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Diets high in red or processed meat have been associated positively with some cancers, and several possible underlying mechanisms have been proposed, including iron-related pathways. However, the role of meat intake in adult glioma risk has yielded conflicting findings because of small sample sizes and heterogeneous tumour classifications. The aim of this study was to examine red meat, processed meat and iron intake in relation to glioma risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. In this prospective cohort study, 408751 individuals from nine European countries completed demographic and dietary questionnaires at recruitment. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine intake of red meat, processed meat, total dietary iron and haem iron in relation to incident glioma. During an average follow-up of 14.1 years, 688 incident glioma cases were diagnosed. There was no evidence that any of the meat variables (red, processed meat or subtypes of meat) or iron (total or haem) were associated with glioma; results were unchanged when the first 2 years of follow-up were excluded. This study suggests that there is no association between meat or iron intake and adult glioma. This is the largest prospective analysis of meat and iron in relation to glioma and as such provides a substantial contribution to a limited and inconsistent literature.

Scores of overall diet quality have received increasing attention in relation to disease aetiology; however, their value in risk prediction has been little examined. The objective was to assess and compare the association and predictive performance of 10 diet quality scores on 10-year risk of all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality in 451,256 healthy participants to the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, followed-up for a median of 12.8y. All dietary scores studied showed significant inverse associations with all outcomes. The range of HRs (95% CI) in the top vs. lowest quartile of dietary scores in a composite model including non-invasive factors (age, sex, smoking, body mass index, education, physical activity and study centre) was 0.75 (0.72-0.79) to 0.88 (0.84-0.92) for all-cause, 0.76 (0.69-0.83) to 0.84 (0.76-0.92) for CVD and 0.78 (0.73-0.83) to 0.91 (0.85-0.97) for cancer mortality. Models with dietary scores alone showed low discrimination, but composite models also including age, sex and other non-invasive factors showed good discrimination and calibration, which varied little between different diet scores examined. Mean C-statistic of full models was 0.73, 0.80 and 0.71 for all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality. Dietary scores have poor predictive performance for 10-year mortality risk when used in isolation but display good predictive ability in combination with other non-invasive common risk factors., The coordination of EPIC is financially supported by the European Commission (D-GSANCO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The national cohorts are supported by Danish Cancer Society (Denmark); Ligue Contre le Cancer, Institut Gustave Roussy, Mutuelle Generale de l'Education Nationale, Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) (France); German Cancer Aid, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Deutsche Krebshilfe, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum and Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany); the Hellenic Health Foundation (Greece); Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro-AIRC- Italy and National Research Council (Italy); Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS), Netherlands Cancer Registry (NKR), LK Research Funds, Dutch Prevention Funds, Dutch ZON (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland), World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), Statistics Netherlands (The Netherlands); Health Research Fund (FIS), PI13/00061 to Granada, Regional Governments of Andalucia, Asturias, Basque Country, Murcia (no. 6236) and Navarra, ISCIII RETIC (RD06/0020) (Spain); Swedish Cancer Society, Swedish Research Council and County Councils of Skane and Vasterbotten (Sweden); Cancer Research UK (14136 to EPIC-Norfolk; C570/A16491 and C8221/A19170 to EPIC-Oxford), Medical Research Council (1000143 to EPIC-Norfolk, MR/M012190/1 to EPIC-Oxford) (United Kingdom).

Despite the potential cancer preventive effects of flavonoids and lignans, their ability to reduce pancreatic cancer risk has not been demonstrated in epidemiological studies. Our aim was to examine the association between dietary intakes of flavonoids and lignans and pancreatic cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. A total of 865 exocrine pancreatic cancer cases occurred after 11.3 years of follow-up of 477,309 cohort members. Dietary flavonoid and lignan intake was estimated through validated dietary questionnaires and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Phenol Explorer databases. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using age, sex and center-stratified Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for energy intake, body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol and diabetes status. Our results showed that neither overall dietary intake of flavonoids nor of lignans were associated with pancreatic cancer risk (multivariable-adjusted HR for a doubling of intake=1.03, 95% CI: 0.95-1.11 and 1.02; 95% CI: 0.89-1.17, respectively). Statistically significant associations were also not observed by flavonoid subclasses. An inverse association between intake of flavanones and pancreatic cancer risk was apparent, without reaching statistical significance, in microscopically confirmed cases (HR for a doubling of intake=0.96, 95% CI: 0.91-1.00). In conclusion, we did not observe an association between intake of flavonoids, flavonoid subclasses or lignans and pancreatic cancer risk in the EPIC cohort. What’s new? Flavonoids and lignans found in plant-based foods are potent cancer chemopreventive agents but little is known about their effects on pancreatic cancer risk. Here the authors address this question in a large prospective epidemiological study using comprehensively derived dietary data. Their results support growing evidence that there is no association between food-based consumption of both substances with pancreatic cancer risk.

