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PurposeAtaxia-Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) has been implicated in the risk of several cancers, but establishing a causal relationship is often challenging. Although ATM single-nucleotide polymorphisms have been linked to melanoma, few functional alleles have been identified. Therefore, ATM impact on melanoma predisposition is unclear.MethodsFrom 22 American, Australian, and European sites, we collected 2,104 familial, multiple primary (MPM), and sporadic melanoma cases who underwent ATM genotyping via panel, exome, or genome sequencing, and compared the allele frequency (AF) of selected ATM variants classified as loss-of-function (LOF) and variants of uncertain significance (VUS) between this cohort and the gnomAD non-Finnish European (NFE) data set.ResultsLOF variants were more represented in our study cohort than in gnomAD NFE, both in all (AF = 0.005 and 0.002, OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.56-4.11, p

© 2017, BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Objective: Although several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of non-cardia gastric cancer have been published, more novel association signals could be exploited by combining individual studies together, which will further elucidate the genetic susceptibility of non-cardia gastric cancer. Design: We conducted a meta-analysis of two published Chinese GWAS studies (2031 non-cardia gastric cancer cases and 4970 cancer-free controls) and followed by genotyping of additional 3564 cases and 4637 controls in two stages. Results: The overall meta-analysis revealed two new association signals. The first was a novel locus at 5q14.3 and marked by rs7712641 (per-allele OR=0.84, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.88; p=1.21×10-11). This single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker maps to the intron of the long non-coding RNA, lnc-POLR3G-4 (XLOC-004464), which we observed has lower expression in non-cardia gastric tumour compared with matched normal tissue (Pwilcoxon signed-rank=7.20×10-4). We also identified a new signal at the 1q22 locus, rs80142782 (per-allele OR=0.62; 95% CI 0.56 to 0.69; p=1.71×10-19), which was independent of the previously reported SNP at the same locus, rs4072037 (per-allele OR=0.74; 95% CI 0.69 to 0.79; p=6.28×10-17). Analysis of the new SNP conditioned on the known SNP showed that the new SNP remained genome-wide significant (Pconditional=3.47×10-8). Interestingly, rs80142782 has a minor allele frequency of 0.05 in East Asians but is monomorphic in both European and African populations. Conclusion: These findings add new evidence for inherited genetic susceptibility to non-cardia gastric cancer and provide further clues to its aetiology in the Han Chinese population.

To investigate large structural clonal mosaicism of chromosome X, we analysed the SNP microarray intensity data of 38,303 women from cancer genome-wide association studies (20,878 cases and 17,425 controls) and detected 124 mosaic X events >2 Mb in 97 (0.2

The authors investigated the relationship between hot tea, iced tea, coffee and carbonated soft drinks consumption and upper gastrointestinal tract cancers risk in the NIH-AARP Study. During 2,584,953 person-years of follow-up on 481,563 subjects, 392 oral cavity, 178 pharynx, 307 larynx, 231 gastric cardia, 224 gastric non-cardia cancer, 123 Oesophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) and 305 Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma (EADC) cases were accrued. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated by multivariate-adjusted Cox regression. Compared to non-drinking, the hazard ratio for hot tea intake of > or =1 cup/day was 0.37 (95% CI: 0.20, 0.70) for pharyngeal cancer. The authors also observed a significant association between coffee drinking and risk of gastric cardia cancer (compared to <1 cup/day, the hazard ratio for drinking >3 cups/day was 1.57 (95% CI: 1.03, 2.39)), and an inverse association between coffee drinking and EADC for the cases occurring in the last 3 years of follow-up (compared to <1 cup/day, the hazard ratio for drinking >3 cups/day was 0.54 (95% CI: 0.31, 0.92)), but no association in earlier follow-up. In summary, hot tea intake was inversely associated with pharyngeal cancer, and coffee was directly associated with gastric cardia cancer, but was inversely associated with EADC during some follow-up periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the association between alcohol and breast cancer by different tumor characteristics. The study consisted of 184,418 postmenopausal women aged 50-71 years in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study (1995-2003). Alcohol use, diet, and potential risk factors for cancer were assessed with a mailed questionnaire at baseline. The relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by using Cox proportional hazards regression. Breast cancer cases and estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status were identified through linkage to state cancer registries. During an