Educational level and characteristics of invasive breast cancer: findings from a French prospective cohort.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer (BC) characteristics are known to influence patients survival. Social differences have been reported by previous studies for those characteristics but questions persist because of inconsistent conclusions. We aimed to investigate the impact of education on BC stage, grade, and hormone receptor (HR) status, while adjusting for potential confounders including a broad set of health behaviors, anthropometric measures, and reproductive factors. METHODS: In the French E3N cohort, 5236 women developed a primary invasive BC for which there was available information on stage, grade, and HR status. No multivariate analyses was performed for BC stage based on the lack of association in bivariate analyses. Odds ratios and confidence intervals were estimated using multinomial logistic regression models for BC grade or binomial logistic regression models for HR status of BC. RESULTS: Women with a lower education were diagnosed with higher grade BC compared to women with a higher education (1.32 [1.12; 1.57]). This association was slightly attenuated after adjustment for covariates independently and more strongly affected in the fully adjusted model (1.20 [0.99; 1.45]). A significant association was observed between lower education and HR- status of BC (1.20 [1.02; 1.42]) attenuated after adjustment for age at first childbirth (1.12 [0.95; 1.33]). CONCLUSION: In this cohort, education was associated with BC grade and HR status but not stage at diagnosis. The link between education and BC grade was not entirely explained by the different adjustments. A specific mechanism could be at play and deserves further investigations.

Macronutrient composition of plant-based diets and breast cancer risk: the E3N prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: Recent evidence suggests that plant-based diets may reduce the risk of breast cancer (BC). However, the macronutrient composition of plant-based diets and its potential impact on BC risk has not been well explored. This analysis investigated the association of macronutrient composition with BC risk across a spectrum of plant-based diet indexes using a multidimensional approach. DESIGN: This study followed 64,655 participants from the Etude Epidémiologique auprès de femmes de la Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale (E3N) cohort from 1993 to 2014. Diets were evaluated using validated 208-item diet history questionnaires at baseline (1993) and follow-up (2005), to calculate adherence to the overall plant-based diet (PDI), healthful plant-based diet (hPDI), and unhealthful plant-based diet (uPDI). The association of macronutrient composition with BC risk was assessed via generalized additive time-dependent Cox models across different levels of these indexes. Response surfaces were generated to visualize compositional associations at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of each index (low, moderate, and high). RESULTS: A total of 3,932 incident BC cases were identified during the 21-year follow-up. There was a significant association between macronutrient composition and BC risk for hPDI, uPDI, and PDI (all P < 0.001). Akaike information criterion favored the hPDI model for characterizing the association between macronutrients and BC. BC risk was highest for individuals with a lower hPDI score who also consumed a diet containing lower protein (10%), lower carbohydrate (35%), and higher fat (55%). The lowest risk of BC was observed in those with higher hPDI scores with the lowest intake of protein (10%). At higher PDI and uPDI, diets containing higher protein (30%) and fat (45%) had the highest BC risk. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate a complex relationship between macronutrient composition, plant-based diet quality, and BC risk. Further research is needed to examine specific foods that may be driving these associations. REGISTRY: The protocol is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03285230.

Accuracy of self-reported diagnoses of polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis in the French prospective E3N- EPIC cohort: A validation study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy of self-reported giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) diagnoses in a large French population-based prospective cohort, and to devise algorithms to improve their accuracy. METHODS: The E3N-EPIC cohort study (Etude Epidémiologique auprès des femmes de la Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale) includes 98,995 French women born between 1925 and 1950, recruited in 1990 to study risk factors of cancer and chronic diseases. They completed biennially mailed questionnaires to update their health-related information and lifestyle characteristics. In three questionnaires, women could self-report a diagnosis of GCA/PMR. Those women were additionally sent a specific questionnaire, designed to ascertain self-reported diagnoses of GCA/PMR. Four algorithms were then devised to improve their identification. Accuracies of self-reported diagnoses and of each algorithm were calculated by comparing the diagnoses with a blinded medical chart review. RESULTS: Among 98,995 participants, 1,392 women self-reported GCA/PMR. 830 women sent back the specific questionnaire, and 202 women provided medical charts. After independent review of the 202 medical charts, 87.6 % of the self-reported diagnoses of GCA/PMR were accurate. Using additional data from a specific questionnaire (diagnosis confirmation by a physician, and self-report of >3-month of glucocorticoids), and from a reimbursement database (at least two deliveries of glucocorticoids in less than 3 consecutive months) improved their accuracy (91.8 % to 92.8 %). CONCLUSION: The accuracy of self-reported diagnosis of GCA/PMR was high in the E3N-cohort but using additional data as a specific GCA/PMR questionnaire and/or corticosteroid reimbursement database further improved this accuracy. With nearly 600 detected cases of GCA/PMR, we will be able to investigate risk factors for GCA/PMR in women.

