Residential mobility and liver cancer risk: findings from a prospective cohort study in Chinese women.

BACKGROUND: Residential mobility is believed to influence the occurrence and development of cancer; however, the results are inconclusive. Furthermore, limited studies have been conducted on Asian populations. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between residential mobility and liver cancer risk among Chinese women. METHODS: We enrolled 72,818 women from urban Shanghai between 1996 and 2000, and then followed them until the end of 2016. Cox regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the association between residential mobility and liver cancer risk. A linear trend test was conducted by ranking variables. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted, excluding participants with follow-up times of less than 2 years, to prevent potential bias. RESULTS: During the 1,269,765 person-years of follow-up, liver cancer was newly diagnosed in 259 patients. Domestic migration (HR = 1.47, 95% CI, 1.44-1.50), especially immigration to Shanghai (HR = 1.47, 95% CI, 1.44-1.50) was associated with an increased risk of liver cancer. In addition, migration frequency, age at initial migration and first immigration to Shanghai had linear trends with an increased liver cancer risk (Ptrend <0.001). The results were similar when excluding participants with less than two years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The possible association between residential mobility and a higher risk of liver cancer in women could suggest the need for effective interventions to reduce adverse environmental exposures and enhance people's health.

Prediagnostic plasma metabolite concentrations and liver cancer risk: a population-based study of Chinese men.

BACKGROUND: Previous metabolic profiling of liver cancer has mostly used untargeted metabolomic approaches and was unable to quantitate the absolute concentrations of metabolites. In this study, we examined the association between the concentrations of 186 targeted metabolites and liver cancer risk using prediagnostic plasma samples collected up to 14 years prior to the clinical diagnosis of liver cancer. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study (n = 322 liver cancer cases, n = 322 matched controls) within the Shanghai Men's Health Study. Conditional logistic regression models adjusted for demographics, lifestyle factors, dietary habits, and related medical histories were used to estimate the odds ratios. Restricted cubic spline functions were used to characterise the dose-response relationships between metabolite concentrations and liver cancer risk. FINDINGS: After adjusting for potential confounders and correcting for multiple testing, 28 metabolites were associated with liver cancer risk. Significant non-linear relationships were observed for 22 metabolites. The primary bile acid biosynthesis and phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis were found to be important pathways involved in the aetiology of liver cancer. A metabolic score consisting of 10 metabolites significantly improved the predictive ability of traditional epidemiological risk factors for liver cancer, with an optimism-corrected AUC increased from 0.84 (95% CI: 0.81-0.87) to 0.89 (95% CI: 0.86-0.91). INTERPRETATION: This study characterised the dose-response relationships between metabolites and liver cancer risk, providing insights into the complex metabolic perturbations prior to the clinical diagnosis of liver cancer. The metabolic score may serve as a candidate risk predictor for liver cancer. FUNDING: National Key Project of Research and Development Program of China [2021YFC2500404, 2021YFC2500405]; US National Institutes of Health [subcontract of UM1 CA173640].

Sex-specific impact of dietary patterns on liver cancer incidence: updated results from two population-based cohort studies in China.

PURPOSE: The associations between dietary patterns and liver cancer risk have received much attention, but evidence among the Chinese population is scarce. This study aims to update the results of two cohort studies and provide the sex-specific associations in the Chinese population. METHODS: This study was based on two cohorts from the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS) and the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS). Diet information was collected by validated food frequency questionnaires. Dietary patterns were derived by factor analysis. Cox regression model was utilized to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for associations between dietary patterns and liver cancer risk. RESULTS: During median follow-up years of 11.2 (male) and 17.1 (female) years, 427 males and 252 females were identified as incident primary liver cancer cases. In males, vegetable-based dietary pattern was inversely associated with liver cancer (HRQ4-Q1: 0.67, 95%CI 0.51-0.88, Ptrend < 0.001). Interaction analysis indicated that in males lower vegetable-based dietary pattern score and older age/medical history of chronic hepatitis combined increase the hazard of liver cancer more than the sum of them, with a 114% and 1061% higher risk, respectively. In females, the fruit-based dietary pattern was associated with a reduced risk of liver cancer (HRQ4-Q1: 0.63, 95%CI 0.42-0.95, Ptrend = 0.03). In both males and females, null associations were observed between the meat-based dietary pattern and the risk of liver cancer. CONCLUSION: A vegetable-based dietary pattern in males and a fruit-based dietary pattern in females tended to have a protective role on liver cancer risk. This study provided updated information that might be applied to guide public health action for the primary prevention of liver cancer.

A diet-wide association study for liver cancer risk: findings from a prospective cohort study in Chinese men.