average of 7 years of follow-up, 5,461 breast cancer cases were identified. Alcohol was significantly positively associated with total breast cancer: Even a moderate amount of alcohol (>10 g/day) significantly increased breast cancer risk. In a comparison of >35 g versus 0 g/day, the multivariate relative risks were 1.35 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17, 1.56) for total breast cancer, 1.46 (95% CI: 1.22, 1.75) for ductal tumors, and 1.52 (95% CI: 0.95, 2.44) for lobular tumors. The multivariate relative risks for estrogen receptor-positive/progesterone receptor-positive, estrogen receptor-positive/progesterone receptor-negative, and estrogen receptor-negative/progesterone receptor-negative tumors were 1.46 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.91) for >35 g versus 0 g/day, 1.13 (95% CI: 0.73, 1.77) for >20 g versus 0 g/day, and 1.21 (95% CI: 0.79, 1.84) for >20 g versus 0 g/day, respectively. Moderate consumption of alcohol was associated with breast cancer, specifically hormone receptor-positive tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased physical activity has been associated with decreased lung cancer risk. However, no previous investigation has examined physical activity in relation to lung cancer histologic types by smoking status. The authors investigated these relations in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study among 501,148 men and women aged 50-71 years at baseline in 1995-1996. During follow-up to 2003, 6,745 lung carcinomas occurred (14.8% small cell, 40.3% adenocarcinoma, 19.7% squamous cell, 6.1% undifferentiated large cell, 7.2% non-small cell not otherwise specified, and 11.8% carcinoma not otherwise specified). Among former smokers, the multivariate relative risks of small cell, adenocarcinoma, squamous cell, and undifferentiated large cell carcinomas comparing the highest with the lowest activity level (> or =5 times/week vs. inactive) were 0.93 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.67, 1.28), 0.79 (95% CI: 0.67, 0.94), 0.73 (95% CI: 0.57, 0.93), and 0.61 (95% CI: 0.38, 0.98), respectively. Among current smokers, corresponding values were 0.77 (95% CI: 0.58, 1.02), 0.76 (95% CI: 0.61, 0.95), 0.85 (95% CI: 0.65, 1.11), and 1.10 (95% CI: 0.69, 1.78). In contrast, physical activity was unrelated to lung carcinoma among never smokers (P(interaction) between physical activity and smoking for total lung carcinomas = 0.002). The inverse findings among former and current smokers in combination with the null results for physical activity among never smokers may point toward residual confounding by cigarette smoking as an explanation for the relations observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: There is probable evidence that some types of fruit and vegetables provide protection against many cancers. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that fruit and vegetable intakes are inversely related to the incidence of total cancers among women and men aged >50 y. DESIGN: We performed a prospective study among the cohort of the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. We merged the MyPyramid Equivalents Database (version 1.0) with food-frequency-questionnaire data to calculate cup equivalents for fruit and vegetables. From 1995 to 2003, we identified 15,792 and 35,071 cancer cases in 195,229 women and 288,109 men, respectively. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate multivariate relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs associated with the highest compared with the lowest quintile (Q) of fruit and vegetable intakes. RESULTS: Fruit intake was not associated with the risk of total cancer among women (RR(Q5 vs Q1) = 0.99; 95% CI: 0.94, 1.05; P trend = 0.059) or men (RR(Q5 vs Q1) = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.02; P for trend = 0.17). Vegetable intake was not associated with risk of total cancer among women (RR(Q5 vs Q1) = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.98, 1.09; P for trend = 0.084), but was associated with a significant decrease in risk in men (RR(Q5 vs Q1) = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.91, 0.97; P trend = 0.004). This significant finding among men was no longer evident when we limited the analysis to men who never smoked (RR(Q5 vs Q1) = 0.97; 95% CI: 0.91, 1.04; P for trend = 0.474). CONCLUSIONS: Intake of fruit and vegetables was generally unrelated to total cancer incidence in this cohort. Residual confounding by smoking is a likely explanation for the observed inverse association with vegetable intake among men. Copyright © 2009 American Society for Nutrition [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the association between low-intensity smoking (10 or less cigarettes per day) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk among women who smoke and by age at cessation among women who previously smoked., Methods: In this study, 104 717 female participants of the Mexican Teachers' Cohort Study were categorised according to self-reported smoking status at baseline (2006/2008) and were followed for mortality through 