Dietary index based on the Food Standards Agency nutrient profiling system and risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND: Nutri-score is now widely available in food packages in Europe. AIM: To study the overall nutritional quality of the diet in relation to risks of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort METHODS: We collected dietary data at baseline from validated food frequency questionnaires. We used a dietary index based on the UK Food Standards Agency modified nutrient profiling system (FSAm-NPS-DI) underlying the Nutri-Score label, to measure the nutritional quality of the diet. We estimated the association between FSAm-NPS-DI score, and CD and UC risks using Cox models stratified by centre, sex and age; and adjusted for smoking status, BMI, physical activity, energy intake, educational level and alcohol intake. RESULTS: We included 394,255 participants (68.1% women; mean age at recruitment 52.1 years). After a mean follow-up of 13.6 years, there were 184 incident cases of CD and 459 incident cases of UC. Risk of CD was higher in those with a lower nutritional quality, that is higher FSAm-NPS-DI Score (fourth vs. first quartile: aHR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.24-3.36; p-trend: <0.01). Among items of the FSAm-NPS-DI Score, low intakes of dietary fibre and fruits/vegetables/legumes/nuts were associated with higher risk of CD. Nutritional quality was not associated with risk of UC (fourth vs. first quartile of the FSAm-NPS-DI Score: aHR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.69-1.21; p-trend: 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: A diet with low nutritional quality as measured by the FSAm-NPS-DI Score is associated with a higher risk of CD but not UC.

Childhood and adulthood passive and active smoking, and the ABO group as risk factors for pancreatic cancer in women.

OBJECTIVES: Active smoking and the A blood group are associated with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PC) risk. However, potential interactions between those risk factors and the role of passive smoking have been little investigated. We aimed to explore specific and joint associations of passive and active smoking, and effect modification by the ABO blood group in French women. METHODS: The study included 96,594 women from the E3N prospective cohort, mean age: 49 years (SD 6.7). Information on active and passive smoking was reported at inclusion and throughout follow-up. Cases were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases 10. Associations with passive and active smoking and effect modification by the ABO blood group were investigated with multivariable Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: During a 24-year median follow-up, 346 incident PC cases were identified. Current smoking compared with never and former smoking (HR 1.51 [95% CI 1.08-2.10]), and passive smoking in childhood compared with no childhood exposure (HR 1.47 [95% CI 1.08-2.00]) were associated with increased PC risk, but not passive exposure in adulthood (HR 1.16 [95% CI 0.91-1.47]). Exposure to both passive smoking in childhood and current smoking was associated with a stronger risk (HR 2.80 [95% CI 1.42-5.52]) than exposure to both current smoking and passive smoking only in adulthood (HR 1.68 [95% CI 1.10-2.57]) compared with neither passive nor active smoking. Associations between active smoking and PC risk were strongest in the O or B groups, while associations with passive smoking were strongest in the A or AB blood groups, but the interaction terms were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Both current smoking and passive smoking in childhood were associated with PC risk, with a maximal risk of current smokers exposed to passive smoking during childhood. Possible interactions between blood groups and active or passive smoking must be investigated in a larger series.