Dietary factors have been extensively investigated as possible risk factors for liver cancer, but the evidence is inconclusive. Our study systematically assessed the association between 142 foods and nutrients and liver cancer risk in a Chinese population using a diet-wide association study. Based on data from 59,844 men in the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS), we assessed the diet intake by dietary questionnaires. Cox regression was used to quantify the association between each food and nutrient and liver cancer risk. A false discovery rate (FDR) of 0.05 was used to select the foods and nutrients for validation. In the cohort, 431 liver cancer cases were identified during 712,373 person-years of follow-up. Retinol (HR per 1 SD increment = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03-1.14) was associated with a higher risk of liver cancer, whereas onions (HR per 1 SD increment = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.54-0.84) and manganese (HR per 1 SD increment = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.78-0.94) were inversely associated with liver cancer risk. In the replication analysis, estimates for these foods and nutrients were similar in magnitude and direction. Our findings confirm that retinol, onions and manganese were associated with liver cancer risk, which provides reliable evidence between diet and liver cancer development.

Observed and relative survival trends of lung cancer: A systematic review of population-based cancer registration data.

BACKGROUND: Using the published survival statistics from cancer registration or population-based studies, we aimed to describe the global pattern and trend of lung cancer survival. METHODS: By searching SinoMed, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and SEER, all survival analyses from cancer registration or population-based studies of lung cancer were collected by the end of November 2022. The survival rates were extracted by sex, period, and country. The observed, relative, and net survival rates of lung cancer were applied to describe the pattern and time changes from the late 1990s to the early 21st century. RESULTS: Age-standardized 5-year relative/net survival rate of lung cancer was typically low, with 10%-20% for most regions. The highest age-standardized relative/net survival rate was observed in Japan (32.9%, 2010-2014), and the lowest was in India (3.7%, 2010-2014). In most countries, the five-year age-standardized relative/net survival rates of lung cancer were higher in females and younger people. The patients with adenocarcinoma had a better prognosis than other groups. In China, the highest 5-year overall relative/net survival rates were 27.90% and 31.62% in men and women in Jiangyin (2012-2013). CONCLUSION: Over the past decades, the prognosis of lung cancer has gradually improved, but significant variations were also observed globally. Worldwide, a better prognosis of lung cancer can be observed in females and younger patients. It is essential to compare and evaluate the histological or stage-specific survival rates of lung cancer between different regions in the future.

Sex-Specific Correlation Analysis of Branched-Chain Amino Acids in Dietary Intakes and Plasma among Chinese Adults.

BACKGROUND: Previous findings about the influence of dietary intakes of the branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) on their plasma concentrations have been limited and inconsistent, and evidence from the Chinese population was lacking. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the diet-plasma BCAA correlations in Chinese male and female adults. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was based on a nested case-control study within 2 prospective population-based cohorts in Shanghai, China. Diet information was collected by the food frequency questionnaires. Plasma BCAA concentrations were measured by ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Spearman correlations and linear regression models were conducted to examine the relationships between dietary BCAA intakes and plasma BCAA. The multivariable model was adjusted for age at the interview, total energy intake, time of blood collection from last meal, dietary patterns, body mass index (in kg/m2), type 2 diabetes, and physical activity. RESULTS: A total of 322 males (median age of 57.0 y) and 187 females (median age of 60.0 y) were included in this cross-sectional study. The geometric means of dietary intake of leucine, isoleucine, valine, and BCAA were 4937.7, 3029.6, 3268.5, and 11237.4 mg/d in males, and 4125.7, 2567.8, 2754.3, and 9449.4 mg/d in females. The geometric means of plasma concentrations of leucine, isoleucine, valine, and BCAA were 181.9, 65.0, 219.8, and 469.4 µM/L in males and 161.6, 61.1, 206.5, and 431.6 µM/L in females. Only leucine (r = 0.1660, P = 0.0028) and total BCAA (r = 0.1348, P = 0.0155) in males exhibited weak positive correlation coefficients. After adjustment for the covariates, leucine, isoleucine, valine, and total BCAA in dietary intakes and plasma were not correlated in both males and females. CONCLUSIONS: In Chinese male and female adults, dietary intakes are not major determinants of plasma concentrations of BCAA, and plasma concentrations might not be reflected by usual dietary intakes of BCAA.

