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Purpose: Lung cancer mortality has been shown to vary by race and ethnicity in cancer registries; however, studies often do not account for smoking status. We sought to summarize the independent contribution of race and ethnicity to survival in US lung cancer patients, accounting for important variables including smoking status.Methods: PubMed was used to identify 1,877 potentially eligible studies of which 27 were included. Studies were excluded if they did not account for age, race and/or ethnicity, and smoking status. Fixed- and random-effects meta-analyses were conducted using the reported adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of Hispanic ethnicity and Asian and African-American race compared to Non-Hispanic whites (NHWs) on overall survival in lung cancer.Results: Hispanic ethnicity and Asian race were associated with decreased adjusted risk of death (Hispanic: Nstudies = 5, Nsubjects = 108,810, HR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.90-1.00; Asian: Nstudies = 6, Nsubjects = 128,950, HR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.81-0.90). The results were similar when excluding studies of solely never-smokers. There was no significant difference in survival between African-American and white race after adjustment (Nstudies = 10, Nsubjects = 131,378, HR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-1.01). Other prognostic factors were female gender (HR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.87-0.89), unmarried status (HR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.11), ever-smoking status (HR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.08-1.15), having comorbidities (HR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.24-1.56), and treatment receipt (surgery: HR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.32-0.34; radiation: HR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.85-0.88; chemotherapy: HR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.63-0.65).Conclusions: Even after adjustment for clinical factors and smoking status, Hispanics and Asians experienced improved survival compared to NHWs. Future studies are needed to elucidate the drivers of these survival disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Household air pollution (HAP) is a significant source of the global burden of disease. Our objective was to evaluate the association between environmental health literacy (EHL), a domain of health literacy (HL) that describes the ability to use environmental health information to reduce health risks, and symptoms associated with HAP.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional population-based study of 353 households in Kasarani, Kenya. One individual from each household was surveyed using our novel EHL survey tool. Baseline characteristics were compared between individuals who were symptomatic (i.e., experiencing cough, shortness of breath, phlegm production, wheeze, chest tightness, headache, eye irritation, or burns from cooking at least 5 times per month) versus individuals who were asymptomatic (i.e., experiencing none or symptoms no more than once per month). Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the odds ratios (OR) of self-reported symptoms associated with HL, stratified by median EHL, adjusting for education, self-perceived health and solid fuel use.Results: A total of 100 individuals (28%) reported experiencing one or more symptoms at least 5 times per month, including 31.2% of solid fuel users and 30.3% of non-solid fuel users. Among individuals with high EHL, higher HL was associated with lower risk of experiencing symptoms (OR = 0.26; 95% CI 0.10-0.67), however, there was no association among individuals with low EHL (OR = 0.85; 95% CI 0.34-2.13). Among solid fuel users, the association between HL and risk of experiencing symptoms was driven by individuals with high EHL (OR = 0.30; 95% CI 0.05-1.84), rather than those with low EHL (OR = 1.22; 95% CI 0.36-4.16).Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to assess the association between EHL, HL, and HAP-associated symptoms. Our findings highlight the potential importance of EHL in promoting sustainable interventions to reduce symptoms associated with HAP from solid fuel use among communities in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuel combustion contributes to 2.6% of the global burden of disease. HAP emissions are an established lung carcinogen; however, associations with other cancer sites have not been fully explored. We conducted a meta-analysis of 18 case-control studies. Using fixed-effects models, utilizing the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) from each study, we evaluated the association between HAP and cervical neoplasia (663 cases and 1747 controls) and upper aero-digestive tract cancers (6022 cases and 15 325 controls). We found that HAP was associated with cervical neoplasia (OR = 6.46; 95% CI = 3.12-13.36; 4 studies); oral (OR = 2.44; 95% CI = 1.87-3.19; 4 studies; 1000 cases/3450 controls); nasopharyngeal (OR = 1.80; 95% CI = 1.42-2.29; 6 studies; 2231 cases/2160 controls); pharyngeal (OR = 3.56; 95% CI = 2.22-5.70; 4 studies; 1036 cases/3746 controls); and laryngeal (OR = 2.35; 95% CI = 1.72- 3.21; 5 studies; 1416 cases/4514 controls) cancers. The elevated risk for esophageal cancer (OR = 1.92; 95% CI = 0.82-4.49; 2 studies; 339 cases/1455 controls) was non-significant. HAP was associated with cervical neoplasia among studies that accounted for HPV infection (OR = 9.60; 95% CI = 3.79-24.32) and smoking (OR = 4.72; 95% CI = 1.84-12.07). Similarly, our observed associations between HAP and upper aero-digestive tract cancers remained significantly elevated when analyses were restricted to studies that controlled for smoking. No significant publication bias was detected. Our results suggest that the carcinogenic effect of HAP observed for lung cancer may extend to other cancers, including those of the cervix and the upper aero-digestive tract. Further research is needed to confirm these associations in prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nondaily smoking is increasing in the United States and common among Hispanic/Latino smokers. We characterized factors related to longitudinal smoking transitions in Hispanic/Latino nondaily smokers.Methods: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos is a population-based cohort study of Hispanics/Latinos aged 18-74 years. Multinomial logistic regression assessed the baseline factors (2008-2011) associated with follow-up smoking status (2014-2017) in nondaily smokers (n = 573), accounting for complex survey design.Results: After ∼6 years, 41% of nondaily smokers became former smokers, 22% became daily smokers, and 37% remained nondaily smokers. Factors related to follow-up smoking status were number of days smoked in the previous month, household smokers, education, income, and insurance. Those smoking 16 or more of the last 30 days had increased risk of becoming a daily smoker [vs. < 4 days; relative risk ratio (RRR) = 5.65, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.96-16.33]. Greater education was inversely associated with transitioning to daily smoking [>high school vs. Conclusions: Many Hispanic/Latino nondaily smokers became daily smokers, which may increase their risk of adverse health outcomes. Addressing different smoking patterns in primary care may be useful to prevent smoking-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: The lung microbiome was previously thought to be a sterile environment where only gaseous exchange takes place, but recent studies have shown the presence of microbiota in the lung. This review investigates the current literature on the effects of an environmental driven dysbiosis on the healthy oral and respiratory microbiome and its relationship to lung cancer risk in never-smokers., Methods: An online electronic search was performed on PubMed of all English-language literature using combinations of the following keywords: "lung cancer", "dysbiosis", "non-smokers", "oral microbiome", and "respiratory microbiome". All population-based studies reporting results on oral and/or respiratory microbiome in adults were considered for our narrative review., Key Content and Findings: Metagenomic analyses have been performed on isolated samples from healthy participants and compared to samples from those with lung cancer. Research shows that a decrease in alpha diversity of microbes in the oral microbiome is associated with increased risk of lung cancer, along with differences in beta diversity in the sputum of lung cancer cases and healthy controls. Further, several studies have observed that significant changes in the abundance of genera such as increased abundance of Lactobacillales , Bacilli , and Firmicutes associated with an increased lung cancer risk among participants with exposure to certain household solid fuels., Conclusions: These findings suggest potential carcinogenic processes such as increased inflammation associated with changes in flora. Additionally, studies showed that increase in certain taxa such as Bacteroides and Spirochetes might have a protective effect on lung cancer risk. The review also provides insight into how understanding the microbial changes can be beneficial for lung cancer treatment and disease-free survival. Larger studies in different populations need to be performed to strengthen the current associations between microbial diversity and lung cancer risk., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jtd.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jtd-22-885/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2023 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Research suggests that increased mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) is associated with increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL); however, no studies to date have evaluated whether the mitochondrial DNA fraction with breaks (mtDNAfb) is associated with risk of NHL., Objective: To evaluate the association of mtDNAfb with NHL risk., Design, Setting, and Participants: This nested case-control study, which used prospectively collected samples as part of baseline enrollment (from 1985 through 1988) of 29 133 men who smoked for the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study conducted in southwest Finland, included 107 incident NHL cases and 107 controls (matched on date of birth ±5 years). Analyses were conducted from January to September 2022., Exposure: High-throughput real-time polymerase chain reaction assays quantifying mtDNAfb., Main Outcomes and Measures: Incident NHL cases were identified in the ATBC Study through April 30, 2002, using the Finnish Cancer Registry and the Register of Causes of Death. The mtDNAfb was quantified and categorized based on the median, tertile, and quartile distributions among controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs were estimated using conditional logistic regression models to assess the associations between categorized mtDNAfb and future risk of NHL, controlling for age, body mass index, number of cigarettes smoked per day, number of pack-years, and mtDNAcn., Results: A total of 29 133 men (median [IQR] age, 57.2 [52.6-62.5] years) participated in ATBC Study. Higher mtDNAfb was associated with an increased risk of NHL (median OR, 2.89; 95% CI, 1.40-5.93) in a dose-dependent manner (quartile 2 vs 1 OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.43-3.40; quartile 3 vs 1 OR, 3.58; 95% CI, 1.39-9.24; quartile 4 vs 1 OR, 3.42; 95% CI, 1.30- 8.99; P = .004 for trend)., Conclusions and Relevance: This study's findings suggest that increased mtDNAfb is associated with an increased future risk of NHL. Additional studies are needed to confirm these findings, particularly among women and nonsmokers.