Investigation of common genetic risk factors between thyroid traits and breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) risk is suspected to be linked to thyroid disorders, however observational studies exploring the association between BC and thyroid disorders gave conflicting results. We proposed an alternative approach by investigating the shared genetic risk factors between BC and several thyroid traits. We report a positive genetic correlation between BC and thyroxine (FT4) levels (corr = 0.13, p-value = 2.0 × 10-4) and a negative genetic correlation between BC and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (corr = -0.09, p-value = 0.03). These associations are more striking when restricting the analysis to estrogen receptor-positive BC. Moreover, the polygenic risk scores (PRS) for FT4 and hyperthyroidism are positively associated to BC risk (OR = 1.07, 95%CI: 1.00-1.13, p-value = 2.8 × 10-2 and OR = 1.04, 95%CI: 1.00-1.08, p-value = 3.8 × 10-2, respectively), while the PRS for TSH is inversely associated to BC risk (OR = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.89-0.97, p-value = 2.0 × 10-3). Using the PLACO method, we detected 49 loci associated to both BC and thyroid traits (p-value < 5 × 10-8), in the vicinity of 130 genes. An additional colocalization and gene-set enrichment analyses showed a convincing causal role for a known pleiotropic locus at 2q35 and revealed an additional one at 8q22.1 associated to both BC and thyroid cancer. We also found two new pleiotropic loci at 14q32.33 and 17q21.31 that were associated to both TSH levels and BC risk. Enrichment analyses and evidence of regulatory signals also highlighted brain tissues and immune system as candidates for obtaining associations between BC and TSH levels. Overall, our study sheds light on the complex interplay between BC and thyroid traits and provides evidence of shared genetic risk between those conditions.

Associations between dietary inflammatory scores and biomarkers of inflammation in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

BACKGROUND: Since the first version of the dietary inflammatory index (DII®) developed in the past decade, several other versions have been developed. However, to date no study has attempted to compare these versions with respect to their associations with biomarkers of inflammation. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the relationship between four dietary inflammatory scores [DII, two energy-adjusted derivatives (E-DII and E-DIIr), and the Inflammatory Score of the Diet (ISD)], and circulating levels of several inflammatory markers and adipokines. METHODS: This study included 17 637 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort with at least one marker of inflammation measured in blood. Associations between the four scores and C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)6, IL10, IL1RA, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 (sTNFR1), sTNFR2, leptin, soluble leptin receptor (sLeptin R), adiponectin, and High Molecular Weight (HMW) adiponectin were evaluated using multivariable linear regressions adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: Positive associations were observed between the four dietary inflammatory scores and levels of CRP, IL6, sTNFR1, sTNFR2 and leptin. However, only the DII and the ISD were positively associated with IL1RA levels and only the DII and the E-DIIr were positively associated with TNFα levels. The proportion of variance of each biomarker explained by the scores was lower than 2%, which was equivalent to the variance explained by smoking status but much lower than that explained by body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the four dietary inflammatory scores were associated with some biomarkers of inflammation and could be used to assess the inflammatory potential of diet in European adults but are not sufficient to capture the inflammatory status of an individual. These findings can help to better understand the inflammatory potential of diet, but they need to be replicated in studies with repeated dietary measurements.

Long-term adherence to healthful and unhealthful plant-based diets and breast cancer risk overall and by hormone receptor and histologic subtypes among postmenopausal females.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies assessing the influence of vegetarian diets on breast cancer (BC) risk have produced inconsistent results. Few studies have assessed how the incremental decrease in animal foods and the quality of plant foods are linked with BC. OBJECTIVES: Disentangle the influence of plant-based diet quality on BC risk between postmenopausal females. METHODS: Total of 65,574 participants from the E3N (Etude Epidémiologique auprès de femmes de la Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale) cohort were followed from 1993-2014. Incident BC cases were confirmed through pathological reports and classified into subtypes. Cumulative average scores for healthful (hPDI) and unhealthful (uPDI) plant-based diet indices were developed using self-reported dietary intakes at baseline (1993) and follow-up (2005) and divided into quintiles. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted HR and 95% CI. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 21 y, 3968 incident postmenopausal BC cases were identified. There was a nonlinear association between adherence to hPDI and BC risk (Pnonlinear < 0.01). Compared to participants with low adherence to hPDI, those with high adherence had a lower BC risk [HRQ3 compared withQ1 (95% CI): 0.79 (0.71, 0.87) and HRQ4 compared with Q1 (95% CI): 0.78 (0.70, 0.86)]. In contrast, higher adherence to unhealthful was associated with a linear increase in BC risk [Pnonlinear = 0.18; HRQ5 compared with Q1 (95% CI): 1.20 (1.08, 1.33); Ptrend < 0.01]. Associations were similar according to BC subtypes (Pheterogeneity > 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term adherence to healthful plant foods with some intake of unhealthy plant and animal foods may reduce BC risk with an optimal risk reduction in the moderate intake range. Adherence to an unhealthful plant-based diet may increase BC risk. These results emphasize the importance of the quality of plant foods for cancer prevention. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03285230).