Serum Sirtuin1 level decreases in Parkinson's disease and vascular parkinsonism: A prospective observational study.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate levels and clinical significance of serum SIRT1 in Parkinson's disease (PD) and Vascular parkinsonism (VP). METHODS: This prospective observational research enrolled a total of 165 VP and 159 PD patients who were admitted during March 2018 to December 2021. Blood samples and medical characteristics were also obtained from 160 healthy volunteers. The serum Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) and cytokines levels of all subjects were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Demographic and clinical data were also collected. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software with P < 0.05 as statistically different. RESULTS: The mean age, the UPDRSIII score of VP patients was significantly higher compared with the PD patients (p<0.05), while the MMSE score of VP patients was significantly lower than the PD patients (p<0.001). The serum SIRT1 levels of the VP patients were remarkably lower than the PD patients or the healthy persons (p<0.05). Pearson's analysis showed that SIRT1 levels were negatively correlated with levels of IL-6, TNF- α and hcy. The UPDRSIII of SIRT1 low levels group was remarkably higher than the SIRT1 high levels group (p=0.048), while the MMSE score was lower than the SIRT1 high levels group (p<0.001). In addition, ROC curves showed that SIRT1 could be a potential diagnostic biomarker of VP. SIRT1 was a risk factor for VP. CONCLUSION: Our present study indicated that SIRT1 associated with disease severity and could discriminate PD from VP.

A prospective cohort study of cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and liver cancer incidence in Chinese men.

OBJECTIVES: Population-based prospective studies on the associations of cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and primary liver cancer remain limited in Mainland China. Our study was designed to evaluate such relationships in middle-aged Chinese men. METHODS: Self-reported habits of cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking were obtained from all cohort members at the baseline survey. The outcomes were identified through in-person follow-up and annual record linkage to multiple statistics of vital and cancer registration. Age-adjusted and multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and their corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated utilizing the Cox regression model. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 12.31 years, 329 cases of incident primary liver cancer occurred among 45 266 male participants. Compared with never smoker, former smoker was positively associated with liver cancer risk, with a multivariable-adjusted HR of 1.42 (95% CI 1.02-1.98). Individuals who had smoked for more than 40 years had a 49% increased risk of liver cancer (HR≥40 years  1.49, 95% CI 1.04-2.14). The association of alcohol drinking with liver cancer showed no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provided evidence that cigarette smoking was positively associated with an increased liver cancer risk among Chinese men. Attention to such non-viral modifiable risk factors to prevent liver cancer effectively is needed.

Menstrual Factors, Reproductive History and Liver Cancer Risk: Findings from a Prospective Cohort Study in Chinese Women.

BACKGROUND: Many studies suggested that menstrual and reproductive factors affected the gender disparity in liver carcinogenesis, but the results were inconsistent. Moreover, there are few studies in Asian populations. Therefore, our study was to explore the association of menstrual and reproductive factors on liver cancer risk in Chinese women. METHODS: 72,807 women were recruited in 1996 to 2000 and followed until the end of 2016 in Shanghai, China. Cox regression models were used to estimate HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association of menstrual and reproductive factors with liver cancer. RESULTS: 258 liver cancer cases were identified during 1,269,531 person-years of follow-up. In premenopausal and postmenopausal women, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and injective contraceptives were positively associated with liver cancer risk respectively (HR, 1.23, 95% CI, 1.15-1.30; HR, 1.23, 95% CI, 1.17-1.30; HR, 1.07, 95% CI, 1.05-1.10; HR, 1.08, 95% CI, 1.05-1.11), while older age at menopause, longer reproductive period and fewer live births were associated with reduced risk, especially among postmenopausal women (Ptrend < 0.05). In addition, liver cancer risk was elevated in postmenopausal women who received hysterectomy (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04-1.11), oophorectomy (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01-1.10) or oral contraceptives (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.03-1.08). No association was found between age at menarche and liver cancer risk. Similar results were observed when excluding participants with less than 2 follow-up years. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggested that female sex hormones could play significant roles in liver carcinogenesis. IMPACT: Our study was the first population-based cohort to provide epidemiology evidence of menstrual and reproductive factors on liver cancer risk in Chinese women.

Trends of stomach cancer survival: A systematic review of survival rates from population-based cancer registration.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe the pattern and time trends of survival from stomach cancer worldwide from population-based cancer registers. METHODS: A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, SEER and SinoMed for articles published up to 31 December 2020 was conducted. All eligible survival analyses of stomach cancer were collected and evaluated by countries or regions, periods, sex and age groups. RESULTS: Our review included 76 articles on stomach cancer survival rates and found that these rates had improved globally with time, although this increase was unremarkable. The highest 5-year survival rate of 72.1% was observed in Japan (2004-2007). The 5-year relative and net survival, rates were relatively high in Korea and Japan, while they were fairly poor in Africa and India. Sex-specific survival rates were higher in women than in men in America, Europe and Oceania, whereas they were relatively low in Asia. The poorest age-specific 5-year relative and net survival rates were observed in patients aged over 75 years. CONCLUSIONS: Over the past decades, patient prognosis of stomach cancer has gradually improved worldwide and survival rates in developed regions were higher than those in developing regions. White men and Asian women had a poorer survival than white women and Asian men. Younger patients had better survival rates than those aged over 75 years globally.