Scores of overall diet quality have received increasing attention in relation to disease aetiology; however, their value in risk prediction has been little examined. The objective was to assess and compare the association and predictive performance of 10 diet quality scores on 10-year risk of all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality in 451,256 healthy participants to the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, followed-up for a median of 12.8y. All dietary scores studied showed significant inverse associations with all outcomes. The range of HRs (95% CI) in the top vs. lowest quartile of dietary scores in a composite model including non-invasive factors (age, sex, smoking, body mass index, education, physical activity and study centre) was 0.75 (0.72-0.79) to 0.88 (0.84-0.92) for all-cause, 0.76 (0.69-0.83) to 0.84 (0.76-0.92) for CVD and 0.78 (0.73-0.83) to 0.91 (0.85-0.97) for cancer mortality. Models with dietary scores alone showed low discrimination, but composite models also including age, sex and other non-invasive factors showed good discrimination and calibration, which varied little between different diet scores examined. Mean C-statistic of full models was 0.73, 0.80 and 0.71 for all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality. Dietary scores have poor predictive performance for 10-year mortality risk when used in isolation but display good predictive ability in combination with other non-invasive common risk factors.

Aim: Epigenetic changes may occur in response to environmental stressors, and an altered epigenome pattern may represent a stable signature of environmental exposure. Materials & methods: Here, we examined the potential of DNA methylation changes in 910 prediagnostic peripheral blood samples as a marker of exposure to tobacco smoke in a large multinational cohort. Results: We identified 748 CpG sites that were differentially methylated between smokers and nonsmokers, among which we identified novel regionally clustered CpGs associated with active smoking. Importantly, we found a marked reversibility of methylation changes after smoking cessation, although specific genes remained differentially methylated up to 22 years after cessation. Conclusion: Our study has comprehensively cataloged the smoking-associated DNA methylation alterations and showed that these alterations are reversible after smoking cessation.

Fetuin-A, also referred to as alpha 2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein (AHSG), is a liver protein known to inhibit insulin actions. Hyperinsulinemia is a possible risk factor for colorectal cancer; however, the role of fetuin-A in the development of colorectal cancer is unclear. We investigated the association between circulating fetuin-A and colorectal cancer risk in a nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Fetuin-A concentrations were measured in prediagnostic plasma samples from 1,367 colorectal cancer cases and 1,367 matched controls. In conditional logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders, the estimated relative risk (95% confidence interval) of colorectal cancer per 40 mg/mL higher fetuin-A concentrations (approximately one standard deviation) was 1.13 (1.02-1.24) overall, 1.21 (1.05-1.39) in men, 1.06 (0.93-1.22) in women, 1.13 (1.00-1.27) for colon cancer and 1.12 (0.94-1.32) for rectal cancer. To improve causal inference in a Mendelian Randomization approach, five tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms of the AHSG gene were genotyped in a subset of 456 case-control pairs. The AHSG allele-score explained 21% of the interindividual variation in plasma fetuin-A concentrations. In instrumental variable analysis, genetically raised fetuin-A was not associated with colorectal cancer risk (relative risk per 40 mg/mL genetically determined higher fetuin-A was 0.98, 95% confidence interval: 0.73-1.33). The findings of our study indicate a modest linear association between fetuin-A concentrations and risk of colorectal cancer but suggest that fetuin-A may not be causally related to colorectal cancer development.