2019. We estimated HRs and 95% CIs for all-cause and cause-specific mortality using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models with age as the underlying time metric., Results: Smoking as few as one to two cigarettes per day was associated with higher mortality risk for all causes (HR: 1.36; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.67) and all cancers (HR: 1.46; 95% CI 1.05 to 2.02), compared with never smoking. Similarly, slightly higher HRs were observed among participants smoking ≥3 cigarettes per day (all causes HR: 1.43; 95% CI 1.19 to 1.70; all cancers HR: 1.48; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.97; cardiovascular disease HR: 1.58; 95% CI 1.09 to 2.28)., Conclusions: In this large study of Mexican women, low-intensity smoking was associated with higher mortality risk for all causes and all cancers. Interventions are needed to promote cessation among women who smoke at low-intensity in Mexico, regardless of how few cigarettes they smoke per day., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Understanding factors associated with opioid dispensing in cancer patients is important for developing tailored guidelines and ensuring equitable access to pain management. We examined patterns and predictors of opioid dispensing among older cancer patients from 2008 to 2015., Methods: We analyzed data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database linked to Medicare claims. We included the most common cancer types among patients aged 66-95 years. Opioids dispensed within 30 days before and 120 days after cancer diagnosis were assessed. We used logistic regression models to examine trends, adjusted odds ratios (aORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for opioid dispensing, considering patient demographics, geography, cancer stage, comorbidities, and treatment options. Models were stratified by sex., Results: A total of 211,759 cancer patients aged 66-95 years were included in the study. For cancers combined, non-Hispanic Black men had a significantly lower odds of receiving opioids during the 120 days post-diagnosis (aOR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.84-0.94) compared to non-Hispanic White men. Factors such as pre-diagnosis opioid dispensing, age, geography, cancer stage, comorbidities, and type of cancer treatment were associated with opioid dispensing during the 120 days post-diagnosis. Surgery had the strongest association, with men undergoing surgery being 4.4 times more likely to receive opioids within 120 days post-diagnosis (aOR = 4.41, 95% CI = 4.23-4.60), while women had an odds ratio of 2.72 (95% CI = 2.62-2.83). Chemotherapy and radiotherapy were also positively associated with opioid dispensing, with less pronounced estimates., Conclusions: We observed significant variations in opioid dispensing among cancer patients aged 66-95 years across cancer types and demographic and clinical factors., (Published 2024. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Several studies have linked increased risk of osteosarcoma with tall stature, high birthweight, and early puberty, although evidence is inconsistent. We used genetic risk scores (GRS) based on established genetic loci for these traits and evaluated associations between genetically inferred birthweight, height, and puberty timing with osteosarcoma., Methods: Using genotype data from two genome-wide association studies, totaling 1039 cases and 2923 controls of European ancestry, association analyses were conducted using logistic regression for each study and meta-analyzed to estimate pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup analyses were conducted by case diagnosis age, metastasis status, tumor location, tumor histology, and presence of a known pathogenic variant in a cancer susceptibility gene., Results: Genetically inferred higher birthweight was associated with an increased risk of osteosarcoma (OR =1.59, 95% CI 1.07-2.38, P = 0.02). This association was strongest in cases without metastatic disease (OR =2.46, 95% CI 1.44-4.19, P = 9.5 ×10 -04 ). Although there was no overall association between osteosarcoma and genetically inferred taller stature (OR=1.06, 95% CI 0.96-1.17, P = 0.28), the GRS for taller stature was associated with an increased risk of osteosarcoma in 154 cases with a known pathogenic cancer susceptibility gene variant (OR=1.29, 95% CI 1.03-1.63, P = 0.03). There were no significant associations between the GRS for puberty timing and osteosarcoma., Conclusion: A genetic propensity to higher birthweight was associated with increased osteosarcoma risk, suggesting that shared genetic factors or biological pathways that affect birthweight may contribute to osteosarcoma pathogenesis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Importance: The oral microbiota may be involved in development of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), yet current evidence is largely limited to bacterial 16S amplicon sequencing or small retrospective case-control studies., Objective: To test whether oral bacterial and fungal microbiomes are associated with subsequent risk of