Diesel exhaust has long been of health concern due to established toxicity including carcinogenicity in humans. However, the precise components of diesel engine emissions that drive carcinogenesis are still unclear. Limited work has suggested that nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) such as 1-nitropyrene and 2-nitrofluorene may be more abundant in diesel exhaust. The present study aimed to examine whether urinary amino metabolites of these NPAHs were associated with high levels of diesel engine emissions and urinary mutagenicity in a group of highly exposed workers including both smokers and nonsmokers. Spot urine samples were collected immediately following a standard work shift from each of the 54 diesel engine testers and 55 non-tester controls for the analysis of five amino metabolites of NPAHs, and cotinine (a biomarker of tobacco smoke exposure) using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. An overnight urine sample was collected in a subgroup of non-smoking participants for mutagenicity analysis using strain YG1041 in the Salmonella (Ames) mutagenicity assay. Personal exposure to fine particles (PM 2.5 ) and more-diesel-specific constituents (elemental carbon and soot) was assessed for the engine testers by measuring breathing-zone concentrations repeatedly over several full work shifts. Results showed that it was 12.8 times more likely to detect 1-aminopyrene and 2.9 times more likely to detect 2-aminofluorene in the engine testers than in unexposed controls. Urinary concentrations of 1-aminopyrene were significantly higher in engine testers (p < 0.001), and strongly correlated with soot and elemental carbon exposure as well as mutagenicity tested in strain YG1041 with metabolic activation (p < 0.001). Smoking did not affect 1-aminopyrene concentrations and 1-aminopyrene relationships with diesel exposure. In contrast, both engine emissions and smoking affected 2-aminofluorene concentrations. The results confirm that urinary 1-aminopyrene may serve as an exposure biomarker for diesel engine emissions and associated mutagenicity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Although prediagnostic circulating concentrations of the immune activation markers soluble CD27 (sCD27), sCD30 and chemokine ligand-13 (CXCL13) have been associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) risk, studies have been limited by sample size in associations with NHL subtypes. We pooled data from eight nested case-control studies to investigate subtype-specific relationships for these analytes. Using polytomous regression, we calculated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) relating study-specific analyte tertiles to selected subtypes vs controls (n = 3310): chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL; n = 623), diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL; n = 621), follicular lymphoma (FL; n = 398), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL; n = 138), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL; n = 82) and T cell lymphoma (TCL; n = 92). We observed associations with DLBCL for elevated sCD27 [OR for third vs first tertile (OR T3 ) = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.6-3.1], sCD30 (OR T3  = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.6-2.5) and CXCL13 (OR T3  = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.8-3.0). We also observed associations with sCD27 for CLL/SLL (OR T3  = 3.3, 95% CI = 2.4-4.6), MZL (OR T3  = 7.7, 95% CI = 3.0-20.1) and TCL (OR T3  = 3.4, 95% CI = 1.5-7.7), and between sCD30 and FL (OR T3  = 2.7, 95% CI = 2.0-3.5). In analyses stratified by time from phlebotomy to case diagnosis, the sCD27-TCL and all three DLBCL associations were equivalent across both follow-up periods (<7.5, ≥7.5 years). For other analyte-subtype comparisons, associations were stronger for the follow-up period closer to phlebotomy, particularly for indolent subtypes. In conclusion, we found robust evidence of an association between these immune markers and DLBCL, consistent with hypotheses that mechanisms related to immune activation are important in its pathogenesis. Our other findings, particularly for the rarer subtypes MZL and TCL, require further investigation., (© 2022 UICC. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

Indoor gas stove use for cooking is associated with an increased risk of current asthma among children and is prevalent in 35% of households in the United States (US). The population-level implications of gas cooking are largely unrecognized. We quantified the population attributable fraction (PAF) for gas stove use and current childhood asthma in the US. Effect sizes previously reported by meta-analyses for current asthma (Odds Ratio = 1.34, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.12−1.57) were utilized in the PAF estimations. The proportion of children (<18 years old) exposed to gas stoves was obtained from the American Housing Survey for the US, and states with available data (n = 9). We found that 12.7% (95% CI = 6.3−19.3%) of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use. The proportion of childhood asthma that could be theoretically prevented if gas stove use was not present (e.g., state-specific PAFs) varied by state (Illinois = 21.1%; California = 20.1%; New York = 18.8%; Massachusetts = 15.4%; Pennsylvania = 13.5%). Our results quantify the US public health burden attributed to gas stove use and childhood asthma. Further research is needed to quantify the burden experienced at the county levels, as well as the impacts of implementing mitigation strategies through intervention studies.

Tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer is the leading cause of cancer death globally, but trends in TBL mortality attributable to tobacco, ambient particulate matter pollution (APMP), and household air pollution (HAP) were unequally distributed within global population subgroups over the last three decades. We used data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study to quantify the impact of sex, time, sociodemographic development index (SDI), and age for each exposure from 1990-2019. During that interval, tobacco dominated the TBL cancer mortality landscape, with its minimum global age-adjusted death rate of 16.71 deaths/100,000 (95% Uncertainty Interval (UI): 15.27-18.13) outstripping maximums of 3.85 deaths/100,000 (UI: 2.82-4.83) and 2.54 deaths/100,000 (UI: 1.69-3.54) for APMP and HAP, respectively. In 2019, tobacco male TBL death rates exceeded female rates by a factor of 4.4:1. Ratios of 1.9:1 for APMP and 2.1:1 for HAP were seen. Our analysis indicates that both-sex middle SDI and female low, low-middle, and high-middle SDI populations are suffering increasing tobacco TBL burden. Efforts producing successful global reductions in HAP-associated TBL mortality should continue, with attention to low SDI female death rate increases. Finally, except for high SDI populations, global APMP-attributable TBL cancer burden is increasing and represents a major health concern.

Introduction: While the molecular mechanisms of COPD pathogenesis remain obscure, there is mounting evidence supporting a key role for autoimmunity. Although human leukocyte antigens (HLA) alleles have been repeatedly associated with autoimmune processes, the relation between HLA and COPD remains largely unexplored, especially in Latin American (LA) populations. Consequently, this study aimed to investigate the presence of HLA class I and II alleles in COPD patients and healthy controls in a LA population with admixed ancestry., Methods: COPD patients (n=214) and age-matched controls (n=193) were genotyped using the Illumina Infinium Global Screening Array. The classic HLA alleles were imputed using HLA Genotype Imputation with Attribute Bagging (HIBAG) and the Hispanic reference panel. Finally, the distribution of HLA-DRB1 alleles was reexamined in 510 randomly recruited unrelated volunteers., Results: CODP patients showed a higher HLA-DRB1*01:02 allele frequency (6.54%) than healthy controls (3.27%, p=0.04, OR=2.07). HLA-DRB1*01:02 was also significantly associated with FEV 1 (p=0.04) and oxygen saturation (p=0.02), and the FEV 1 /FVC ratio was higher in HLA-DRB1*15:01-positive patients (p=9×10 -3 )., Conclusion: We report an association among HLA-DRB1 alleles, COPD risk and pulmonary function parameters for the first time in Latin Americans. Since HLA-DRB1 genetic variability relates to the individual autoimmune response, these results support a role of autoimmunity in the pathogenesis of COPD., (Copyright © 2020 SEPAR. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hispanics/Latinos are a growing yet understudied population in the United States (US). Despite lower socioeconomic status, Hispanics/Latinos tend to have similar or better health outcomes than Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). This phenomenon has not been conclusively studied for lung cancer., Methods: Using a cohort of patients at Montefiore Medical Center (MMC) in the Bronx, NY, we examined factors related to lung cancer survival by race/ethnicity with an emphasis on Hispanics/Latinos. Subjects were diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) between 2004 and 2017. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from MMC's clinical systems and tumor-related information from MMC/Einstein's Cancer Registry. Survival was assessed using Cox proportional hazards modeling adjusted for clinical and sociodemographic factors including smoking. Factors related to survival within each major racial/ethnic group were examined., Results: Hispanics/Latinos experienced decreased risk of death relative to NHWs [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.70, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 0.57-0.86] overall and by sex (males: HR = 0.78, 95%CI 0.59-1.03, females: HR = 0.61, 95%CI 0.44-0.86). Decreased risk among Hispanics/Latinos relative to NHWs was evident in never-smokers (HR = 0.55, 95%CI 0.29-1.01), ever-smokers (HR = 0.72, 95%CI 0.57-0.90), younger subjects (HR = 0.73, 95%CI 0.54-0.99), and older subjects (HR = 0.72, 95%CI 0.53-0.97). Surgery was associated with improved survival in Hispanics/Latinos (HR = 0.60, 95%CI 0.43-0.85), and smoking with worse survival (HR = 1.56, 95%CI 1.02-2.39). Survival did not differ between Non-Hispanic Blacks and NHWs., Conclusions: In a poor urban community, Hispanics/Latinos experience improved survival from NSCLC compared to NHWs, which is not entirely explained by smoking. Future research should investigate the drivers of this benefit and differences in survival by Hispanic/Latino origin.