Circulating amino acid levels and colorectal cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition and UK Biobank cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Amino acid metabolism is dysregulated in colorectal cancer patients; however, it is not clear whether pre-diagnostic levels of amino acids are associated with subsequent risk of colorectal cancer. We investigated circulating levels of amino acids in relation to colorectal cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) and UK Biobank cohorts. METHODS: Concentrations of 13-21 amino acids were determined in baseline fasting plasma or serum samples in 654 incident colorectal cancer cases and 654 matched controls in EPIC. Amino acids associated with colorectal cancer risk following adjustment for the false discovery rate (FDR) were then tested for associations in the UK Biobank, for which measurements of 9 amino acids were available in 111,323 participants, of which 1221 were incident colorectal cancer cases. RESULTS: Histidine levels were inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk in EPIC (odds ratio [OR] 0.80 per standard deviation [SD], 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69-0.92, FDR P-value=0.03) and in UK Biobank (HR 0.93 per SD, 95% CI 0.87-0.99, P-value=0.03). Glutamine levels were borderline inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk in EPIC (OR 0.85 per SD, 95% CI 0.75-0.97, FDR P-value=0.08) and similarly in UK Biobank (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.89-1.01, P=0.09) In both cohorts, associations changed only minimally when cases diagnosed within 2 or 5 years of follow-up were excluded. CONCLUSIONS: Higher circulating levels of histidine were associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer in two large prospective cohorts. Further research to ascertain the role of histidine metabolism and potentially that of glutamine in colorectal cancer development is warranted.

Palaeolithic diet score and risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women overall and by hormone receptor and histologic subtypes.

BACKGROUND: The Palaeolithic diet (PD) has gained popularity globally. There is emerging evidence of its putative health benefits as short-term effects on chronic diseases have been reported. We evaluated the association between long-term adherence to the PD and breast cancer (BC) risk among postmenopausal women. METHODS: 65,574 women from the Etude Epidémiologique auprès de femmes de la Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale (E3N) cohort were followed from 1993 to 2014. Incident BC cases were identified and validated. The PD score was calculated using dietary intake self-reported at baseline (1993) and follow-up (2005) or baseline only if censored before follow-up. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate BC hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Over a mean follow-up of 20 years, 3968 incident BC cases occurred. An increase of 1 standard deviation in the PD score was associated with an 8% lower BC risk, fully-adjusted model: HR1-SD 0.92, 95% CI; 0.89, 0.95. Compared to women with low adherence to the PD, women with high adherence had a 17% lower BC risk, HRQ5 vs Q1 0.83, 95% CI; 0.75, 0.92, Ptrend < 0.01. When considering BC subtypes, we observed the same pattern of association (Pheterogeneity > 0.10 for all). CONCLUSIONS: High adherence to a PD characterised by fruit, vegetables, nuts, fish, and lean meat and limited in dairy, grains, legumes, refined sugar, and alcohol was associated with a lower BC risk. The lack of heterogeneity according to BC subtypes could indicate the involvement of non-hormonal mechanisms. The protocol is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03285230. REGISTRY: The protocol is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03285230.

Multi-Morbidity and Risk of Breast Cancer among Women in the UK Biobank Cohort.