HNSCC development., Design, Setting, and Participants: Prospective nested case-control study among participants providing oral samples in 3 epidemiological cohorts, the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, and the Southern Community Cohort Study. Two hundred thirty-six patients who prospectively developed HNSCC were identified during a mean (SD) of 5.1 (3.6) years of follow-up. Control participants who remained HNSCC free were selected by 2:1 frequency matching on cohort, age, sex, race and ethnicity, and time since oral sample collection. Data analysis was conducted in 2023., Exposures: Characterization of the oral bacterial microbiome using whole-genome shotgun sequencing and the oral fungal microbiome using internal transcribed spacer sequencing. Association of bacterial and fungal taxa with HNSCC was assessed by analysis of compositions of microbiomes with bias correction. Association with red and orange oral pathogen complexes was tested by logistic regression. A microbial risk score for HNSCC risk was calculated from risk-associated microbiota., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was HNSCC incidence., Results: The study included 236 HNSCC case participants with a mean (SD) age of 60.9 (9.5) years and 24.6% women during a mean of 5.1 (3.6) years of follow-up, and 485 matched control participants. Overall microbiome diversity at baseline was not related to subsequent HNSCC risk; however 13 oral bacterial species were found to be differentially associated with development of HNSCC. The species included the newly identified Prevotella salivae, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Leptotrichia species, as well as several species belonging to beta and gamma Proteobacteria. The red/orange periodontal pathogen complex was moderately associated with HNSCC risk (odds ratio, 1.06 per 1 SD; 95% CI, 1.00-1.12). A 1-SD increase in microbial risk score (created based on 22 bacteria) was associated with a 50% increase in HNSCC risk (multivariate odds ratio, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.21-1.85). No fungal taxa associated with HNSCC risk were identified., Conclusions and Relevance: This case-control study yielded compelling evidence that oral bacteria are a risk factor for HNSCC development. The identified bacteria and bacterial complexes hold promise, along with other risk factors, to identify high-risk individuals for personalized prevention of HNSCC.

Incidence of esophageal and gastric cancer has been linked to low B-vitamin status. We conducted matched nested case-control studies of incident esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC; 340 case-control pairs) and gastric cancer (GC; 352 case-control pairs) within the Golestan Cohort Study. The primary exposure was plasma biomarkers: riboflavin and flavin mononucleotide (FMN) (vitamin B2), pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) (B6), cobalamin (B12), para-aminobenzoylglutamate (pABG) (folate), and total homocysteine (tHcy); and indicators for deficiency: 3-hydroxykyurenine-ratio (HK-r for vitamin B6) and methylmalonic acid (MMA for B12). We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using conditional logistic regression adjusting for matching factors and potential confounders. High proportions of participants had low B-vitamin and high tHcy levels. None of the measured vitamin B levels was associated with the risk of ESCC and GC, but elevated level of MMA was marginally associated with ESCC (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 0.99-2.04) and associated with GC (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.05-2.22). Risk of GC was higher for the highest versus lowest quartile of HK-r (OR = 1.95, 95%CI = 1.19-3.21) and for elevated versus non-elevated HK-r level (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.13-2.25). Risk of ESCC (OR = 2.81, 95% CI = 1.54-5.13) and gastric cancer (OR = 2.09, 95%CI = 1.17-3.73) was higher for the highest versus lowest quartile of tHcy. In conclusion, insufficient vitamin B12 was associated with higher risk of ESCC and GC, and insufficient vitamin B6 status was associated with higher risk of GC in this population with prevalent low plasma B-vitamin status. Higher level of tHcy, a global indicator of OCM function, was associated with higher risk of ESCC and GC., (© 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

We conducted a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in 296,754 men (211,342 European ancestry; 58,236 African ancestry; 23,546 Hispanic/Latino; 3,630 Asian ancestry; 96.5% of participants were from the Million Veteran Program). We identified 318 independent genome-wide significant (p≤5e-8) variants, 184 of which were novel. Most demonstrated evidence of replication in an independent cohort (n=95,768). Meta-analyzing discovery and replication (n=392,522) identified 447 variants, of which a further 111 were novel. Out-of-sample variance in PSA explained by our genome-wide polygenic risk scores ranged from 11.6%-16.6% in European ancestry, 5.5%-9.5% in African ancestry, 13.5%-18.2% in Hispanic/Latino, and 8.6%-15.3% in Asian ancestry, and decreased with increasing age. Mid-life genetically-adjusted PSA levels were more strongly associated with overall and aggressive prostate cancer than unadjusted PSA. Our study highlights how including proportionally more participants from underrepresented populations improves genetic prediction of PSA levels, offering potential to personalize prostate cancer screening.