Breast cancer is a common disease partially caused by genetic risk factors. Germline pathogenic variants in DNA repair genes BRCA1 , BRCA2 , PALB2 , ATM , and CHEK2 are associated with breast cancer risk. FANCM , which encodes for a DNA translocase, has been proposed as a breast cancer predisposition gene, with greater effects for the ER-negative and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes. We tested the three recurrent protein-truncating variants FANCM :p.Arg658*, p.Gln1701*, and p.Arg1931* for association with breast cancer risk in 67,112 cases, 53,766 controls, and 26,662 carriers of pathogenic variants of BRCA1 or BRCA2 . These three variants were also studied functionally by measuring survival and chromosome fragility in FANCM -/- patient-derived immortalized fibroblasts treated with diepoxybutane or olaparib. We observed that FANCM :p.Arg658* was associated with increased risk of ER-negative disease and TNBC (OR = 2.44, P  = 0.034 and OR = 3.79; P  = 0.009, respectively). In a country-restricted analysis, we confirmed the associations detected for FANCM :p.Arg658* and found that also FANCM :p.Arg1931* was associated with ER-negative breast cancer risk (OR = 1.96; P  = 0.006). The functional results indicated that all three variants were deleterious affecting cell survival and chromosome stability with FANCM :p.Arg658* causing more severe phenotypes. In conclusion, we confirmed that the two rare FANCM deleterious variants p.Arg658* and p.Arg1931* are risk factors for ER-negative and TNBC subtypes. Overall our data suggest that the effect of truncating variants on breast cancer risk may depend on their position in the gene. Cell sensitivity to olaparib exposure, identifies a possible therapeutic option to treat FANCM -associated tumors., Competing Interests: Competing interestsC.I. reports consulting with AstraZeneca and Pfizer and her institution receives research support for Tesaro, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer. B.Y.K. served on Invitae Corporation’s Advisory Board from 2017 to 2018. K.P. reports receiving fee, paid to his institution, for lectures and/or participation in advisory board of AstraZeneca and Pfizer and travel support from AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Jordi Surrallés’ institution received research support from Rocket Pharmaceuticals. The remaining authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2019.)

We previously reported that bacterial diversity in sputum samples from never-smoking women in rural China varied by lung cancer status and household air pollution (HAP) exposure type. Here, we expand on our associations between environmental exposures and respiratory tract microbiota with an additional 90 never-smoking women from Xuanwei, China. DNA from sputum samples of cases (n = 45) and controls (n = 45) was extracted using a multistep enzymatic and physical lysis, followed by a standardized clean up. V1-V2 regions of 16S rRNA genes were Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified. Purified amplicons were sequenced by 454 FLX Titanium pyrosequencing and high-quality sequences were evaluated for diversity and taxonomic membership. In our population of never-smokers, increased risk of lung cancer was associated with lower alpha diversity compared to higher alpha diversity (Shannon: OR high = 1.00 [reference], OR medium = 3.84 [1.02-14.48], OR low = 3.78 [1.03-13.82]; observed species: OR high = 1.00 [reference], OR medium = 2.37 [0.67-8.48], OR low = 2.01 [0.58-6.97]; Phylogenetic Diversity (PD) whole tree: OR high = 1.00 [reference], OR medium = 3.04 [0.85-10.92], OR low = 2.53 [0.72-8.96]), as well as a decreased relative abundance of Fusobacteria (OR high = 1.00 [reference], OR medium = 1.24 [0.42-3.66], OR low = 2.01 [0.63-6.44], p trend = 0.03). Increasing alpha diversity was associated with smoky coal use compared to clean fuel use among all subjects (observed species, P = 0.001; PD whole tree, P = 0.006; Shannon, P = 0.0002), as well as cases (observed species, P = 0.02; PD whole tree, P = 0.03; Shannon, P = 0.03) and controls (observed species, P = 0.01; PD whole tree, P = 0.05; Shannon, P = 0.002). Increased diversity was also associated with presence of livestock (observed species, P = 0.02; PD whole tree, P = 0.02; Shannon, P = 0.03) in the home for cases. Our study is the first to report that decreased microbial diversity is associated with risk of lung cancer. Larger studies are necessary to elucidate the direct and indirect effects attributed to the disease-specific, HAP-specific, and animal-specific associations. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Household air pollution (HAP) is of public health concern with ~3 billion people worldwide (including >15 million in the US) exposed. HAP from coal use is a human lung carcinogen, yet the epidemiological evidence on carcinogenicity of HAP from biomass use, primarily wood, is not conclusive. To robustly assess biomass's carcinogenic potential, prospective studies of individuals experiencing a variety of HAP exposures are needed. We have built a global consortium of 13 prospective cohorts (HAPCO: Household Air Pollution Consortium) that have site- and disease-specific mortality and solid fuel use data, for a combined sample size of 587,257 participants and 57,483 deaths. HAPCO provides a novel opportunity to assess the association of HAP with lung cancer death while controlling for important confounders such as tobacco and outdoor air pollution exposures. HAPCO is also uniquely positioned to determine the risks associated with cancers other than lung as well as non-malignant respiratory and cardiometabolic outcomes, for which prospective epidemiologic research is limited. HAPCO will facilitate research to address public health concerns associated with HAP-attributed exposures by enabling investigators to evaluate sex-specific and smoking status-specific effects under various exposure scenarios., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. It may develop in response to an exposure or inflammatory trigger in the background of a genetically primed abnormal immune response. Thus, genetic studies are potentially important to our understanding of the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis. We developed a case-control study which explored the genetic variations between firefighters in the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) with World Trade Center (WTC)-related sarcoidosis and those with WTC exposure, but without sarcoidosis. The loci of fifty-one candidate genes related to granuloma formation, inflammation, immune response, and/or sarcoidosis were sequenced at high density in enhancer/promoter, exonic, and 5' untranslated regions. Seventeen allele variants of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and non-HLA genes were found to be associated with sarcoidosis, and all were within chromosomes 1 and 6. Our results also suggest an association between extrathoracic involvement and allele variants of HLA and non-HLA genes found not only on chromosomes 1 and 6, but also on chromosomes 16 and 17. We found similarities between genetic variants with WTC-related sarcoidosis and those reported previously in sporadic sarcoidosis cases within the general population. In addition, we identified several allele variants never previously reported in association with sarcoidosis. If confirmed in larger studies with known environmental exposures, these novel findings may provide insight into the gene-environment interactions key to the development of sarcoidosis.

Objective: We assessed the cross-sectional relationships of self-reported current occupational exposures to solvents, metals, and pesticides with metabolic syndrome and its components among 7127 participants in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos., Methods: Metabolic syndrome was defined as a clustering of abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high blood pressure, and/or high fasting glucose. Regression models that incorporated inverse probability of exposure weighting were used to estimate prevalence ratios., Results: Solvent exposure was associated with a 32% higher prevalence of high blood pressure (95% confidence interval: 1.09 to 1.60) than participants not reporting exposure. No associations were observed for occupational exposures with abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein, or metabolic syndrome., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that solvent exposure may be an important occupational risk factor for high blood pressure among Hispanics/Latinos in the United States.