The role of endogenous androgens and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in ovarian carcinogenesis is poorly understood. Epithelial invasive ovarian cancer (EOC) is a heterogeneous disease and there are no prospective data on endogenous androgens and EOC risk by tumor characteristics (histology, grade, stage) or the dualistic model of ovarian carcinogenesis (i.e. type I vs. type II, leading to less or more aggressive tumors). We conducted a nested case-control study in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort evaluating androgens and SHBG and invasive EOC risk by tumor characteristics. Female participants who provided a blood sample and were not using exogenous hormones at blood donation were eligible (n = 183,257). A total of 565 eligible women developed EOC; two controls (n = 1,097) were matched per case. We used multivariable conditional logistic regression models. We observed no association between androgens, SHBG and EOC overall. A doubling of androstenedione reduced risk of serous carcinomas by 21% (odds ratio (OR)log2 = 0.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.64-0.97]). Moreover, associations differed for low-grade and high-grade carcinomas, with positive associations for low-grade and inverse associations for high-grade carcinomas (e.g. androstenedione: low grade: ORlog2 = 1.99 [0.98-4.06]; high grade: ORlog2 = 0.75 [0.61-0.93], phet ≤ 0.01), similar associations were observed for type I/II tumors. This is the first prospective study to evaluate androgens, SHBG and EOC risk by tumor characteristics and type I/II status. Our findings support a possible role of androgens in ovarian carcinogenesis. Additional studies exploring this association are needed. What's new? There appear to be several types of epithelial invasive ovarian cancer (EOC), and hormone-related risk factors are poorly understood. In this study, the authors found that the impact of endogenous androgens on the risk of developing EOC differed depending upon tumor characteristics. Androgen concentrations were positively associated with the risk of low-grade and type-I carcinomas, but the study found an inverse association for high-grade tumors. These findings support a possible role for androgens in ovarian carcinogenesis, and emphasize the need for additional research.

Background: Excess body weight, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and certain dietary factors are individually related to colorectal cancer (CRC) risk; however, little is known about their joint effects. The aim of this study was to develop a healthy lifestyle index (HLI) composed of five potentially modifiable lifestyle factors healthy weight, physical activity, non-smoking, limited alcohol consumption and a healthy diet, and to explore the association of this index with CRC incidence using data collected within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Methods: In the EPIC cohort, a total of 347,237 men and women, 25- to 70-years old, provided dietary and lifestyle information at study baseline (1992 to 2000). Over a median follow-up time of 12 years, 3,759 incident CRC cases were identified. The association between a HLI and CRC risk was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models and population attributable risks (PARs) have been calculated. Results: After accounting for study centre, age, sex and education, compared with 0 or 1 healthy lifestyle factors, the hazard ratio (HR) for CRC was 0.87 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44 to 0.77) for two factors, 0.79 (95% CI: 0.70 to 0.89) for three factors, 0.66 (95% CI: 0.58 to 0.75) for four factors and 0.63 (95% CI: 0.54 to 0.74) for five factors; P-trend

Elevated prediagnostic testosterone and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) concentrations have been proposed to increase risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the metabolism of these hormones is altered as a consequence of liver damage and they may have clinical utility as HCC risk markers. A case-control study was nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort and included 125 incident HCC cases and 247 individually matched controls. Testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and IGF-I were analyzed by immunoassays. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by conditional logistic regression. The area under the receiver operating curves (AUC) was calculated to assess HCC predictive ability of the tested models. After adjustments for epidemiological variables (body mass index, smoking, ethanol intake, hepatitis and diabetes) and liver damage (a score based on albumin, bilirubin, aspartate aminotransaminase, alanine aminotransaminase, gamma-glutamyltransferase and alkaline phosphatase concentrations), only SHBG remained significantly associated with risk [OR for top versus bottom tertile of 3.86 (1.32-11.3), p(trend) = 0.009]. As a single factor SHBG had an AUC of 0.81 (0.75-0.86). A small, but significant increase in AUC was observed when SHBG was added to a model including the liver damage score and epidemiological variables (from 0.89 to 0.91, p = 0.02) and a net reclassification of 0.47% (0.45-0.48). The observed associations of HCC with prediagnostic SHBG, free testosterone and IGF-I concentrations are in directions opposite to that expected under the etiological hypotheses. SHBG has a potential to be tested as prediagnostic risk marker for HCC. (c) 2013 UICC What’s new? Testosterone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are implicated in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), though their involvement may be more complex than previously thought. Here, in a unique study population with low prevalence of hepatitis infections, an association was detected between HCC risk and increased levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and IGF-1 prior to diagnosis. Neither testosterone nor IGF-1, however, was found to have an etiological influence in the decade before diagnosis. The results suggest that SHBG and IGF-I should be considered in the clinical evaluation of patients at increased risk of HCC.

