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Background: Fertility preservation (FP) may be underused after cancer diagnosis because of uncertainty around delays to cancer treatment and subsequent reproductive success. Methods: Women aged 15 to 39 years diagnosed with cancer between 2004 and 2015 were identified from the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry. Use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) after cancer diagnosis between 2004 and 2018 (including FP) was assessed through linkage to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. Linear regression was used to examine time to cancer treatment among women who did (n = 95) or did not (n = 469) use FP. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs for pregnancy and birth based on timing of ART initiation relative to cancer treatment (n = 18 initiated before treatment for FP vs n = 26 initiated after treatment without FP). Results: The median time to cancer treatment was 9 to 33 days longer among women who used FP compared with women who did not, matched on clinical factors. Women who initiated ART before cancer treatment may be more likely to have a live birth given pregnancy compared with women who initiated ART after cancer treatment (age‐adjusted RR, 1.47; 95% CI, 0.98‐2.23), though this may be affected by the more frequent use of gestational carriers in the former group (47% vs 20% of transfer cycles, respectively). Conclusions: FP delayed gonadotoxic cancer treatment by up to 4.5 weeks, a delay that would not be expected to alter prognosis for many women. Further study of the use of gestational carriers in cancer populations is warranted to better understand its effect on reproductive outcomes. In this statewide retrospective cohort, adolescent and young adult women with cancer who used fertility preservation experienced up to a 4.5‐week delay in receipt of first gonadotoxic cancer treatment, but may have an increased likelihood of live birth after achieving pregnancy compared to women with cancer who used assisted reproduction without prior fertility preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: What are the associations between a history of cancer and outcomes after ART?Summary Answer: Compared to women without cancer, on average, women with cancer had a lower return for embryo transfer and a lower likelihood of clinical pregnancy and live birth after ART.What Is Known Already: Small, single-institution studies have suggested that cancer and its treatment may negatively affect ART outcomes.Study Design, Size, Duration: We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis of studies comparing ART outcomes between women with and without cancer. PubMed, Embase and Scopus were searched for original, English-language studies published up to June 2021.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Inclusion criteria required reporting of ART outcomes after controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) among women with a history of cancer compared to women without cancer who used ART for any indication. Outcomes of interest ranged from duration of COS to likelihood of live birth after embryo transfer. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to calculate mean differences and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs and 95% prediction intervals (PIs). We assessed heterogeneity by age-adjustment, referent group indication for ART, study location and among women with breast cancer and women who initiated ART before cancer treatment. We used visual inspection, Egger's test and the trim-and-fill method to assess funnel plot asymmetry.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: Of 6094 unique records identified, 42 studies met inclusion criteria, representing a median per study of 58 women with cancer (interquartile range (IQR) = 159) and 114 women without cancer (IQR = 348). Compared to women without cancer, on average, women with cancer had a lower return for embryo transfer (OR: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.74; 95% PI: 0.00, 64.98); lower likelihood of clinical pregnancy (OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.35, 0.73; 95% PI: 0.19, 1.35); and lower likelihood of live birth (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.38, 0.83; 95% PI: 0.19, 1.69). Substantial among-study heterogeneity was observed for COS duration, gonadotropin dose, cycle cancellation, total oocytes and mature oocytes. Fertilization percentage showed less heterogeneity, but study-specific estimates were imprecise. Similarly, number of embryos showed less heterogeneity, and most studies estimated minimal differences by cancer history. Funnel plot asymmetry was observed for estradiol peak and oocyte maturation percentage.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: Appreciable confounding is possible in 11 studies that lacked adequate control for group differences in age, and among-study heterogeneity was observed for most outcomes. Lack of data limited our ability to assess how cancer clinical factors (e.g. cancers other than breast, cancer stage and treatment) and ART cycle characteristics (e.g. fresh versus frozen embryo transfers and use of gestational carriers) may affect outcomes.Wider Implications Of the Findings: Women with cancer may be less likely to achieve pregnancy and live birth after embryo transfer. Further examination of reproductive outcomes and sources of heterogeneity among studies is warranted to improve evidence of the expected success of ART after a cancer diagnosis.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): This research was supported in part by R01 CA211093 and P30 ES010126. C.M. was supported by the University of North Carolina Lineberger Cancer Control Education Program (T32 CA057726) and the National Cancer Institute (F31 CA260787). J.A.R.