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Recent epidemiological studies have suggested a positive association between ultra-processed food consumption and breast cancer risk, although some studies also reported no association. Furthermore, the evidence regarding the associations between intake of food with lower degrees of processing and breast cancer risk is limited. Thus, we investigated the associations between dietary intake by degree of food processing and breast cancer risk, overall and by breast cancer subtypes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Dietary intake of EPIC participants was assessed via questionnaires at baseline. More than 11,000 food ingredients were classified into four groups of food processing levels using the NOVA classification system: unprocessed/minimally processed (NOVA 1), culinary ingredients (NOVA 2), processed (NOVA 3) and ultra-processed (NOVA 4). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of breast cancer per standard deviation increase in daily consumption (grams) of foods from each NOVA group. The current analysis included 14,933 breast cancer cases, diagnosed among the 318,686 EPIC female participants, (median follow-up of 14.9 years). No associations were found between breast cancer risk and the level of dietary intake from NOVA 1 [HR per 1 SD=0.99 (95% CI 0.97 – 1.01)], NOVA 2 [HR per 1 SD =1.01 (95% CI 0.98 – 1.03)] and NOVA 4 [HR per 1 SD =1.01 (95% CI 0.99 – 1.03)] foods. However, a positive association was found between NOVA 3 and breast cancer risk [HR per 1 SD =1.05 (95% CI 1.03 – 1.07)] which became non-significant after adjustment for alcohol intake [HR per 1 SD =1.01 (95% CI 0.98 – 1.05)] or when beer and wine were excluded from this group [HR per 1 SD =0.99 (95% CI 0.97 – 1.01)]. The associations did not differ by breast cancer subtype, menopausal status or body mass index. Findings from this large-scale prospective study suggest that the positive association between processed food intake and breast cancer risk was likely driven by alcoholic beverage consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies evaluated the use of Household Disinfectant and Cleaning Products (HDCPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, but no population-based cohorts used longitudinal data. We studied changes in HDCPs during the first lockdown, based on longitudinal data from the French population-based NutriNet-Santé and CONSTANCES cohorts. Methods: Based on standardized questionnaires on household cleaning tasks in 2018–2019 and around the first lockdown in France (March17-May3 2020), we compared the duration of weekly use of HDCPs (< 1 day/week, < 10 min/week; 10-30 min/week; > 30 min/week) and the household cleaning help (yes/no) before and during the lockdown period by Bhapkar and McNemar's tests. Moreover, we assessed self-reported changes in the frequency of HDCPs during the lockdown from before (unchanged/increased). Results: Analyses were carried on 31,105 participants of NutriNet-Santé (48 years, 75% women, 81% ≥ high school diploma) and 49,491 of CONSTANCES (47 years, 51% women, 87% ≥ high school diploma). During the lockdown, compared with 2018–2019, duration of HDCPs use increased (> 30 min; NutriNet-Santé: 44% versus 18%; CONSTANCES: 63% versus 16%) and household help decreased (NutriNet-Santé: 5% versus 40%; CONSTANCES: 3% versus 56%). Regarding the frequency of HDCPs use, 55% of participants of NutriNet-Santé (57% women/49% men) and 83% of CONSTANCES (86% women/81% men) reported an increased use since the beginning of the lockdown, significantly higher among women (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The frequency and duration of weekly use of HDCPs has significantly increased since the pandemic. As the use of HDCPs is associated with health issues, further studies are now needed to evaluate the potential health impacts of these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While genetic, hormonal, and lifestyle factors partially elucidate the incidence of breast cancer, emerging research has underscored the potential contribution of air pollution. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) are of particular concern due to endocrine-disrupting properties and their carcinogenetic effect. Objective: To identify distinct long term trajectories of exposure to PCB153 and BaP, and estimate their associations with breast cancer risk. Methods: We used data from the XENAIR case–control study, nested within the ongoing prospective French E3N cohort which enrolled 98,995 women aged 40–65 years in 1990–1991. Cases were incident cases of primary invasive breast cancer diagnosed from cohort entry to 2011. Controls were randomly selected by incidence density sampling, and individually matched to cases on delay since cohort entry, and date, age, department of residence, and menopausal status at cohort entry. Annual mean outdoor PCB153 and BaP concentrations at residential addresses from 1990 to 2011 were estimated using the CHIMERE chemistry-transport model. Latent class mixed models were used to identify profiles of exposure trajectories from cohort entry to the index date, and conditional logistic regression to estimate their association with the odds of breast cancer. Results: 5058 cases and 5059 controls contributed to the analysis. Five profiles of trajectories of PCB153 exposure were identified. The class with the highest PCB153 concentrations had a 69% increased odds of breast cancer compared to the class with the lowest concentrations (95% CI 1.08, 2.64), after adjustment for education and matching factors. The association between identified BaP trajectories and breast cancer was weaker and suffered from large CI. Conclusions: Our results support