Previous case–control studies have suggested a possible increased risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) with physical activity (PA), but this association has never been studied in prospective cohort studies. We therefore assessed the association between PA and risk of death from ALS in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. A total of 472,100 individuals were included in the analysis, yielding 219 ALS deaths. At recruitment, information on PA was collected thorough standardised questionnaires. Total PA was expressed by the Cambridge Physical Activity Index (CPAI) and analysed in relation to ALS mortality, using Cox hazard models. Interactions with age, sex, and anthropometric measures were assessed. Total PA was weakly inversely associated with ALS mortality with a borderline statistically significant trend across categories (p = 0.042), with those physically active being 33 % less likely to die from ALS compared to those inactive: HR = 0.67 (95 % CI 0.42–1.06). Anthropometric measures, sex, and age did not modify the association with CPAI. The present study shows a slightly decreased—not increased like in case–control studies—risk of dying from ALS in those with high levels of total PA at enrolment. This association does not appear confounded by age, gender, anthropometry, smoking, and education. Ours was the first prospective cohort study on ALS and physical activity. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10654-016-0119-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Published associations between dietary carotenoids and vitamin C and bladder cancer risk are inconsistent. Biomarkers may provide more accurate measures of nutrient status. Objective: We investigated the association between plasma carotenoids and vitamin C and risk of urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) in a case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Design: A total of 856 patients with newly diagnosed UCC were matched with 856 cohort members by sex, age at baseline, study center, date and time of blood collection, and fasting status. Plasma carotenoids (alpha- and beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) were measured by using reverse-phase HPLC, and plasma vitamin C was measured by using a colorimetric assay. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were estimated by using conditional logistic regression with adjustment for smoking status, duration, and intensity. Results: UCC risk decreased with higher concentrations of the sum of plasma carotenoids (IRR for the highest compared with the lowest quartile: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.93; P-trend = 0.04). Plasma beta-carotene was inversely associated with aggressive UCC (IRR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.30, 0.88; P-trend = 0.02). Plasma lutein was inversely associated with risk of nonaggressive UCC (IRR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.98; P-trend = 0.05). No association was observed between plasma vitamin C and risk of UCC. Conclusions: Although residual confounding by smoking or other factors cannot be excluded, higher concentrations of plasma carotenoids may reduce risk of UCC, in particular aggressive UCC. Plasma lutein may reduce risk of nonaggressive UCC. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;96:902-10.

Several studies support a protective effect of dietary magnesium against type 2 diabetes, but a harmful effect for iron. As diabetes has been linked to pancreatic cancer, intake of these nutrients may be also associated with this cancer. We examined the association between dietary intake of magnesium, total iron and heme-iron and pancreatic cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. In total, 142,203 men and 334,999 women, recruited between 1992 and 2000, were included. After an average follow-up of 11.3 years, 396 men and 469 women developed exocrine pancreatic cancer. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained using Cox regression stratified by age and center, and adjusted for energy intake, smoking status, height, weight, and self-reported diabetes status. Neither intake of magnesium, total iron nor heme-iron was associated with pancreatic cancer risk. In stratified analyses, a borderline inverse association was observed among overweight men (body mass index, =25 kg/m2) with magnesium (HRper 100 mg/day increase = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.631.01) although this was less apparent using calibrated intake. In female smokers, a higher intake of heme-iron was associated with a higher pancreatic cancer risk (HR per 1 mg/day increase = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.101.74). After calibration, this risk increased significantly to 2.5-fold (95% CI = 1.225.28). Overall, dietary magnesium, total iron and heme-iron were not associated with pancreatic cancer risk during the follow-up period. Our observation that heme-iron was associated with increased pancreatic cancer risk in female smokers warrants replication in additional study populations.