The relationship between diesel engine exhaust (DEE), a known lung carcinogen, and immune/inflammatory markers that have been prospectively associated with lung cancer risk is not well understood. To provide insight into these associations, we conducted a cross-sectional molecular epidemiology study of 54 males highly occupationally exposed to DEE and 55 unexposed male controls from representative workplaces in China. We measured plasma levels of 64 immune/inflammatory markers in all subjects using Luminex bead-based assays, and compared our findings to those from a nested case-control study of these markers and lung cancer risk, which had been conducted among never-smoking women in Shanghai using the same multiplex panels. Levels of nine markers that were associated with lung cancer risk in the Shanghai study were altered in DEE-exposed workers in the same direction as the lung cancer associations. Among these, associations with the levels of CRP (β= -0.53; P = 0.01) and CCL15/MIP-1D (β = 0.20; P = 0.02) were observed in workers exposed to DEE and with increasing elemental carbon exposure levels (Ptrends <0.05) in multivariable linear regression models. Levels of a third marker positively associated with an increased lung cancer risk, CCL2/MCP-1, were higher among DEE-exposed workers compared with controls in never and former smokers, but not in current smokers (Pinteraction = 0.01). The immunological differences in these markers in DEE-exposed workers are consistent with associations observed for lung cancer risk in a prospective study of Chinese women and may provide some insight into the mechanistic processes by which DEE causes lung cancer., (Published by Oxford University Press 2017.)

To evaluate associations by EGFR mutation status for lung adenocarcinoma risk among never-smoking Asian women, we conducted a meta-analysis of 11 loci previously identified in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Genotyping in an additional 10,780 never-smoking cases and 10,938 never-smoking controls from Asia confirmed associations with eight known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Two new signals were observed at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10-8), namely, rs7216064 (17q24.3, BPTF), for overall lung adenocarcinoma risk, and rs3817963 (6p21.3, BTNL2) which is specific to cases with EGFR mutations. In further sub-analyses by EGFR status, rs9387478 (ROS1/DCBLD1) and rs2179920 (HLA-DPB1) showed stronger estimated associations in EGFR-positive compared to EGFR-negative cases. Comparison of the overall associations with published results in Western populations revealed that the majority of these findings were distinct, underscoring the importance of distinct contributing factors for smoking and non-smoking lung cancer. Our results extend the catalogue of regions associated with lung adenocarcinoma in non-smoking Asian women and highlight the importance of how the germline could inform risk for specific tumour mutation patterns, which could have important translational implications., (Published by Oxford University Press 2016. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.)

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of lung cancer in Asian never-smoking women have previously identified six susceptibility loci associated with lung cancer risk. To further discover new susceptibility loci, we imputed data from four GWAS of Asian non-smoking female lung cancer (6877 cases and 6277 controls) using the 1000 Genomes Project (Phase 1 Release 3) data as the reference and genotyped additional samples (5878 cases and 7046 controls) for possible replication. In our meta-analysis, three new loci achieved genome-wide significance, marked by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs7741164 at 6p21.1 (per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 1.17; P = 5.8 × 10(-13)), rs72658409 at 9p21.3 (per-allele OR = 0.77; P = 1.41 × 10(-10)) and rs11610143 at 12q13.13 (per-allele OR = 0.89; P = 4.96 × 10(-9)). These findings identified new genetic susceptibility alleles for lung cancer in never-smoking women in Asia and merit follow-up to understand their biological underpinnings., (Published by Oxford University Press 2016. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

Background: Studies of related individuals have consistently demonstrated notable familial aggregation of cancer. We aim to estimate the heritability and genetic correlation attributable to the additive effects of common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for cancer at 13 anatomical sites., Methods: Between 2007 and 2014, the US National Cancer Institute has generated data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for 49 492 cancer case patients and 34 131 control patients. We apply novel mixed model methodology (GCTA) to this GWAS data to estimate the heritability of individual cancers, as well as the proportion of heritability attributable to cigarette smoking in smoking-related cancers, and the genetic correlation between pairs of cancers., Results: GWAS heritability was statistically significant at nearly all sites, with the estimates of array-based heritability, hl (2), on the liability threshold (LT) scale ranging from 0.05 to 0.38. Estimating the combined heritability of multiple smoking characteristics, we calculate that at least 24% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 14% to 37%) and 7% (95% CI = 4% to 11%) of the heritability for lung and bladder cancer, respectively, can be attributed to genetic determinants of smoking. Most pairs of cancers studied did not show evidence of strong genetic correlation. We found only four pairs of cancers with marginally statistically significant correlations, specifically kidney and testes (ρ = 0.73, SE = 0.28), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and pediatric osteosarcoma (ρ = 0.53, SE = 0.21), DLBCL and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (ρ = 0.51, SE =0.18), and bladder and lung (ρ = 0.35, SE = 0.14). Correlation analysis also indicates that the genetic architecture of lung cancer differs between a smoking population of European ancestry and a nonsmoking Asian population, allowing for the possibility that the genetic etiology for the same disease can vary by population and environmental exposures., Conclusion: Our results provide important insights into the genetic architecture of cancers and suggest new avenues for investigation., (Published by Oxford University Press 2015. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

Recent evidence from several relatively small nested case-control studies in prospective cohorts shows an association between longer telomere length measured phenotypically in peripheral white blood cell (WBC) DNA and increased lung cancer risk. We sought to further explore this relationship by examining a panel of seven telomere-length associated genetic variants in a large study of 5,457 never-smoking female Asian lung cancer cases and 4,493 never-smoking female Asian controls using data from a previously reported genome-wide association study. Using a group of 1,536 individuals with phenotypically measured telomere length in WBCs in the prospective Shanghai Women's Health study, we demonstrated the utility of a genetic risk score (GRS) of seven telomere-length associated variants to predict telomere length in an Asian population. We then found that GRSs used as instrumental variables to predict longer telomere length were associated with increased lung cancer risk (OR = 1.51 (95% CI = 1.34-1.69) for upper vs. lower quartile of the weighted GRS, p value = 4.54 × 10(-14) ) even after removing rs2736100 (p value = 4.81 × 10(-3) ), a SNP in the TERT locus robustly associated with lung cancer risk in prior association studies. Stratified analyses suggested the effect of the telomere-associated GRS is strongest among younger individuals. We found no difference in GRS effect between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell subtypes. Our results indicate that a genetic background that favors longer telomere length may increase lung cancer risk, which is consistent with earlier prospective studies relating longer telomere length with increased lung cancer risk., (Published 2014. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain of the United States of America.)

Importance: Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide. Current estimates of cancer burden in individual countries and regions are necessary to inform local cancer control strategies., Objective: To estimate mortality, incidence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 28 cancers in 188 countries by sex from 1990 to 2013., Evidence Review: The general methodology of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2013 study was used. Cancer registries were the source for cancer incidence data as well as mortality incidence (MI) ratios. Sources for cause of death data include vital registration system data, verbal autopsy studies, and other sources. The MI ratios were used to transform incidence data to mortality estimates and cause of death estimates to incidence estimates. Cancer prevalence was estimated using MI ratios as surrogates for survival data; YLDs were calculated by multiplying prevalence estimates with disability weights, which were derived from population-based surveys; YLLs were computed by multiplying the number of estimated cancer deaths at each age with a reference life expectancy; and DALYs were calculated as the sum of YLDs and YLLs., Findings: In 2013 there were 14.9 million incident cancer cases, 8.2 million deaths, and 196.3 million DALYs. Prostate cancer was the leading cause for cancer incidence (1.4 million) for men and breast cancer for women (1.8 million). Tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer was the leading cause for cancer death in men and women, with 1.6 million deaths. For men, TBL cancer was the leading cause of DALYs (24.9 million). For women, breast cancer was the leading cause of DALYs (13.1 million). Age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) per 100 000 and age-standardized death rates (ASDRs) per 100 000 for both sexes in 2013 were higher in developing vs developed countries for stomach cancer (ASIR, 17 vs 14; ASDR, 15 vs 11), liver cancer (ASIR, 15 vs 7; ASDR, 16 vs 7), esophageal cancer (ASIR, 9 vs 4; ASDR, 9 vs 4), cervical cancer (ASIR, 8 vs 5; ASDR, 4 vs 2), lip and oral cavity cancer (ASIR, 7 vs 6; ASDR, 2 vs 2), and nasopharyngeal cancer (ASIR, 1.5 vs 0.4; ASDR, 1.2 vs 0.3). Between 1990 and 2013, ASIRs for all cancers combined (except nonmelanoma skin cancer and Kaposi sarcoma) increased by more than 10% in 113 countries and decreased by more than 10% in 12 of 188 countries., Conclusions and Relevance: Cancer poses a major threat to public health worldwide, and incidence rates have increased in most countries since 1990. The trend is a particular threat to developing nations with health systems that are ill-equipped to deal with complex and expensive cancer treatments. The annual update on the Global Burden of Cancer will provide all stakeholders with timely estimates to guide policy efforts in cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and palliation.