Background: Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Most cases are sporadic, but well characterized germline alterations in APC , ELP1 , GPR161 , PTCH1 , SUFU , and TP53 predispose to medulloblastoma. However, knowledge about pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants that predispose to medulloblastoma vary based on genes evaluated, patient demographics, and pathogenicity definitions., Methods: Germline exome sequencing was conducted on 160 childhood survivors of medulloblastoma. Analyses focused on rare variants in 239 known cancer susceptibility genes (CSGs). P/LP variants were identified using ClinVar and InterVar. Variants of unknown significance in known medulloblastoma predisposing genes ( APC , ELP1 , GPR161 , PTCH1 , SUFU , TP53) were further classified for loss of function variants. We compared the frequency of P/LP variants in cases to that in 1,259 cancer-free adult controls., Results: Twenty cases (12.5%) had a P/LP variant in an autosomal dominant CSG versus 5% in controls (p=1.0 x10 -3 ), and 10 (6.3%) of these were P/LP variants in a known medulloblastoma gene, significantly greater than 0.2% observed in controls (p=1.4x10 -8 ). The CSGs with the most P/LP variants in cases, and significantly higher than controls, were ELP1 ( p=3.0x10 -4 ) and SUFU (p=1.4x10 -3 )., Conclusion: Approximately one in eight pediatric medulloblastoma survivors had an autosomal dominant P/LP CSG variant. We confirm several known associated genes and identify novel genes that may be important in medulloblastoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Rees, Gianferante, Kim, Stavrou, Reaman, Sapkota, Gramatges, Morton, Hudson, Armstrong, Freedman, Huang, Diver, Lori, Luo, Hicks, Liu, Hutchinson, Goldstein and Mirabello.)

Importance: There are consistent data demonstrating that socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with risk of premature mortality, but research on the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic factors and premature mortality is limited. Most studies evaluating the association between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and mortality have used a single assessment of SES during middle to older adulthood, thereby not considering the contribution of early life neighborhood SES., Objective: To investigate the association of life course neighborhood SES and premature mortality., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study included Black and White participants of the multicenter Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, a multicenter study conducted in 4 US communities: Washington County, Maryland; Forsyth County, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; and the northwestern suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Participants were followed up for a mean (SD) of 18.8 (5.7) years (1996-2020). Statistical analysis was performed from March 2023 through May 2024., Exposure: Participants' residential addresses during childhood, young adulthood, and middle adulthood were linked with US Census-based socioeconomic indicators to create summary neighborhood SES scores for each of these life epochs. Neighborhood SES scores were categorized into distribution-based tertiles., Main Outcomes and Measures: Premature death was defined as all-cause mortality occurring before age 75 years. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs., Results: Among 12 610 study participants, the mean (SD) age at baseline was 62.6 (5.6) years; 3181 (25.2%) were Black and 9429 (74.8%) were White; and 7222 (57.3%) were women. The lowest, compared with the highest tertile, of neighborhood SES score in middle adulthood was associated with higher risk of premature mortality (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.07-1.54). Similar associations were observed for neighborhood SES in young adulthood among women (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.00-1.56) and neighborhood SES in childhood among White participants (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.01-1.56). Participants whose neighborhood SES remained low from young to middle adulthood had an increased premature mortality risk compared with those whose neighborhood SES remained high (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.05-1.49)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, low neighborhood SES was associated with premature mortality. The risk of premature mortality was greatest among individuals experiencing persistently low neighborhood SES from young to middle adulthood. Place-based interventions that target neighborhood social determinants of health should be designed from a life course perspective that accounts for early-life socioeconomic inequality.