(Multi-)Morbidity shares common biological mechanisms or risk factors with breast cancer. This study aimed to investigate the association between the number of morbidities and patterns of morbidity and the risk of female breast cancer. Among 239,436 women (40-69 years) enrolled in the UK Biobank cohort who had no cancer history at baseline, we identified 35 self-reported chronic diseases at baseline. We assigned individuals into morbidity patterns using agglomerative hierarchical clustering analysis. We fitted Cox models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for breast cancer risk. In total, 58.4% of women had at least one morbidity, and the prevalence of multi-morbidity was 25.8%. During a median 7-year follow-up, there was no association between breast cancer risk (5326 cases) and either the number of morbidities or the identified clinically relevant morbidity patterns: no-predominant morbidity (reference), psychiatric morbidities (HR = 1.04, 95%CI 0.94-1.16), respiratory/immunological morbidities (HR = 0.98, 95%CI 0.90-1.07), cardiovascular/metabolic morbidities (HR = 0.93, 95%CI 0.81-1.06), and unspecific morbidities (HR = 0.98, 95%CI 0.89-1.07), overall. Among women younger than 50 years of age only, however, there was a significant association with psychiatric morbidity patterns compared to the no-predominant morbidity pattern (HR = 1.25, 95%CI 1.02-1.52). The other associations did not vary when stratifying by age at baseline and adherence to mammography recommendations. In conclusion, multi-morbidity was not a key factor to help identify patients at an increased risk of breast cancer.

Statin Use and Incidence of Parkinson's Disease in Women from the French E3N Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Statins represent candidates for drug repurposing in Parkinson's disease (PD). Few studies examined the role of reverse causation, statin subgroups, and dose-response relations based on time-varying exposures. OBJECTIVES: We examined whether statin use is associated with PD incidence while attempting to overcome the limitations described previously, especially reverse causation. METHOD: We used data from the E3N cohort study of French women (follow-up, 2004-2018). Incident PD was ascertained using multiple sources and validated by experts. New statin users were identified through linked drug claims. We set up a nested case-control study to describe trajectories of statin prescriptions and medical consultations before diagnosis. We used time-varying multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models to examine the statins-PD association. Exposure indexes included ever use, cumulative duration/dose, and mean daily dose and were lagged by 5 years to address reverse causation. RESULTS: The case-control study (693 cases, 13,784 controls) showed differences in case-control trajectories, with changes in the 5 years before diagnosis in cases. Of 73,925 women (aged 54-79 years), 524 developed PD and 11,552 started using statins in lagged analyses. Ever use of any statin was not associated with PD (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.67-1.11). Alternatively, ever use of lipophilic statins was significantly associated with lower PD incidence (HR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.51-0.98), with a dose-response relation for the mean daily dose (P-linear trend = 0.02). There was no association for hydrophilic statins. CONCLUSION: Use of lipophilic statins at least 5 years earlier was associated with reduced PD incidence in women, with a dose-response relation for the mean daily dose. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Risk Prediction Models for Cardiotoxicity of Chemotherapy Among Patients With Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Importance: Cardiotoxicity is a serious adverse effect that can occur in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Identifying patients who will develop cardiotoxicity remains challenging. Objective: To identify, describe, and evaluate all prognostic models developed to predict cardiotoxicity following treatment in women with breast cancer. Evidence Review: This systematic review searched the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases up to September 22, 2021, to include studies developing or validating a prediction model for cardiotoxicity in women with breast cancer. The Prediction Model Risk of Bias Assessment Tool (PROBAST) was used to assess both the risk of bias and the applicability of the prediction modeling studies. Transparency reporting was assessed with the Transparent Reporting of a Multivariable Prediction Model for Individual Prognosis or Diagnosis (TRIPOD) tool. Findings: After screening 590 publications, we identified 7 prognostic model studies for this review. Six were model development studies and 1 was an external validation study. Outcomes included occurrence of cardiac dysfunction (echocardiographic parameters), heart failure, and composite clinical outcomes. Model discrimination, measured by the area under receiver operating curves or C statistic, ranged from 0.70 (95% IC, 0.62-0.77) to 0.87 (95% IC, 0.77-0.96). The most common predictors identified in final prediction models included age, baseline left ventricular ejection fraction, hypertension, and diabetes. Four of the developed models were deemed to be at high risk of bias due to analysis concerns, particularly for sample size, handling of missing data, and not presenting appropriate performance statistics. None of the included studies examined the clinical utility of the developed model. All studies met more than 80% of the items in TRIPOD checklist. Conclusions and Relevance: In this systematic review of the 6 predictive models identified, only 1 had undergone external validation. Most of the studies were assessed as being at high overall risk of bias. Application of the reporting guidelines may help future research and improve the reproducibility and applicability of prediction models for cardiotoxicity following breast cancer treatment.