an association between long term exposure to PCB153 and the risk of breast cancer, and encourage further studies to account for lifetime exposure to persistent organic pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The individual results of SARS-CoV-2 serological tests measured after the first pandemic wave of 2020 cannot be directly interpreted as a probability of having been infected. Plus, these results are usually returned as a binary or ternary variable, relying on predefined cut-offs. We propose a Bayesian mixture model to estimate individual infection probabilities, based on 81,797 continuous anti-spike IgG tests from Euroimmun collected in France after the first wave. This approach used serological results as a continuous variable, and was therefore not based on diagnostic cut-offs. Cumulative incidence, which is necessary to compute infection probabilities, was estimated according to age and administrative region. In France, we found that a "negative" or a "positive" test, as classified by the manufacturer, could correspond to a probability of infection as high as 61.8% or as low as 67.7%, respectively. "Indeterminate" tests encompassed probabilities of infection ranging from 10.8 to 96.6%. Our model estimated tailored individual probabilities of SARS-CoV-2 infection based on age, region, and serological result. It can be applied in other contexts, if estimates of cumulative incidence are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Associations of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (FAs) with cardiovascular disease (CVD) remain controversial. We therefore aimed to investigate the prospective associations of objectively measured FAs with CVD, including incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, as well as CVD mortality., Methods: Circulating FA concentrations expressed as the percentage of total FAs were assayed in 172,891 participants without prior vascular disease at baseline from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-CVD (EPIC-CVD) (7,343 CHD; 6,499 stroke), UK Biobank (1,825; 1,474), and INTERVAL (285; 209) cohort studies. Hazard ratio (HR) per 1-standard deviation (SD) higher FA concentrations was estimated using Cox regression models and pooled by random-effects meta-analysis. Systematic reviews with meta-analysis published by 6 May 2023 on associations between FAs and CVDs were systematically searched and updated meta-analyses using random-effects model were conducted. Evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was also summarized., Results: Higher concentrations of total saturated FAs (SFAs) were associated with higher cardiovascular risks in the combined analysis, with differential findings noted for SFA subtypes in further analysis restricted to EPIC-CVD: positive associations for even-chain SFA [HR for CHD 1.24 (95% CI: 1.18-1.32); stroke 1.23 (1.10-1.38)] and negative associations for odd-chain [0.82 (0.76-0.87); 0.73 (0.67-0.78)] and longer-chain [0.95 (0.80-1.12); 0.84 (0.72-0.99)] SFA. In the combined analysis, total n-3 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) [0.91 (0.85-0.97)], including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) [0.91 (0.84-0.98)], was negatively associated with incident CHD risk. Similarly, total n-6 PUFA [0.94 (0.91-0.98)], including linoleic acid (LA) [0.89 (0.83-0.95)], was negatively associated with incident stroke risk. By contrast, more detailed analyses in EPIC-CVD revealed that several downstream n-6 PUFAs of LA were positively associated with CHD risk. Updated meta-analyses of 37 FAs including 49 non-overlapping studies, involving between 7,787 to 22,802 CHD and 6,499 to 14,221 stroke cases, showed broadly similar results as our combined empirical analysis and further suggested significant inverse associations of individual long-chain n-3 PUFAs and LA on both CHD and stroke. The findings of long-chain n-3 PUFAs were consistent with those from published RCTs on CHD despite insufficient evidence in monotherapy, while RCT evidence remained unclear for the rest of the explored FAs., Conclusions: Our study provides an overview of the most recent evidence on the associations between objectively measured FAs and CVD outcomes. Collectively, the data reveals notable differences in associations by SFA subtypes and calls for further studies, especially RCTs, to explore these links., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Inflammation influences tumour progression and cancer prognosis, but its role preceding breast cancer (BC) and its prognostic implications remain inconclusive., Methods: We studied pre-diagnostic plasma inflammatory biomarkers in 1538 women with BC from the EPIC study. Cox proportional hazards models assessed their relationship with all-cause and BC-specific mortality, adjusting for tumour characteristics and lifestyle factors., Results: Over a 7-year follow-up after diagnosis, 229 women died, 163 from BC. Elevated IL-6 levels were associated with increased all-cause mortality risk (HR 1-SD 1.25, 95% CI 1.07-1.47). Among postmenopausal, IL-6 was associated with higher all-cause (HR 1-SD 1.41, 95% CI 1.18-1.69) and BC-specific mortality (HR 1-SD 1.31, 95% CI 1.03-1.66), (P Heterogeneity (pre/postmenopausal)  < 0.05 for both), while IL-10 and TNFα were associated with all-cause mortality only (HR 1-SD 1.19, 95% CI 1.02-1.40 and HR 1-SD 1.28, 95% CI 1.06-1.56). Among ER+PR+, IL-10 was associated with all-cause and BC-specific mortality (HR 1-SD 1.35, 95% CI 1.10-1.65 and HR 1-SD 1.42 95% CI 1.08-1.86), while TNF-α was associated with all-cause mortality in HER2- (HR 1-SD 1.31, 95% CI 1.07-1.61). An inflammatory score predicted higher all-cause mortality, especially in postmenopausal women (HR 1-SD 1.30, 95% CI 1.07-1.58)., Conclusions: Higher pre-diagnosis IL-6 levels suggest poorer long-term survival among BC survivors. In postmenopausal survivors, elevated IL-6, IL-10, and TNFα and inflammatory scores seem to predict all-cause mortality., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: While genetic, hormonal, and lifestyle factors partially elucidate the incidence of breast cancer, emerging research has underscored the potential contribution of air pollution. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) are of particular concern due to endocrine-disrupting properties and their carcinogenetic effect., Objective: To identify distinct long term trajectories of exposure to PCB153 and BaP, and estimate their associations with breast cancer risk., Methods: We used data from the XENAIR case-control study, nested within the ongoing prospective French E3N cohort which enrolled 98,995 women aged 40-65 years in 1990-1991. Cases were incident cases of primary invasive breast cancer diagnosed from cohort entry to 2011. Controls were randomly selected by incidence density sampling, and individually matched to cases on delay since cohort entry, and date, age, department of residence, and menopausal status at cohort entry. Annual mean outdoor PCB153 and BaP concentrations at residential addresses from 1990 to 2011 were estimated using the CHIMERE chemistry-transport model. Latent class mixed models were used to identify profiles of exposure trajectories from cohort entry to the index date, and conditional logistic regression to estimate their association with the odds of breast cancer., Results: 5058 cases and 5059 controls contributed to the analysis. Five profiles of trajectories of PCB153 exposure were identified. The class with the highest PCB153 concentrations had a 69% increased odds of breast cancer compared to the class with the lowest concentrations (95% CI 1.08, 2.64), after adjustment for education and matching factors. The association between identified BaP trajectories and breast cancer was weaker and suffered from large CI., Conclusions: Our results support an association between long term exposure to PCB153 and the risk of breast cancer, and encourage further studies to account for lifetime exposure to persistent organic pollutants., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Air pollution has been shown to significantly impact human health including cancer. Gastric and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancers are common and increased risk has been associated with smoking and occupational exposures. However, the association with air pollution remains unclear. We pooled European subcohorts (N = 287,576 participants for gastric and N = 297,406 for UADT analyses) and investigated the association between residential exposure to fine particles (PM 2.5 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), black carbon (BC) and ozone in the warm season (O 3w ) with gastric and UADT cancer. We applied Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for potential confounders at the individual and area-level. During 5,305,133 and 5,434,843 person-years, 872 gastric and 1139 UADT incident cancer cases were observed, respectively. For gastric cancer, we found no association with PM 2.5 , NO 2 and BC while for UADT the hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.15 (95% CI: 1.00-1.33) per 5 μg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 , 1.19 (1.08-1.30) per 10 μg/m 3 increase in NO 2 , 1.14 (1.04-1.26) per 0.5 × 10 -5  m -1 increase in BC and 0.81 (0.72-0.92) per 10 μg/m 3 increase in O 3w . We found no association between long-term ambient air pollution exposure and incidence of gastric cancer, while for long-term exposure to PM 2.5 , NO 2 and BC increased incidence of UADT cancer was observed., (© 2024 The Authors. International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC.)

Resistin is a protein involved in inflammation and angiogenesis processes and may play a role in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, it remains unclear whether resistin is associated with increased mortality after CRC diagnosis. We examined pre-diagnostic serum resistin concentrations in relation to CRC-specific and all-cause mortality among 1343 incident CRC cases from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort. For CRC-specific mortality as the primary outcome, hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated from competing risk analyses based on cause-specific Cox proportional hazards models and further in sensitivity analyses using Fine-Gray proportional subdistribution hazards models. For all-cause mortality as the secondary outcome, Cox proportional hazards models were used. Subgroup analyses were performed by sex, tumor subsite, tumor stage, body mass index and time to CRC diagnosis. Resistin was measured on a median of 4.8 years before CRC diagnosis. During a median follow-up of 8.2 years, 474 deaths from CRC and 147 deaths from other causes were observed. Resistin concentrations were not associated with CRC-specific mortality (HR Q4vsQ1  = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.73-1.23; P trend  = .97; and HR per doubling of resistin concentration  = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.84-1.19; P = .98) or all-cause mortality. Results from competing risk (sensitivity) analysis were similar. No associations were found in any subgroup analyses. These findings suggest no association between pre-diagnostic circulating resistin concentrations and CRC-specific or all-cause mortality among persons with CRC, and the potential insignificance of resistin in CRC progression., (© 2024 The Authors. International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC.)