Disrupted Topological Organization of Functional Networks in Asymptomatic Carotid Plaque Without Significant Carotid Stenosis: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

Purpose: Previous studies have found that there are significant changes in functional network properties for patients with moderate to severe carotid artery stenosis. Our study aimed to explore the topology properties of brain functional network in asymptomatic patients with carotid plaque without significant stenosis. Methods: A total of 61 asymptomatic patients with carotid plaque (mean age 61.79 ± 7.35 years) and 25 healthy control subjects (HC; 58.12 ± 6.79 years) were recruited. General data collection, carotid ultrasound examination and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed on all subjects. Graph-theory was applied to examine the differences in the brain functional network topological properties between two groups. Results: In the plaque group, Eloc(P = 0.03), γ (P = 0.01), and σ (P = 0.01) were significantly higher than in the HC group. The degree centrality of left middle frontal gyrus and the nodal efficiency of left middle frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal angular gyrus were significantly higher in the plaque group than in HC. The degree centrality and betweenness centrality of right middle temporal gyrus, as well as the nodal efficiency of right middle temporal gyrus, were significantly lower in the plaque group than in HC. Conclusions: The brain functional networks of patients with carotid plaques differ from those of healthy controls. Asymptomatic patients with carotid plaques exhibit increased local and global connectivity, which may reflect subtle reorganizations in response to early brain damage.

Disruption of Regional Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity in Patients with Asymptomatic Vulnerable Carotid Plaque.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Studies have shown that moderate to severe stenosis of the carotid was associated with abnormal neural activity and functional connectivity (FC). However, whether there is a change of neuronal activity in individuals with asymptomatic vulnerable carotid plaque but mild stenosis (VCP) remains unknown. METHODS: From December 2015 to December 2017, a total of 31 patients with VCP and 31 no carotid plaque (NCP) controls were performed multi-modal state functional magnetic resonance imaging and investigated the regional brain activity and FC. Two basic algorithms of rs-fMRI, arterial spin labeling, and inflammatory biomarkers were comprehensively evaluated. The time series of aberrant ReHo and FC were also extracted and correlated with other clinical imaging features. RESULTS: As compared with NCP group, decreased regional brain activity was found mainly in left middle occipital gyrus (MOG) in the VCP group, but there was no significant difference in cerebral blood flow between the two groups. With the left MOG as seed, decreased FC was found between left MOG and right MOG and frontoparietal network in VCP group. Carotid intima-media thickness but not inflammatory biomarkers including high sensitivity c-reactive protein and interleukin-6 was significantly correlated with aberrant ReHo and FC in left MOG and right MOG. CONCLUSIONS: regional brain activity and FC may serve as early imaging markers for vascular-related brain dysfunctions and clinical indicators for early intervention of both atherosclerotic cerebral infarction and vascular cognitive impairments.

Altered brain volume and its relationship to characteristics of carotid plaques in asymptomatic patients.

Carotid plaque is an aggregate marker of exposure to vascular risk factors, which are linked to structural brain changes. We investigated prestroke global and regional changes in brain volume in a carotid plaque population of cognitively healthy individuals and the association between carotid plaque characteristics and these changes.A total of 76 participants were divided into healthy control (HC, n = 28), vulnerable plaque (n = 27) and stable plaque groups (n = 21). All subjects underwent carotid ultrasound and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to examine differences in regional gray matter volumes (rGMVs) among the different groups.The plaque group had a significantly lower mean total cerebral brain volume (TCBV) than the HC group (P = .03). Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) was negatively correlated with TCBV (r = -0.311, P = .006) and rGMV in the right thalamus (r = -0.589, P = .001). The rGMVs of the right middle occipital gyrus and bilateral lingual gyrus were significantly different between the unstable and stable groups. The gray-scale median (GSM) of the plaque and the total plaque risk score (TPRS) were correlated with the volume of the right middle occipital gyrus (r=-0.478, P = .001; r = 0.541, P = .001) and bilateral lingual gyrus (r = -0.419, P = .003; r = 0.288, P = .04).Carotid plaque is related to the volume of the brain parenchyma and right thalamus. The rGMVs of the right middle occipital gyrus and bilateral lingual gyrus differed between the vulnerable plaque and stable plaque groups, and the characteristics of carotid plaques may serve as indexes that reflect these changes.