Dietary intake of total, heme and non-heme iron and the risk of colorectal cancer in a European prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Iron is an essential micronutrient with differing intake patterns and metabolism between men and women. Epidemiologic evidence on the association of dietary iron and its heme and non-heme components with colorectal cancer (CRC) development is inconclusive. METHODS: We examined baseline dietary questionnaire-assessed intakes of total, heme, and non-heme iron and CRC risk in the EPIC cohort. Sex-specific multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using Cox regression. We modelled substitution of a 1 mg/day of heme iron intake with non-heme iron using the leave one-out method. RESULTS: Of 450,105 participants (318,680 women) followed for 14.2 ± 4.0 years, 6162 (3511 women) developed CRC. In men, total iron intake was not associated with CRC risk (highest vs. lowest quintile, HRQ5vs.Q1:0.88; 95%CI:0.73, 1.06). An inverse association was observed for non-heme iron (HRQ5vs.Q1:0.80, 95%CI:0.67, 0.96) whereas heme iron showed a non-significant association (HRQ5vs.Q1:1.10; 95%CI:0.96, 1.27). In women, CRC risk was not associated with intakes of total (HRQ5vs.Q1:1.11, 95%CI:0.94, 1.31), heme (HRQ5vs.Q1:0.95; 95%CI:0.84, 1.07) or non-heme iron (HRQ5vs.Q1:1.03, 95%CI:0.88, 1.20). Substitution of heme with non-heme iron demonstrated lower CRC risk in men (HR:0.94; 95%CI: 0.89, 0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest potential sex-specific CRC risk associations for higher iron consumption that may differ by dietary sources.

Prediagnostic serum calcium concentrations and risk of colorectal cancer development in 2 large European prospective cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Higher dietary calcium consumption is associated with lower colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. However, little data are available on the association between circulating calcium concentrations and CRC risk. OBJECTIVES: To explore the association between circulating calcium concentrations and CRC risk using data from 2 large European prospective cohort studies. METHODS: Conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate multivariable-adjusted ORs and 95% CIs in case-control studies nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC; n-cases = 947, n-controls = 947) and the UK Biobank (UK-BB; n-cases = 2759, n-controls = 12,021) cohorts. RESULTS: In EPIC, nonalbumin-adjusted total serum calcium (a proxy of free calcium) was not associated with CRC (OR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.03; modeled as continuous variable, per 1 mg/dL increase), colon cancer (OR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.82, 1.05) or rectal cancer (OR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.84, 1.20) risk in the multivariable adjusted model. In the UK-BB, serum ionized calcium (free calcium, most active form) was inversely associated with the risk of CRC (OR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.95; per 1 mg/dL) and colon cancer (OR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.68, 0.90), but not rectal cancer (OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.83, 1.24) in multivariable adjusted models. Meta-analysis of EPIC and UK-BB CRC risk estimates showed an inverse risk association for CRC in the multivariable adjusted model (OR: 0.90; 95%CI: 0.84, 0.97). In analyses by quintiles, in both cohorts, higher levels of serum calcium were associated with reduced CRC risk (EPIC: ORQ5vs.Q1: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.47, 1.00; P-trend = 0.03; UK-BB: ORQ5vs.Q1: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.94; P-trend < 0.01). Analyses by anatomical subsite showed an inverse cancer risk association in the colon (EPIC: ORQ5vs.Q1: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.39, 1.02; P-trend = 0.05; UK-BB: ORQ5vs.Q1: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.88; P-trend < 0.01) but not the rectum. CONCLUSIONS: In UK-BB, higher serum ionized calcium levels were inversely associated with CRC, but the risk was restricted to the colon. Total serum calcium showed a null association in EPIC. Additional prospective studies in other populations are needed to better investigate these associations.

Sweetened beverages are associated with a higher risk of differentiated thyroid cancer in the EPIC cohort: a dietary pattern approach.