Background: It is important to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer death rates in 2020 in the US. We estimated whether there were larger-than-expected changes in cancer mortality rates from March to December 2020 after accounting for temporal and seasonal patterns using data from January 2011 to February 2020 by cancer type and age., Methods: We obtained death counts and underlying causes of death by cancer type, month/year (2011-2020), and age group from the National Center for Health Statistics and population estimates from the US Census Bureau. Poisson regression was used to test for significant changes in cancer death rates from March to December 2020 compared with prior years., Results: After accounting for temporal trends and seasonal patterns, total cancer death rates were significantly lower than expected during March to December 2020 among 55- to 64-year-olds and ≥75-year-olds, but not in other age groups. Cancer death rates were 2% lower than expected from March to June among 55- to 64-year-olds and 2% to 3% lower from March to July and December among ≥75-year-olds. Among ≥75-year-olds, colorectal cancer death rates were lower from March to June [rate ratios (RR) = 0.94-0.96; P < 0.05]; however, lung cancer death rates were 5% lower across each month (all RRs = 0.95; P < 0.05)., Conclusions: In the US, cancer death rates based on the underlying cause of death were broadly similar to expected rates from March to December 2020. However, cancer death rates were lower than expected among 55- to 64-year-olds and ≥75-year-olds, likely due to COVID-19 as a competing cause of death., Impact: Cancer mortality rates from 2020 should be interpreted with caution., (©2024 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Deciphering the genetic basis of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels may improve their utility for prostate cancer (PCa) screening. Using genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from 95,768 PCa-free men, we conducted a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) to examine impacts of genetically predicted gene expression on PSA. Analyses identified 41 statistically significant (p < 0.05/12,192 = 4.10 × 10 -6 ) associations in whole blood and 39 statistically significant (p < 0.05/13,844 = 3.61 × 10 -6 ) associations in prostate tissue, with 18 genes associated in both tissues. Cross-tissue analyses identified 155 statistically significantly (p < 0.05/22,249 = 2.25 × 10 -6 ) genes. Out of 173 unique PSA-associated genes across analyses, we replicated 151 (87.3%) in a TWAS of 209,318 PCa-free individuals from the Million Veteran Program. Based on conditional analyses, we found 20 genes (11 single tissue, nine cross-tissue) that were associated with PSA levels in the discovery TWAS that were not attributable to a lead variant from a GWAS. Ten of these 20 genes replicated, and two of the replicated genes had colocalization probability of >0.5: CCNA2 and HIST1H2BN. Six of the 20 identified genes are not known to impact PCa risk. Fine-mapping based on whole blood and prostate tissue revealed five protein-coding genes with evidence of causal relationships with PSA levels. Of these five genes, four exhibited evidence of colocalization and one was conditionally independent of previous GWAS findings. These results yield hypotheses that should be further explored to improve understanding of genetic factors underlying PSA levels., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests J.S.W. is a non-employee and cofounder of Avail Bio. H.L. is named on a patent for assays to measure intact PSA and a patent for a statistical method to detect prostate cancer commercialized by OPKO Health (4KScore). H.L. receives royalties from sales of the assay and has stock in OPKO Health. H.L. serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for Fujirebio Diagnostics Inc and owns stock in Diaprost AB and Acousort AB. R.E.G. consults for Hunton Andrews Kurth LLC on subject matter unrelated to this study., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To determine the associations between waterpipe use, duration, and intensity of use with prevalence and incidence of metabolic syndrome and its components (increased waist circumference, triglycerides, fasting glucose, blood pressure and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol)., Methods: We conducted cross-sectional and prospective analyses using data from the Pars Cohort Study in southern Iran, encompassing 9,264 participants at the baseline, and 5,002 randomly selected