Background: Around 2.4 billion people use traditional biomass fuels for household cooking or heating. In 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded emissions from household coal combustion are a Group 1 carcinogen, while those from biomass were categorised as 2A due to epidemiologic limitations. This review updates the epidemiologic evidence and provides risk estimates for the 2010 Global Burden of Disease study., Methods: Searches were conducted of 10 databases to July 2012 for studies of clinically diagnosed or pathologically confirmed lung cancer associated with household biomass use for cooking and/or heating., Findings: Fourteen eligible studies of biomass cooking or heating were identified: 13 had independent estimates (12 cooking only), all were case-control designs and provided 8221 cases and 11 342 controls. The ORs for lung cancer risk with biomass for cooking and/or heating were OR 1.17 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.37) overall, and 1.15 (95% CI 0.97 to 1.37) for cooking only. Publication bias was not detected, but more than half the studies did not explicitly describe a clean reference category. Sensitivity analyses restricted to studies with adequate adjustment and a clean reference category found ORs of 1.21 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.39) for men (two reports, compiling five studies) and 1.95 (95% CI 1.16 to 3.27) for women (five reports, compiling eight studies). Exposure-response evidence was seen for men, and higher risk for women in developing compared with developed countries, consistent with higher exposures in the former., Conclusions: There is now stronger evidence for biomass fuel use causing lung cancer, but future studies need better exposure assessment to strengthen exposure-response evidence., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.)

Background: The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently classified diesel engine exhaust (DEE) as a Group I carcinogen based largely on its association with lung cancer. However, the exposure-response relationship is still a subject of debate and the underlying mechanism by which DEE causes lung cancer in humans is not well understood., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional molecular epidemiology study in a diesel engine truck testing facility of 54 workers exposed to a wide range of DEE (ie, elemental carbon air levels, median range: 49.7, 6.1-107.7 µg/m(3)) and 55 unexposed comparable controls., Results: The total lymphocyte count (p=0.00044) and three of the four major lymphocyte subsets (ie, CD4+ T cells (p=0.00019), CD8+ T cells (p=0.0058) and B cells (p=0.017)) were higher in exposed versus control workers and findings were highly consistent when stratified by smoking status. In addition, there was evidence of an exposure-response relationship between elemental carbon and these end points (ptrends<0.05), and CD4+ T cell levels were significantly higher in the lowest tertile of DEE exposed workers compared to controls (p=0.012)., Conclusions: Our results suggest that DEE exposure is associated with higher levels of cells that play a key role in the inflammatory process, which is increasingly being recognised as contributing to the aetiology of lung cancer., Impact: This study provides new insights into the underlying mechanism of DEE carcinogenicity., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.)

Analyses of genome-wide association study (GWAS) data have revealed that detectable genetic mosaicism involving large (>2 Mb) structural autosomal alterations occurs in a fraction of individuals. We present results for a set of 24,849 genotyped individuals (total GWAS set II [TGSII]) in whom 341 large autosomal abnormalities were observed in 168 (0.68%) individuals. Merging data from the new TGSII set with data from two prior reports (the Gene-Environment Association Studies and the total GWAS set I) generated a large dataset of 127,179 individuals; we then conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the patterns of detectable autosomal mosaicism (n = 1,315 events in 925 [0.73%] individuals). Restricting to events >2 Mb in size, we observed an increase in event frequency as event size decreased. The combined results underscore that the rate of detectable mosaicism increases with age (p value = 5.5 × 10(-31)) and is higher in men (p value = 0.002) but lower in participants of African ancestry (p value = 0.003). In a subset of 47 individuals from whom serial samples were collected up to 6 years apart, complex changes were noted over time and showed an overall increase in the proportion of mosaic cells as age increased. Our large combined sample allowed for a unique ability to characterize detectable genetic mosaicism involving large structural events and strengthens the emerging evidence of non-random erosion of the genome in the aging population., (Copyright © 2015 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We previously carried out a multi-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) on lung cancer among never smokers in the Female Lung Cancer Consortium in Asia (FLCCA) (6,609 cases, 7,457 controls) that identified novel susceptibility loci at 10q25.2, 6q22.2, and 6p21.32, and confirmed two previously identified loci at 5p15.33 and 3q28. Household air pollution (HAP) attributed to solid fuel burning for heating and cooking, is the leading cause of the overall disease burden in Southeast Asia, and is known to contain lung carcinogens. To evaluate the gene-HAP interactions associated with lung cancer in loci independent of smoking, we analyzed data from studies participating in FLCCA with fuel use information available (n = 3; 1,731 cases; 1,349 controls). Coal use was associated with a 30% increased risk of lung cancer (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.6). Among the five a priori SNPs identified by our GWAS, two showed a significant interaction with coal use (HLA Class II rs2395185, p = 0.02; TP63 rs4488809 (rs4600802), p = 0.04). The risk of lung cancer associated with coal exposure varied with the respective alleles for these two SNPs. Our observations provide evidence that genetic variation in HLA Class II and TP63 may modify the association between HAP and lung cancer risk. The roles played in the cell cycle and inflammation pathways by the proteins encoded by these two genes provide biological plausibility for these interactions; however, additional replication studies are needed in other non-smoking populations.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have mapped risk alleles for at least 10 distinct cancers to a small region of 63 000 bp on chromosome 5p15.33. This region harbors the TERT and CLPTM1L genes; the former encodes the catalytic subunit of telomerase reverse transcriptase and the latter may play a role in apoptosis. To investigate further the genetic architecture of common susceptibility alleles in this region, we conducted an agnostic subset-based meta-analysis (association analysis based on subsets) across six distinct cancers in 34 248 cases and 45 036 controls. Based on sequential conditional analysis, we identified as many as six independent risk loci marked by common single-nucleotide polymorphisms: five in the TERT gene (Region 1: rs7726159, P = 2.10 × 10(-39); Region 3: rs2853677, P = 3.30 × 10(-36) and PConditional = 2.36 × 10(-8); Region 4: rs2736098, P = 3.87 × 10(-12) and PConditional = 5.19 × 10(-6), Region 5: rs13172201, P = 0.041 and PConditional = 2.04 × 10(-6); and Region 6: rs10069690, P = 7.49 × 10(-15) and PConditional = 5.35 × 10(-7)) and one in the neighboring CLPTM1L gene (Region 2: rs451360; P = 1.90 × 10(-18) and PConditional = 7.06 × 10(-16)). Between three and five cancers mapped to each independent locus with both risk-enhancing and protective effects. Allele-specific effects on DNA methylation were seen for a subset of risk loci, indicating that methylation and subsequent effects on gene expression may contribute to the biology of risk variants on 5p15.33. Our results provide strong support for extensive pleiotropy across this region of 5p15.33, to an extent not previously observed in other cancer susceptibility loci., (Published by Oxford University Press 2014. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

