density and levels of serum biomarkers, including pepsinogen (PG) I, PGII, PGI/II ratio and gastrin-17. MATERIAL AND METHODS. Study participants were from a screening program in northern China. Serum anti-H. pylori IgG measurements were available for 5922 patients with superficial gastritis. Serum anti-H. pylori IgG titer and serum biomarkers were measured using ELISA, and gastric biopsies were evaluated using standardized criteria. RESULTS. In patients with mild, moderate or severe superficial gastritis, the mean serum anti-H. pylori IgG titers were 17.3, 33.4 and 54.4 EIU (p for trend < 0.0001), respectively. As mucosal H. pylori density score increased from 0 to 3, the mean serum anti-H. pylori IgG titers also increased from 24.7 to 44.8 EIU (p for trend < 0.0001). Serum anti-H. pylori IgG titer was associated positively with serum PGI, PGII and gastrin-17 concentrations and negatively with PGI/II ratio, and the association was the strongest for PGII. The mean PGII concentration of the patients in the highest quartile of IgG titer was twice the mean concentration of the patients in the lowest quartile (17.2 vs. 8.6 EIU, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS. Our results suggest that serum anti-H. pylori IgG titer was associated positively with grade of histological gastritis, mucosal bacterial density and concentrations of serum PGI, PGII and gastrin-17, and negatively with PGI/II ratio.

A comprehensive evaluation of fasting serum gastrin-17 as a predictor of diseased stomach in Chinese population.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Fasting serum gastrin-17 (FsG17) is considered as a noninvasive biomarker reflecting the structure and functional status of gastric mucosa, but its clinical utility remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate FsG17 comprehensively: establish the ranges and cut-off points of FsG17 levels in different gastric diseases, identify their influencing factors, and investigate the accuracy of FsG17 for identifying diseased stomach. METHODS: The study included 4064 participants from Northern China between 2008 and 2013. FsG17 and serum Helicobacter pylori IgG antibody levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed by receiver operator characteristic curves. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the best predictors of gastric histopathological conditions. RESULTS: Median FsG17 levels in healthy, non-atrophic, atrophic, and cancerous stomachs were 1.8, 4.0, 3.8, and 6.1 pmol/l, respectively. Age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, H. pylori infection, and predominant lesion site were factors that affected FsG17 levels. The optimal cut-off values for FsG17 were 3.0 pmol/l (sensitivity of 59.3% and specificity of 67.3%) for discriminating between healthy stomach and diseased stomach and 10.7 pmol/l (sensitivity of 37% and specificity of 83.7%) for discriminating between cancerous stomach and cancer-free stomach; the screening accuracy was higher (sensitivity of 50.0% and specificity of 83.0%) for gastric cancer in the corpus. Multivariate analysis showed that FsG17, gender, age, and H. pylori infection were independent predictors of cancerous stomach. CONCLUSION: With the progression from health stomach to malignancy, FsG17 levels significantly increased and were influenced by other factors. FsG17 combined with age, gender, and H. pylori infection could distinguish between cancerous stomach and cancer-free stomach. The results will enhance our understanding of the potential clinical utility of FsG17.

Big data and artificial intelligence in cancer research.

The field of oncology has witnessed an extraordinary surge in the application of big data and artificial intelligence (AI). AI development has made multiscale and multimodal data fusion and analysis possible. A new era of extracting information from complex big data is rapidly evolving. However, challenges related to efficient data curation, in-depth analysis, and utilization remain. We provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in big data and computational analysis, highlighting key applications, challenges, and future opportunities in cancer research. By sketching the current landscape, we seek to foster a deeper understanding and facilitate the advancement of big data utilization in oncology, call for interdisciplinary collaborations, ultimately contributing to improved patient outcomes and a profound understanding of cancer.

Combining Classic and Novel Neutrophil-Related Biomarkers to Identify Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have revealed that neutrophils play a crucial role in cancer progression. This study aimed to explore the diagnostic value of neutrophil-related biomarkers for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: We initially assessed the associations between classic neutrophil-related biomarkers (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), absolute neutrophil counts (NEU), absolute lymphocyte counts (LYM)) and NSCLC in 3942 cases and 6791 controls. Then, we measured 11 novel neutrophil-related biomarkers via Luminex Assays in 132 cases and 66 controls, individually matching on sex and age (±5 years), and evaluated their associations with NSCLC risk. We also developed the predictive models by sequentially adding variables of interest and assessed model improvement. RESULTS: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) (odds ratio (OR) = 10.687, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.875, 29.473) and Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist (IL-1RA) (OR = 8.113, 95% CI: 3.182, 20.689) shows strong associations with NSCLC risk after adjusting for body mass index, smoking status, NLR, and carcinoembryonic antigen. Adding the two identified biomarkers to the predictive model significantly elevated the model performance from an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.716 to 0.851 with a net reclassification improvement of 97.73%. CONCLUSIONS: IL-6 and IL-1RA were recognized as independent risk factors for NSCLC, improving the predictive performance of the model in identifying disease.

A biological age model based on physical examination data to predict mortality in a Chinese population.

Biological age could be reflective of an individual's health status and aging degree. Limited estimations of biological aging based on physical examination data in the Chinese population have been developed to quantify the rate of aging. We developed and validated a novel aging measure (Balanced-AGE) based on readily available physical health examination data. In this study, a repeated sub-sampling approach was applied to address the data imbalance issue, and this approach significantly improved the performance of biological age (Balanced-AGE) in predicting all-cause mortality with a 10-year time-dependent AUC of 0.908 for all-cause mortality. This mortality prediction tool was found to be effective across different subgroups by age, sex, smoking, and alcohol consumption status. Additionally, this study revealed that individuals who were underweight, smokers, or drinkers had a higher extent of age acceleration. The Balanced-AGE may serve as an effective and generally applicable tool for health assessment and management among the elderly population.

Helicobacter pylori-related host gene polymorphisms associated with susceptibility of gastric carcinogenesis: a two-stage case-control study in Chinese.

Stomach carcinogenesis progresses stepwise from normal mucosa/superficial gastritis, atrophic gastritis (GA) to gastric cancer (GC). Host factors independent of or combined with Helicobacter pylori infection may modulate the carcinogenesis process. In this two-stage study, we selected 24 putative functional tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) for six H.pylori-related host genes, MUC1, toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 11 (PTPN11), IL-1B, PGC and PGA3-5, and analyzed their influence and interaction with H.pylori on the GA and GC risks. Using high-throughput genotyping, the 24 tagSNPs were preliminarily assessed in a screening population of 552 controls, 254 GA and 236 GC subjects; subsequently, five candidate tagSNPs for gastric diseases risk in the TLR4, PGC and PTPN11 genes were re-evaluated in a larger population of 1276 controls, 907GA and 714 GC subjects. We observed that PGC rs6458238, PGC rs4711690 and PTPN11 rs12229892 were associated with susceptibilities to GA and/or GC. Moreover, rs4711690 and rs12229892 and H.pylori demonstrated significant interaction effects on GA risk. In gastric cancerous specimens, we observed significantly higher messenger RNA level in the subjects carrying the PGC rs6458238 GA genotype than that in subjects with the common GG genotype. These findings indicated that genetic variations of two crucial H.pylori-related host genes, H.pylori's mucosal effecter PGC gene and H.pylori's cellular messenger PTPN11 gene, either dependent or independent of interaction with H.pylori, were associated with the risks of GC and/or GA that precede carcinoma. Functional studies and further independent large-scale studies especially in other ethnic populations are still needed to confirm our results.