Few studies have examined the association between dietary fiber intake and prostate cancer risk. We evaluated the association between dietary fiber intake and the risk of prostate cancer among 142,590 men in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Consumption of dietary fiber (total, cereal, fruit and vegetable fiber) seas estimated by validated dietary questionnaires and calibrated using 24-hr dietary recalls. Incidence rate ratios were estimated using Cox regression and adjusted for potential confounding factors. During all average of 8.7 years follow-up, prostate cancer was diagnosed in 2,747 men. Overall, there was no association between dietary fiber intake (total, cereal, fruit or vegetable fiber) and prostate cancer risk, although calibrated intakes of total fiber and fruit fiber were associated with nonstatistically significant reductions in risk. There was no association between fiber derived from cereals or vegetables and risk and no evidence for heterogeneity in any of the risk estimates by stage or grade of disease. Our results suggest that dietary fiber intake is not associated with prostate cancer risk. (C) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Ghrelin, an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, has two major functions: the stimulation of the growth hormone production and the stimulation of food intake. Accumulating evidence also suggests a role of ghrelin in cancer development. We conducted a case-control study on 1359 breast cancer cases and 2389 matched controls, nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, to examine the association of common genetic variants in the genes coding for ghrelin (GHRL) and its receptor (GHSR) with anthropometric measures, circulating insulin growth factor I (IGF-I) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 and breast cancer risk. Pair-wise tagging was used to select the 15 polymorphisms that represent the majority of common genetic variants across the GHRL and GHSR genes. A significant increase in breast cancer risk was observed in carriers of the GHRL rs171407-G allele (odds ratio: 1.2; 95% confidence interval: 1.0-1.4; P = 0.02). The GHRL single-nucleotide polymorphism rs375577 was associated with a 5% increase in IGF-I levels (P = 0.01). A number of GHRL and GHSR polymorphisms were associated with body mass index (BMI) and height (P between < 0.01 and 0.04). The false-positive report probability (FPRP) approach suggests that these results are noteworthy (FPRP < 0.20). The results presented here add to a growing body of evidence that GHRL variations are associated with BMI. Furthermore, we have observed evidence for association of GHRL polymorphisms with circulating IGF-I levels and with breast cancer risk. These associations, however, might also be due to chance findings and further large studies are needed to confirm our results.

In cancer patients, plasma often contains mutant DNA released by cancer cells. We have assessed the significance of plasma DNA mutations for subsequent cancer development in healthy subjects in a large longitudinal prospective study. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study was analyzed with a nested case-control design. Cases were nonsmokers or ex-smokers for > 10 years and newly diagnosed with lung, bladder, or upper aerodigestive tract cancers or leukemia accrued after a median follow-up of 6.3 years. Controls were matched 2:1 for follow-up, age, sex, area of recruitment, and smoking status. KRAS2 mutations were detected by mutant-enriched PCR and sequencing (n = 1,098). TP53 mutations were detected by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography, temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis, and sequencing (n = 550). KRAS2 or TP53 mutations were detected in 13 of 1,098 (1.2%) and 20 of 550 (3.6%) subjects, respectively, 16 of whom developed cancer on average after 18.3 months of follow-up. Among 137 subjects who developed bladder cancer, 5 had KRAS2 mutations [odds ratio (OR), 4.25; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.27-14.15] and 7 had TP53 mutations (OR, 1.81; 95% Cl, 0.66-4.97). There was a nonsignificant trend for association between TP53 mutations and bulky adducts in lymphocyte DNA (OR, 2.78; 95% Cl, 0.64-12.17). This is the first report of TP53 or KRAS2 mutations in the plasma of healthy subjects in a prospective study, suggesting that KRAS2 mutation is detectable ahead of bladder cancer diagnosis. TP53 mutation may be associated with environmental exposures. These observations have implications for monitoring early steps of carcinogenesis.