Bacteria influence site-specific disease etiology and the host's ability to metabolize xenobiotics, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Lung cancer in Xuanwei, China has been attributed to PAH-rich household air pollution from burning coal. This study seeks to explore the role of lung microbiota in lung cancer among never smoking Xuanwei women and how coal burning may influence these associations. DNA from sputum and buccal samples of never smoking lung cancer cases (n = 8, in duplicate) and controls (n = 8, in duplicate) in two Xuanwei villages was extracted using a multi-step enzymatic and physical lysis, followed by a standardized clean-up. V1-V2 regions of 16S rRNA genes were PCR-amplified. Purified amplicons were sequenced by 454 FLX Titanium pyrosequencing and high-quality sequences were evaluated for diversity and taxonomic membership. Bacterial diversity among cases and controls was similar in buccal samples (P = 0.46), but significantly different in sputum samples (P = 0.038). In sputum, Granulicatella (6.1 vs. 2.0%; P = 0.0016), Abiotrophia (1.5 vs. 0.085%; P = 0.0036), and Streptococcus (40.1 vs. 19.8%; P = 0.0142) were enriched in cases compared with controls. Sputum samples had on average 488.25 species-level OTUs in the flora of cases who used smoky coal (PAH-rich) compared with 352.5 OTUs among cases who used smokeless coal (PAH-poor; P = 0.047). These differences were explained by the Bacilli species (Streptococcus infantis and Streptococcus anginosus). Our small study suggests that never smoking lung cancer cases have differing sputum microbiota than controls. Further, bacteria found in sputum may be influenced by environmental exposures associated with the type of coal burned in the home., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Chronic respiratory diseases rank among the leading global disease burdens. Maine's respiratory disease prevalence exceeds the US average, despite limited urbanization/industrialization. To provide insight into potential etiologic factors among this unique, rural population, we analyzed the spatial distributions of, and potential associations among asthma, COPD, pneumonia, and URI adult outpatient data (n=47,099) from all outpatient transactions (n=5,052,900) in 2009 for Maine hospitals and affiliate clinics, using spatial scan statistic, geographic weighted regression (GWR), and a Delaunay graph algorithm. Non-random high prevalence regions were identified, the majority of which (84% of the population underlying all regions) exhibited clusters for all four respiratory diseases. GWR provided further evidence of spatial correlation (R(2)=0.991) between the communicable and noncommunicable diseases under investigation, suggesting spatial interdependence in risk. Sensitivity analyses of known respiratory disease risks did not fully explain our results. Prospective epidemiology studies are needed to clarify all contributors to risk., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We investigated the relationship between telomere length and lung cancer in a pooled analysis from three prospective cohort studies: the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, conducted among men and women in the United States, and previously published data from the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Trial conducted among male smokers in Finland, and the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS), which is comprised primarily of never-smokers. The pooled population included 847 cases and 847 controls matched by study, age, and sex. Leukocyte telomere length was measured by a monochrome multiplex qPCR assay. We used conditional logistic regression models to calculate ORs and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between telomere length and lung cancer risk, adjusted for age and pack-years of smoking. Longer telomere length was associated with increased lung cancer risk in the pooled analysis [OR (95% CI) by quartile: 1.00; 1.24 (0.90-1.71); 1.27 (0.91-1.78); and 1.86 (1.33-2.62); P trend = 0.000022]. Findings were consistent across the three cohorts and strongest for subjects with very long telomere length, i.e., lung cancer risks for telomere length [OR (95% CI)] in the upper half of the fourth quartile were 2.41 (1.28-4.52), 2.16 (1.11-4.23), and 3.02(1.39-6.58) for the PLCO trial, the ATBC trial, and the SWHS, respectively. In addition, the association persisted among cases diagnosed more than 6 years after blood collection and was particularly evident for female adenocarcinoma cases. Telomere length in white blood cell DNA may be a biomarker of future increased risk of lung cancer in diverse populations., (©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is vulnerable to mutations, and the number of copies of mtDNA per cell may increase to compensate for DNA damage. Case-control studies have reported associations between altered mtDNA copy number and risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, this association has not been investigated prospectively. We conducted a nested case-control study (252 cases and 504 controls) of RCC risk in relation to pre-diagnostic leukocyte mtDNA copy number in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. mtDNA copy number was measured in triplicate using a fluorescence-based quantitative PCR assay; samples from 22 cases and 36 controls could not be assayed, leaving 230 cases and 468 controls for analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression. High mtDNA copy number was associated with an increased risk of RCC, both overall (highest quartile versus lowest: OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2-3.2; P trend = 0.002) and among cases diagnosed ≥6 years after blood collection (OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.4-5.0; P trend = 0.003). These findings did not differ significantly by sex, body mass index, history of hypertension or smoking status (P interaction ≥ 0.3). Results of this study suggest that high pre-diagnostic leukocyte mtDNA copy number, a suspected marker of oxidative DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction, is associated with increased future RCC risk.

The combustion of biomass and coal is the dominant source of household air pollution (HAP) in China, and contributes significantly to the total burden of disease in the Chinese population. To characterize HAP exposure related to solid fuel use and ventilation patterns, an exposure assessment study of 163 nonsmoking female heads of households enrolled from 30 villages was conducted in Xuanwei and Fuyuan, two neighboring rural counties with high incidence of lung cancer due to the burning of smoky coal (a bituminous coal, which in health evaluations is usually compared to smokeless coal--an anthracite coal available in some parts of the area). Personal and indoor 24-h PM2.5 samples were collected over two consecutive days in each household, with approximately one-third of measurements retaken in a second season. The overall geometric means (GM) of personal PM2.5 concentrations in Xuanwei and Fuyuan were 166 [Geometric Standard Deviation (GSD):2.0] and 146 (GSD:1.9) μg/m(3), respectively, which were similar to the indoor PM2.5 air concentrations [GM(GSD):162 (2.1) and 136 (2.0) μg/m(3), respectively]. Personal PM2.5 was moderately highly correlated with indoor PM2.5 (Spearman r = 0.70, p < 0.0001). Burning wood or plant materials (tobacco stems, corncobs etc.) resulted in the highest personal PM2.5 concentrations (GM:289 and 225 μg/m(3), respectively), followed by smoky coal, and smokeless coal (GM:148 and 115 μg/m(3), respectively). PM2.5 levels of vented stoves were 34-80% lower than unvented stoves and firepits across fuel types. Mixed effect models indicated that fuel type, ventilation, number of windows, season, and burning time per stove were the main factors related to personal PM2.5 exposure. Lower PM2.5 among vented stoves compared with unvented stoves and firepits is of interest as it parallels the observation of reduced risks of malignant and nonmalignant lung diseases in the region.

Lung cancer in never smokers, which has been partially attributed to household solid fuel use (i.e., coal), is etiologically and clinically different from lung cancer attributed to tobacco smoking. To explore the spectrum of driver mutations among lung cancer tissues from never smokers, specifically in a population where high lung cancer rates have been attributed to indoor air pollution from domestic coal use, multiplexed assays were used to detect >40 point mutations, insertions, and deletions (EGFR, KRAS, BRAF, HER2, NRAS, PIK3CA, MEK1, AKT1, and PTEN) among the lung tumors of confirmed never smoking females from Xuanwei, China [32 adenocarcinomas (ADCs), 7 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), 1 adenosquamous carcinoma (ADSC)]. EGFR mutations were detected in 35% of tumors. 46% of these involved EGFR exon 18 G719X, while 14% were exon 21 L858R mutations. KRAS mutations, all of which were G12C&#95;34G>T, were observed in 15% of tumors. EGFR and KRAS mutations were mutually exclusive, and no mutations were observed in the other tested genes. Most point mutations were transversions and were also found in tumors from patients who used coal in their homes. Our high mutation frequencies in EGFR exon 18 and KRAS and low mutation frequency in EGFR exon 21 are strikingly divergent from those in other smoking and never smoking populations from Asia. Given that our subjects live in a region where coal is typically burned indoors, our findings provide new insights into the pathogenesis of lung cancer among never smoking females exposed to indoor air pollution from coal., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Maine has among the highest rates of lung cancer in the United States (US). Maine serves as a geographical representation of US rural communities, and their associated health disparities. As the key risks of tobacco use decrease and radon abatement increases, previously obscured environmental exposures may measurably contribute to the attributable risk fraction of lung cancer. To generate hypotheses of novel environmental exposures associated with lung cancer, we investigated if there was non-random spatial distribution of lung cancer in Maine. Case data (n = 14,038) between 1995 and 2006 were obtained from the Maine Cancer Registry. Population data were obtained from the 2000 US Census. We assessed the spatial distribution of lung cancers among white cases by histopathology subtype [non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC): adenocarcinoma (n = 3680), squamous cell (n = 2801) and large cell (n = 1195); and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) (n = 1994)], using spatial scan statistic, assuming a discrete Poisson distribution adjusted for age and population density. Because of time-dependent trends in lung cancer differential diagnostic criteria, we repeated our analyses, limiting it to 2002-2006. While SCLC rates were equivalent across the state, we identified discrete regions with elevated rates of adenocarcinoma among females and squamous cell carcinoma among males. Independent of gender, the most striking geospatial observation was elevated large cell lung cancer specifically in one of the poorest counties in the US. A selective spatial distribution of large cell lung cancer has not been previously reported. More research is needed to identify factors inducing large cell carcinoma pathology, and to determine if in rural communities health disparities are associated with increased risk for this diagnosis., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Prospective studies in Western and Asian populations suggest that height is a risk factor for various cancers. However, few studies have explored potential confounding or effect modification of the association by other factors., Methods: We examined the association between height measured at enrollment in 144,701 women participating in the Women's Health Initiative and risk of all cancers combined and cancer at 19 specific sites. Over a median follow-up of 12.0 years, 20,928 incident cancers were identified. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate HR and 95% confidence intervals (CI) per 10 cm increase in height, with adjustment for established risk factors. We also examined potential effect modification of the association with all cancer and specific cancers., Results: Height was significantly positively associated with risk of all cancers (HR = 1.13; 95% CI, 1.11-1.16), as well as with cancers of the thyroid, rectum, kidney, endometrium, colorectum, colon, ovary, and breast, and with multiple myeloma and melanoma (range of HRs: 1.13 for breast cancer to 1.29 for multiple myeloma and thyroid cancer). These associations were generally insensitive to adjustment for confounders, and there was little evidence of effect modification., Conclusions: This study confirms the positive association of height with risk of all cancers and a substantial number of cancer sites., Impact: Identification of single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated both with height and with increased cancer risk may help elucidate the association., (©2013 AACR)