in a repeated follow-up. We used multivariate logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, education, wealth score, physical activity and cigarette pack-years to report odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI)., Results: Among 9,264 participants, 3,119 (33.7%) had metabolic syndrome, and 3,482 (37.6%) had ever smoked waterpipe, with both more common in women than in men. In adjusted models, former waterpipe use was significantly associated with prevalence (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.23-1.68) and incidence (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.19-2.06) of the metabolic syndrome while current waterpipe use was not. Past use was associated with increased risk in all components of metabolic syndrome; current use was associated with increases in all except high blood glucose and hypertension. Past waterpipe users had higher waterpipe use intensity (before quitting) in comparison with current users (2.3 vs. 2.0 waterpipes per day, p < 0.01) and had started waterpipe smoking at a younger age (27.2 vs. 30.1 years, p < 0.01)., Conclusion: Waterpipe use was associated with metabolic syndrome and its components, especially among former users potentially due to higher intensity and earlier initiation of use., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Sadeghi, Naghash, Poustchi, Alvand, Gandomkar, Molavi Vardanjani, Malekzadeh, Boffetta, Abnet, Freedman, Malekzadeh and Etemadi.)

Mosaic loss of the X chromosome (mLOX) is the most common clonal somatic alteration in leukocytes of female individuals 1,2 , but little is known about its genetic determinants or phenotypic consequences. Here, to address this, we used data from 883,574 female participants across 8 biobanks; 12% of participants exhibited detectable mLOX in approximately 2% of leukocytes. Female participants with mLOX had an increased risk of myeloid and lymphoid leukaemias. Genetic analyses identified 56 common variants associated with mLOX, implicating genes with roles in chromosomal missegregation, cancer predisposition and autoimmune diseases. Exome-sequence analyses identified rare missense variants in FBXO10 that confer a twofold increased risk of mLOX. Only a small fraction of associations was shared with mosaic Y chromosome loss, suggesting that distinct biological processes drive formation and clonal expansion of sex chromosome missegregation. Allelic shift analyses identified X chromosome alleles that are preferentially retained in mLOX, demonstrating variation at many loci under cellular selection. A polygenic score including 44 allelic shift loci correctly inferred the retained X chromosomes in 80.7% of mLOX cases in the top decile. Our results support a model in which germline variants predispose female individuals to acquiring mLOX, with the allelic content of the X chromosome possibly shaping the magnitude of clonal expansion., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Background: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are major components of air pollution and tobacco smoke, two known risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. VOCs are ubiquitous in the environment and originate from a wide range of sources, including the burning of biomass, fossil fuels, and consumer products. Direct evidence for associations between specific VOCs and ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in the general population is scarce., Methods: In a case-cohort study (stratified by age groups, sex, residence, and tobacco smoking), nested within the population-based Golestan cohort study ( n = 50,045, 40-75 years, 58% women, enrollment: 2004-2008) in northeastern Iran, we measured urinary concentrations of 20 smoking-related VOC biomarkers using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. We calculated hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for their associations with IHD mortality during follow-up to 2018, using Cox regression models adjusted for age, ethnicity, education, marital status, body mass index, physical activity, wealth, and urinary cotinine., Results: There were 575 non-cases from random subcohort and 601 participants who died from IHD, mean (standard deviation) age, 58.2 (9.3) years, with a median of 8.4 years follow-up. Significant associations [3rd vs. 1st tertile, HR (95% CI), P for trend] were observed between biomarkers of acrylamide [1.68(1.05,2.69), 0.025], acrylonitrile [2.06(1.14,3.72), 0.058], acrolein [1.98(1.30,3.01), 0.003 and 2.44(1.43,4.18), 0.002], styrene/ethylbenzene [1.83(1.19,2.84), 0.007 and 1.44(1.01,2.07), 0.046], dimethylformamide/methylisocyanate [2.15(1.33,3.50), 0.001], and 1,3butadiene [2.35(1.52,3.63),<0.001] and IHD mortality. These associations were independent of tobacco smoking, and they were only present in the non-smoking subgroup., Conclusion: Our findings provide direct evidence for associations between exposure to several VOCs with widespread household and commercial use and IHD mortality many years after these exposures. These results highlight the importance of VOC exposure in the general population as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and underline the importance of bio-monitoring non-tobacco VOC exposure., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The human oral microbiome may alter oral and systemic disease risk. Consuming high sugar content beverages (HSB) can lead to caries development by altering the microbial composition in dental plaque, but little is known regarding HSB-specific oral microbial alterations. Therefore, we conducted a large, population-based study to examine associations of HSB intake with oral microbiome diversity and composition. Using mouthwash samples of 989 individuals in two nationwide U.S. cohorts, bacterial 16S rRNA genes were amplified, sequenced, and assigned to bacterial taxa. HSB intake was quantified from food frequency questionnaires as low (< 1 serving/week), medium (1-3 servings/week), or high (> 3 servings/week). We assessed overall bacterial diversity and presence of specific taxa with respect to HSB intake in each cohort separately and combined in a meta-analysis. Consistently in the two cohorts, we found lower species richness in high HSB consumers (> 3 cans/week) (p = 0.027), and that overall bacterial community profiles differed from those of non-consumers (PERMANOVA p = 0.040). Specifically, presence of a network of commensal bacteria (Lachnospiraceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, and Alloprevotella rava) was less common in high compared to non-consumers, as were other species including Campylobacter showae, Prevotella oulorum, and Mycoplasma faucium. Presence of acidogenic bacteria Bifodobacteriaceae and Lactobacillus rhamnosus was more common in high consumers. Abundance of Fusobacteriales and its genus Leptotrichia, Lachnoanaerobaculum sp., and Campylobacter were lower with higher HSB consumption, and their abundances were correlated. No significant interaction was found for these associations with diabetic status or with microbial markers for caries (S. mutans) and periodontitis (P. gingivalis). Our results suggest that soft drink intake may alter the salivary microbiota, with consistent results across two independent cohorts. The observed perturbations of overrepresented acidogenic bacteria and underrepresented commensal bacteria in high HSB consumers may have implications for oral and systemic disease risk., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Reducing cigarettes per day may lower the risk of lung cancer compared with continuing to smoke at the same intensity. Other changes in smoking behaviors, such as increasing cigarette consumption or quitting for a period and relapsing, may also affect lung cancer risk., Methods: We examined changes in smoking status and cigarettes per day among 24 613 Finnish male smokers aged 50-69 years who participated in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study. Longitudinal data on smoking were collected during study follow-up visits 3 times a year (approximately every 4 months) between 1985 and 1993. Incident lung cancer patients through 2012 were identified by the Finnish Cancer Registry. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression., Results: Compared with smoking 20 cigarettes per day continuously across the intervention period, reducing an average of 5 cigarettes per day per year while smoking was associated with a 20% lower risk of lung cancer (95% CI = 0.71 to 0.90). A substantially lower risk of lung cancer was also observed when participants smoked at 50% (RR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.57 to 0.90) and 10% (RR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.36 to 0.83) of study visits, relative to smoked at 100% of study visits., Conclusions: Smokers may lower their risk of lung cancer by reducing smoking intensity (cigarettes per day while smoking) and the time they smoke. However, quitting smoking completely is the most effective way for smokers to reduce their risk of lung cancer., (Published by Oxford University Press 2024.)