BACKGROUND: Dietary pattern analysis has gained particular interest, because it reflects the complexity of dietary intake. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between a posteriori dietary patterns, derived using a data-driven approach, and the risk of differentiated thyroid cancer (TC) in Europe. METHODS: This investigation included 450,064 adults from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Dietary intake was assessed using validated country-specific dietary questionnaires. A posteriori dietary patterns were computed using principal component analyses. Cox regression was used to calculate multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: After a mean follow-up time of 14 years, 712 first differentiated TCs were diagnosed. In the fully adjusted model, a dietary pattern characterized by alcohol consumption (basically beer and wine) was negatively associated with differentiated TC risk (HRQ4vs.Q1 = 0.75; 95% CI:0.60-0.94, P-trend = 0.005), while a dietary pattern rich in sweetened beverages was positively associated with differentiated TC risk (HRQ4vs.Q1 = 1.26; 95% CI:0.99-1.61; P-trend = 0.07). The remaining 8 dietary patterns were not related to differentiated TC risk. The intake of sweetened beverages was positively associated with differentiated TC risk (HR100mL/d = 1.05; 95% CI:1.00-1.11), especially with papillary TC risk (HR100mL/d = 1.07; 95% CI:1.01-1.13). Similar results were observed with sugary and artificially sweetened beverages. CONCLUSIONS: The investigation of dietary patterns detected that the consumption of sweetened beverages was associated with a higher risk of differentiated thyroid cancer. Our results are in line with the general dietary recommendations of reducing the consumption of sweetened beverages.

The effect of thyroid dysfunction on breast cancer risk: an updated meta-analysis.

In a previous systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting associations between hyper-/hypothyroidism and breast cancer incidence published through 29 January 2019, we identified a higher risk with diagnosed hyperthyroidism compared to euthyroidism, but no association with diagnosed hypothyroidism. This 2-year updated meta-analysis aims to investigate the role of menopause in this association and the dose-response relationship with blood levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroid hormones. After the exclusion of studies with only mortality follow-up, with thyroid dysfunction evaluated as a cancer biomarker or after prior breast cancer diagnosis, we reviewed 25 studies that were published up to 01 December 2021 and identified in MEDLINE, the COCHRANE library, Embase, or Web of Science; of these, 9 were included in the previous meta-analysis. Risk estimates from 22 of the 25 studies were included in the meta-analysis and pooled using random-effects models. Compared to euthyroidism, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism diagnoses were associated with higher (pooled risk ratio (RR): 1.12, 95% CI: 1.06-1.18, 3829 exposed cases) and lower risks (RR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86-1.00, 5632 exposed cases) of breast cancer, respectively. The increased risk after hyperthyroidism was greater among postmenopausal women (RR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.09-1.30) and the decreased risk after hypothyroidism was more pronounced among premenopausal women (RR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.53-0.89). Among women with no prior history of thyroid disease, every 1 mIU/L increase in TSH level was associated with a 0.8% (95% CI > 0-1.5%) lower risk of breast cancer. In conclusion, this meta-analysis supports an association between thyroid hormone levels and breast cancer risk, which could be modified by menopausal status.

Food Processing and Risk of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: A European Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Industrial foods have been associated with increased risks of several chronic conditions. We investigated the relationship between the degree of food processing and risks of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. METHODS: Analyses included 413,590 participants (68.6% women; mean baseline age, 51.7 y) from 8 European countries. Dietary data were collected at baseline from validated country-specific dietary questionnaires. Associations between proportions of unprocessed/minimally processed and ultraprocessed food intake and CD and UC risks were estimated using Cox models to obtain hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs. Models were stratified by center, age, and sex, and adjusted for smoking status, body mass index, physical activity, energy intake, educational level, and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up period of 13.2 years, 179 incident cases of CD and 431 incident cases of UC were identified. The risk of CD was lower in people consuming high proportions of unprocessed/minimally processed foods (adjusted HR for the highest vs lowest quartile: 0.57; 95% CI, 0.35-0.93; P trend < .01), particularly fruits and vegetables (adjusted HRs, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.34-0.87 and 0.55; 95% CI, 0.34-0.91, respectively). There was no association between unprocessed/minimally processed food intake and the risk of UC. No association was detected between ultraprocessed food consumption and CD or UC risks. CONCLUSIONS: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, consumption of unprocessed/minimally processed foods was associated with a lower risk of CD. No association between UC risk and food processing was found.