To evaluate the immunotoxicity of trichloroethylene (TCE), we conducted a cross-sectional molecular epidemiology study in China of workers exposed to TCE. We measured serum levels of IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α, which play a critical role in regulating various components of the immune system, in 71 exposed workers and 78 unexposed control workers. Repeated personal exposure measurements were taken in workers before blood collection using 3 M organic vapor monitoring badges. Compared to unexposed workers, the serum concentration of IL-10 in workers exposed to TCE was decreased by 70% (P = 0.001) after adjusting for potential confounders. Further, the magnitude of decline in IL-10 was >60% and statistically significant in workers exposed to <12 ppm as well as in workers with exposures ≥ 12 ppm of TCE, compared to unexposed workers. No significant differences in levels of IL-6 or TNF-α were observed among workers exposed to TCE compared to unexposed controls. Given that IL-10 plays an important role in immunologic processes, including mediating the Th1/Th2 balance, our findings provide additional evidence that TCE is immunotoxic in humans., (© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Genetic variation in immune-related genes, such as IL10 and TNF, have been associated with the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in Caucasian populations. To test the hypothesis that IL10 and TNF polymorphisms may be associated with NHL risk in Asian populations, we genotyped 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the IL10 and TNF/LTA loci in three independent case-control studies (2635 cases and 4234 controls). IL10 rs1800871, rs1800872, and rs1800896 were genotyped in all three studies, while 5 of the remaining SNPs were genotyped in two studies, and 12 in a single study. IL10 rs1800896 was associated with B cell lymphoma [per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 1.25, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.08-1.45; p trend = 0.003], specifically diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (per-allele OR = 1.29, 95 % CI 1.08-1.53; p trend = 0.004), as well as T cell lymphoma (per-allele OR = 1.44, 95 % CI 1.13-1.82; p trend = 0.003). TNF rs1800629, which was genotyped in only two of our studies, was also associated with B cell lymphoma (per-allele OR = 0.77, 95 % CI 0.64-0.91; p trend = 0.003), specifically DLBCL (per-allele OR = 0.69, 95 % CI 0.55-0.86; p trend = 0.001). Our findings suggest that genetic variation in IL10 and TNF may also play a role in lymphomagenesis in Asian populations.

Background: It has been hypothesized that genomic instability related to telomere dysfunction may contribute to carcinogenesis. There is some evidence from case-control studies suggesting that short leukocyte telomere length may be associated with an increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, this association has not been investigated prospectively., Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study (209 cases, 410 controls) of RCC risk in relation to prediagnostic leukocyte telomere length in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression., Results: Leukocyte telomere length was not significantly associated with future risk of RCC (highest quartile vs. lowest: OR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.5-1.5; Ptrend = 0.6). Analyses stratified by sex, age, and time from blood collection to RCC diagnosis were similarly null., Conclusions: The results of this study, to our knowledge the first prospective investigation of its kind, do not support an association between prediagnostic leukocyte telomere length and risk of RCC., Impact: In contrast to some earlier reports, our findings add to the evidence that leukocyte telomere length is not a biomarker of risk related to the etiology of RCC.

Background: Formaldehyde is used in many occupational settings, most notably in manufacturing, health care, and embalming. Formaldehyde has been classified as a human carcinogen, but its mechanism of action remains uncertain., Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study of 43 formaldehyde-exposed workers and 51 unexposed age and sex-matched controls in Guangdong, China to study formaldehyde's early biologic effects. To follow up our previous report that the total lymphocyte count was decreased in formaldehyde-exposed workers compared with controls, we evaluated each major lymphocyte subset (i.e., CD4(+) T cells, CD8(+) T cells, natural killer [NK] cells, and B cells) and T cell lymphocyte subset (CD4(+) naïve and memory T cells, CD8(+) naïve and memory T cells, and regulatory T cells). Linear regression of each subset was used to test for differences between exposed workers and controls, adjusting for potential confounders., Results: Total NK cell and T cell counts were about 24% (P = 0.037) and 16% (P = 0.0042) lower, respectively, among exposed workers. Among certain T cell subsets, decreased counts among exposed workers were observed for CD8(+) T cells (P = 0.026), CD8(+) effector memory T cells (P = 0.018), and regulatory T cells (CD4(+) FoxP3(+) : P = 0.04; CD25(+) FoxP3(+) : P = 0.008)., Conclusions: Formaldehyde-exposed workers experienced decreased counts of NK cells, regulatory T cells, and CD8(+) effector memory T cells; however, due to the small sample size; these findings need to be confirmed in larger studies., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The pattern-recognition pathway plays an important role in infection recognition and immune responses, and previous studies have suggested an association between genetic variation in innate immunity genes and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). We evaluated NHL risk associated with genetic variation in pattern-recognition genes using data from a case-control study of NHL conducted in Connecticut women. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 27 pattern-recognition genes were genotyped in 432 Caucasian incident NHL cases and 494 frequency-matched controls. Unconditional logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios (ORs) for NHL and common NHL subtypes in relation to individual SNPs and haplotypes. A gene-based analysis that adjusted for the number of tagSNPs genotyped in each gene showed a significant association with overall NHL for the MBP gene (P = 0.028), with the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) subtype for the MASP2 gene (P = 0.011), and with the follicular lymphoma (FL) subtype for DEFB126 (P = 0.041). A SNP-based analysis showed that MBP rs8094402 was associated with decreased risks of overall NHL (allele risk OR = 0.72, P-trend = 0.0018), DLBCL (allele risk OR = 0.72, P-trend = 0.036), and FL (allele risk OR = 0.67, P-trend = 0.021), while MASP2 rs12711521 was associated with a decreased risk of DLBCL (allele risk OR = 0.57, P-trend = 0.0042). We also observed an increased risk of FL for DEFB126 rs6054706 (allele risk OR = 1.39, P-trend = 0.033). Our results suggest that genetic variation in pattern-recognition genes is associated with the risk of NHL or specific NHL subtypes, but these preliminary findings require replication in larger studies., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

A recent genome-wide association study of lung cancer among never-smoking females in Asia demonstrated that the rs2736100 polymorphism in the TERT-CLPTM1L locus on chromosome 5p15.33 was strongly and significantly associated with risk of adenocarcinoma of the lung. The telomerase gene TERT is a reverse transcriptase that is critical for telomere replication and stabilization by controlling telomere length. We previously found that longer telomere length measured in peripheral white blood cell DNA was associated with increased risk of lung cancer in a prospective cohort study of smoking males in Finland. To follow up on this finding, we carried out a nested case-control study of 215 female lung cancer cases and 215 female controls, 94% of whom were never-smokers, in the prospective Shanghai Women's Health Study cohort. There was a dose-response relationship between tertiles of telomere length and risk of lung cancer (odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0, 1.4 [0.8-2.5], and 2.2 [1.2-4.0], respectively; P trend = 0.003). Further, the association was unchanged by the length of time from blood collection to case diagnosis. In addition, the rs2736100 G allele, which we previously have shown to be associated with risk of lung cancer in this cohort, was significantly associated with longer telomere length in these same study subjects (P trend = 0.030). Our findings suggest that individuals with longer telomere length in peripheral white blood cells may have an increased risk of lung cancer, but require replication in additional prospective cohorts and populations.