-H. was supported by the National Cancer Institute (K08 CA234333, P30 CA016672). J.A.R.-H. reports receiving consulting fees from Schlesinger Group and Guidepoint. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.Registration Number: N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Carotenoids may protect against chronic diseases including cancer and cardiometabolic disease by mitigating oxidative stress and/or inflammation. We cross-sectionally evaluated associations between carotenoids and biomarkers of oxidative stress or inflammation. Methods: From 2003 to 2009, the Sister Study enrolled 50,884 breast cancer-free US women aged 35–74. Post-menopausal participants (n = 512) were randomly sampled to measure carotenoids and biomarkers of oxidative stress. Dietary carotenoid consumption was assessed using a validated 110-item Block 1998 food frequency questionnaire; use of β-carotene-containing supplements was also assessed. Plasma carotenoids were quantified, adjusting for batch. Urinary markers of lipid peroxidation, 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) and its metabolite (8-iso-PGF2α-M) were also measured. Since the biomarker 8-iso-PGF2α can reflect both oxidative stress and inflammation, we used a modeled 8-iso-PGF2α to prostaglandin F2α ratio approach to distinguish effects reflecting oxidative stress versus inflammation. Multivariable linear regression was used to assess the associations of dietary and plasma carotenoids with the estimated biomarker concentrations. Results: Total plasma carotenoids were inversely associated with 8-iso-PGF2α-M concentrations (P for trend across quartiles = 0.009). Inverse trends associations were also seen for α-carotene and β-carotene. In contrast, lutein/zeaxanthin showed associations with both 8-iso-PGF2α and 8-iso-PGF2α-M concentrations. The inverse association for total carotenoids appeared to be specific for oxidative stress (chemical 8-iso-PGF2α; Phighest vs. lowest quartile = 0.04 and P for trend across quartiles = 0.02). The pattern was similar for α-carotene. However, lutein/zeaxanthin tended to have a stronger association with enzymatic 8-iso-PGF2α, suggesting an additional anti-inflammatory effect. Supplemental β-carotene was inversely associated with both 8-iso-PGF2α and 8-iso-PGF2α-M concentrations, as well as with both chemical and enzymatic 8-iso-PGF2α. Dietary carotenoids were not associated with either biomarker. Conclusion: Plasma carotenoids and supplemental β-carotene were associated with lower concentrations of 8-iso-PGF2α metabolite. Plasma carotenoids associations may reflect antioxidant effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Blood-based biomarkers for gastric cancer risk stratification could facilitate targeting screening to people who will benefit from it most. The ABC Method, which stratifies individuals by their Helicobacter pylori infection and serum-diagnosed chronic atrophic gastritis status, is currently used in Japan for this purpose. Most gastric cancers are caused by chronic H. pylori infection, but few studies have explored the capability of antibody response to H. pylori proteins to predict gastric cancer risk in addition to established predictors. Methods: We used the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) to build a predictive model of noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma risk from serum data on pepsinogen and antibody response to 13 H. pylori antigens as well as demographic and lifestyle factors from a large international study in East Asia. Results: Our best model had a significantly (P < 0.001) higher AUC of 73.79% [95% confidence interval (CI), 70.86%-76.73%] than the ABC Method (68.75%; 95% CI, 65.91%-71.58%). At 75% specificity, the new model had greater sensitivity than the ABC Method (58.67% vs. 52.68%) as well as NPV (68.24% vs. 66.29%). Conclusions: Along with serologically defined chronic atrophic gastritis, antibody response to the H. pylori proteins HP 0305, HP 1564, and UreA can improve the prediction of gastric cancer risk. Impact: The new risk stratification model could help target more invasive gastric screening resources to individuals at high risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancers in recently postpartum women may have worse outcomes, but studies examining tumor molecular features by pregnancy recency have shown conflicting results. Methods: This analysis used Carolina Breast Cancer Study data to examine clinical and molecular tumor features among women less than 50 years of age who were recently (=10 years prior) or remotely (>10 years prior) postpartum, or nulliparous. Prevalence odds ratios (POR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using multivariable models. Results: Recently postpartum women (N = 618) were more frequently lymph node-positive [POR (95% CI): 1.66 (1.26-2.19)], estrogen receptor (ER)-negative [1.37 (1.02-1.83)], and IHC-based triple negative [1.57 (1.00-2.47)] compared with nulliparous (N = 360) women. Some differences were identified between recent versus remotely postpartum; smaller tumor size [0.67 (0.52-0.86)], p53 wildtype [0.53 (0.36-0.77)], and non-basal-like phenotype [0.53 (0.33-0.84)] were more common among recently postpartum. Recently postpartum (vs. nulliparous) had significant enrichment for adaptive immunity, T cells, B cells, CD8 T cells, activated CD8 T cells/natural killer (NK) cells, and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and higher overall immune cell scores. These differences were attenuated in remotely (compared with recently) postpartum women. Conclusions: These results suggest a dominant effect of parity (vs. nulliparity) and a lesser effect of pregnancy recency on tumor molecular features, although tumor immune microenvironments were altered in association with pregnancy recency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]