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Eosinophils exhibit anti‐tumor cytotoxic responses in the tumor microenvironment and may contribute to tumor immunosurveillance. To assess the relationship between circulating eosinophils and cancer risk, we analyzed data from 443,542 adults aged 38–73 in the UK Biobank, who were initially cancer‐free, had over a year of follow‐up, and baseline white blood cell count measurements. Using multivariable Cox regression, we estimated hazard ratios (aHR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for each quartile increase in absolute eosinophil count (AEC) across 58 cancer types, adjusting for relevant confounders. During a median follow‐up of 5.8 years, 22,747 incident cancer cases were diagnosed. We observed an inverse association, which met Bonferroni significance, between AEC and overall cancer risk (aHR, 95%CI 0.97, 0.95–0.98). Notably, 16 cancer types showed borderline associations (p <.05) with AEC, with 12 types displaying an inverse relationship. These included four hematologic cancers (acute and other myeloid leukemia, other lymphocytic leukemia, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma; aHR range; 0.58–0.87) and eight nonhematologic cancers (melanoma and nose/middle ear, soft tissue/heart, gum/other mouth, tongue, lung, colon, and breast cancers; aHR range: 0.65–0.95). Higher AEC showed a borderline significant association with increased risk for intrahepatic bile duct cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma, and chronic myeloid leukemia (aHR range: 1.13–1.42). Our study, the largest to date, provides insights into the relationship between blood eosinophils and a comprehensive list of incident cancers. The inverse association between AEC and overall cancer risk suggests a protective role for eosinophils in tumor surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence suggests a possible link between diabetes and gastric cancer risk, but the findings remain inconclusive, with limited studies in the Asian population. We aimed to assess the impact of diabetes and diabetes duration on the development of gastric cancer overall, by anatomical and histological subtypes. Methods: A pooled analysis was conducted using 12 prospective studies included in the Asia Cohort Consortium. Among 558 981 participants (median age 52), after a median follow‐up of 14.9 years and 10.5 years, 8556 incident primary gastric cancers and 8058 gastric cancer deaths occurred, respectively. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate study‐specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and pooled using random‐effects meta‐analyses. Results: Diabetes was associated with an increased incidence of overall gastric cancer (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.06–1.25). The risk association did not differ significantly by sex (women vs men: HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.07–1.60 vs 1.12, 1.01–1.23), anatomical subsites (noncardia vs cardia: 1.14, 1.02–1.28 vs 1.17, 0.77–1.78) and histological subtypes (intestinal vs diffuse: 1.22, 1.02–1.46 vs 1.00, 0.62–1.61). Gastric cancer risk increased significantly during the first decade following diabetes diagnosis (HR 4.70, 95% CI 3.77–5.86), and decreased with time (nonlinear p <.01). Positive associations between diabetes and gastric cancer mortality were observed (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.03–1.28) but attenuated after a 2‐year time lag. Conclusion: Diabetes was associated with an increased gastric cancer incidence regardless of sex, anatomical subsite, or subtypes of gastric cancer. The risk of gastric cancer was particularly high during the first decade following diabetes diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In the United States, anal squamous cell carcinoma rates have increased rapidly, particularly among women 50 or older than 66 years of age. As immunosuppression is associated with increased risk, autoimmune conditions may be associated with greater risk of anal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods We conducted a population-based, case-control study using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare data (2000-2017). Anal squamous cell carcinoma cases (n = 4505) were matched to 200 000 cancer-free controls. Using multivariable logistic regression, we calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between 47 autoimmune conditions diagnosed before selection, identified using Medicare claims, and anal squamous cell carcinoma. The Bonferroni threshold was used to correct for multiple comparisons. Population attributable fractions were calculated for conditions nominally associated with anal squamous cell carcinoma. Results In total, 18% of anal squamous cell carcinoma cases and 15% of cancer-free controls had a diagnosed autoimmune condition. Any autoimmune condition was associated with an increased risk of anal squamous cell carcinoma (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.21; population attributable fraction = 1.8%). Anal squamous cell carcinoma was associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.32 to 2.42; population attributable fraction = 0.4%) and nominally associated (P  < .05) with sarcoidosis (OR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.30 to 3.37; population-attributable fraction = 0.2%) and psoriasis (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.06 to 1.56; population attributable fraction = 0.5%). Stratified by sex, only women showed statistically significant associations for systemic lupus erythematosus (OR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.46 to 2.68). Statistically significant interaction was observed by sex for psoriasis (men vs women: OR = 1.68 [95% CI = 1.03 to 4.28] vs OR = 1.12 [95% CI = 0.88 to 1.43]) and polymyalgia rheumatica (OR = 0.33 [95% CI = 0.12 to 0.89] vs OR = 0.99 [95% CI = 0.75 to 1.30]). Conclusion Systemic lupus erythematosus, sarcoidosis, and psoriasis were associated with a moderately increased risk of anal squamous cell carcinoma. Given these conditions' rarity and moderate associations with anal squamous cell carcinoma, autoimmune diseases cannot explain the rising trend in this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and trends of participation in physical activity (PA) in Korean adults. Methods: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES; 2009–2013) and the Korea Community Health Survey (KCHS; 2009–2013) were used to estimate the prevalence of PA. Age standardization was performed using population projections for Korea in 2005 as a standard population. Trends of the prevalence from 2009 to 2013 were assessed by joinpoint regression analysis. Results: The age-standardized prevalence for achieving the recommended level of PA was 63.0% in KNHANES and 64.5% in KCHS for men, and 53.7% in KNHANES and 56.3% in KCHS for women. Decreasing trends were observed for the prevalence of achieving the recommended level of PA in the KNHANES and KCHS; however, only the trend for women in KNHANES was statistically significant. Conclusions: Approximately, 60% of adults participate in the recommended level of PA in Korea. The survey design and characteristics should be considered when interpreting the prevalence of PA from different databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have investigated the association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) level and site-specific cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to examine the associations of hsCRP with overall and site-specific cancer mortality among South Koreans using data on the Health Examinees (HEXA) Study cohort (41,070 men and 81,011 women aged ≥40 years). We obtained mortality information from the National Statistical Office of Korea, which provided the dates and causes of all deaths occurring through December 31, 2015, by linking mortality data with each participant's unique national identifier. Cox proportional hazards and restricted cubic spline models were used to assess the association between hsCRP and cancer mortality with adjustment for covariates. An analysis of site-specific cancer mortality was focused on 5 major cancers (lung, liver, gastric, colorectal, and breast/prostate). Median hsCRP levels were 0.77 mg/L and 0.59 mg/L for men and women, respectively. A dose-response association between hsCRP and overall cancer mortality was observed in men but disappeared in women after exclusion of deaths occurring in the first 1 or 2 years of follow-up. Elevated hsCRP levels increased the risks of lung, liver, and gastric cancer mortality in men, but the risks of colorectal and breast cancer mortality were not increased. The dose-response association between hsCRP and cancer mortality was observed differently depending on site-specific cancer mortality by sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]