Background: Quantification of the disease burden caused by different risks informs prevention by providing an account of health loss different to that provided by a disease-by-disease analysis. No complete revision of global disease burden caused by risk factors has been done since a comparative risk assessment in 2000, and no previous analysis has assessed changes in burden attributable to risk factors over time., Methods: We estimated deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs; sum of years lived with disability [YLD] and years of life lost [YLL]) attributable to the independent effects of 67 risk factors and clusters of risk factors for 21 regions in 1990 and 2010. We estimated exposure distributions for each year, region, sex, and age group, and relative risks per unit of exposure by systematically reviewing and synthesising published and unpublished data. We used these estimates, together with estimates of cause-specific deaths and DALYs from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, to calculate the burden attributable to each risk factor exposure compared with the theoretical-minimum-risk exposure. We incorporated uncertainty in disease burden, relative risks, and exposures into our estimates of attributable burden., Findings: In 2010, the three leading risk factors for global disease burden were high blood pressure (7·0% [95% uncertainty interval 6·2-7·7] of global DALYs), tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke (6·3% [5·5-7·0]), and alcohol use (5·5% [5·0-5·9]). In 1990, the leading risks were childhood underweight (7·9% [6·8-9·4]), household air pollution from solid fuels (HAP; 7·0% [5·6-8·3]), and tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke (6·1% [5·4-6·8]). Dietary risk factors and physical inactivity collectively accounted for 10·0% (95% UI 9·2-10·8) of global DALYs in 2010, with the most prominent dietary risks being diets low in fruits and those high in sodium. Several risks that primarily affect childhood communicable diseases, including unimproved water and sanitation and childhood micronutrient deficiencies, fell in rank between 1990 and 2010, with unimproved water and sanitation accounting for 0·9% (0·4-1·6) of global DALYs in 2010. However, in most of sub-Saharan Africa childhood underweight, HAP, and non-exclusive and discontinued breastfeeding were the leading risks in 2010, while HAP was the leading risk in south Asia. The leading risk factor in Eastern Europe, most of Latin America, and southern sub-Saharan Africa in 2010 was alcohol use; in most of Asia, North Africa and Middle East, and central Europe it was high blood pressure. Despite declines, tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke remained the leading risk in high-income north America and western Europe. High body-mass index has increased globally and it is the leading risk in Australasia and southern Latin America, and also ranks high in other high-income regions, North Africa and Middle East, and Oceania., Interpretation: Worldwide, the contribution of different risk factors to disease burden has changed substantially, with a shift away from risks for communicable diseases in children towards those for non-communicable diseases in adults. These changes are related to the ageing population, decreased mortality among children younger than 5 years, changes in cause-of-death composition, and changes in risk factor exposures. New evidence has led to changes in the magnitude of key risks including unimproved water and sanitation, vitamin A and zinc deficiencies, and ambient particulate matter pollution. The extent to which the epidemiological shift has occurred and what the leading risks currently are varies greatly across regions. In much of sub-Saharan Africa, the leading risks are still those associated with poverty and those that affect children., Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To identify common genetic variants that contribute to lung cancer susceptibility, we conducted a multistage genome-wide association study of lung cancer in Asian women who never smoked. We scanned 5,510 never-smoking female lung cancer cases and 4,544 controls drawn from 14 studies from mainland China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. We genotyped the most promising variants (associated at P < 5 × 10(-6)) in an additional 1,099 cases and 2,913 controls. We identified three new susceptibility loci at 10q25.2 (rs7086803, P = 3.54 × 10(-18)), 6q22.2 (rs9387478, P = 4.14 × 10(-10)) and 6p21.32 (rs2395185, P = 9.51 × 10(-9)). We also confirmed associations reported for loci at 5p15.33 and 3q28 and a recently reported finding at 17q24.3. We observed no evidence of association for lung cancer at 15q25 in never-smoking women in Asia, providing strong evidence that this locus is not associated with lung cancer independent of smoking.

A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of subjects from Japan and South Korea reported a novel association between the TP63 locus on chromosome 3q28 and risk of lung adenocarcinoma (p = 7.3 × 10(-12)); however, this association did not achieve genome-wide significance (p ≤ 10(-7)) among never-smoking males or females. To determine if this association with lung cancer risk is independent of tobacco use, we genotyped the TP63 SNPs reported by the previous GWAS (rs10937405 and rs4488809) in 3,467 never-smoking female lung cancer cases and 3,787 never-smoking female controls from 10 studies conducted in Taiwan, Mainland China, South Korea, and Singapore. Genetic variation in rs10937405 was associated with risk of lung adenocarcinoma [n = 2,529 cases; p = 7.1 × 10(-8); allelic risk = 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.74-0.87]. There was also evidence of association with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (n = 302 cases; p = 0.037; allelic risk = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.67-0.99). Our findings provide strong evidence that genetic variation in TP63 is associated with the risk of lung adenocarcinoma among Asian females in the absence of tobacco smoking.

The complement system plays an important role in inflammatory and immune responses, and recent evidence has suggested that it may also play a role in lymphomagenesis. We evaluated the association between genetic variation in complement system genes and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in a population-based case-control study conducted among women in Connecticut. Tag SNPs in 30 complement genes were genotyped in 432 Caucasian incident cases and 494 frequency-matched controls. A gene-based analysis that adjusted for the number of tag SNPs genotyped in each gene showed a significant association with NHL overall (P = 0.04) as well as with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (P = 0.01) for the C1RL gene. A SNP-based analysis showed that a C>T base substitution for C1RL rs3813729 (odds ratio (OR)(CT) = 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.42-0.87, P(trend) = 0.0062) was associated with a decreased risk of overall NHL, as well as for DLBCL (OR(CT) = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.20-0.73; P(trend) = 0.0034). Additionally, SNPs (C2 rs497309, A>C and C3 rs344550, G>C) in two complement genes were positively associated with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) and C1QG was associated with CLL/SLL, but these results were based on a limited number of cases. Our results suggest a potential role of the complement system in susceptibility to NHL; however, our results should be viewed as exploratory and further replication is needed to clarify these preliminary findings., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a volatile chlorinated organic compound that is commonly used as a solvent for lipophilic compounds. Although recognized as an animal carcinogen, TCE's carcinogenic potential in humans is still uncertain. We have carried out a cross-sectional study of 80 workers exposed to TCE and 96 unexposed controls matched on age and sex in Guangdong, China to study TCE's early biologic effects. We previously reported that the total lymphocyte count and each of the major lymphocyte subsets (i.e., CD4(+) T cells, CD8(+) T cells, natural killer cells, and B cells) were decreased in TCE-exposed workers compared to controls, suggesting a selective effect on lymphoid progenitors, and/or lymphocyte survival. To explore which T lymphocyte subsets are affected in the same study population, we investigated the effect of TCE exposure on the numbers of CD4(+) naïve and memory T cells, CD8(+) naïve and memory T cells, and regulatory T cells by FACS analysis. Linear regression of each subset was used to test for differences between exposed workers and controls adjusting for potential confounders. We observed that CD4(+) and CD8(+) naïve T cell counts were about 8% (p = 0.056) and 17% (p = 0.0002) lower, respectively, among exposed workers. CD4(+) effector memory T cell counts were decreased by about 20% among TCE-exposed workers compared to controls (p = 0.001). The selective targeting of TCE on CD8(+) naive and possibly CD4(+) naive T cells, and CD4(+) effector memory T cells, provide further insights into the immunosuppression-related response of human immune cells upon TCE exposure.

Background: Xuanwei, China, experiences some of the highest rates of lung cancer in China. While lung cancer risk has been linked to the household use of bituminous coal, no study has comprehensively evaluated the risk of lung cancer associated with the mining of this coal in Xuanwei. In Xuanwei, coal is typically extracted from underground mines, without ventilation, and transported to the surface using carts powered by manpower or electricity., Methods: We evaluated the risk of lung cancer and working as a coal miner, in the absence of diesel exhaust exposure, in a population-based case-control study of 260 male lung cancer cases and 260 age-matched male controls with information on occupational histories. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for working as a coal miner and years of working as a coal miner were calculated by conditional logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders, such as smoking and household coal use., Results: We observed an increased risk of lung cancer among coal miners (OR = 2.7; 95%CI = 1.3-5.6) compared to noncoal miners. Further, a dose-response relationship was observed for the risk of lung cancer and the number of years working as a coal miner (P(trend)  = 0.02), with those working as miners for more than 10 years experiencing an almost fourfold increased risk (OR = 3.8; 95%CI = 1.4-10.3) compared to noncoal miners., Conclusions: These findings suggest that coal mining in Xuanwei may be a risk factor for lung cancer., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.)