Weiderpass, Elisabete

PURPOSE There is strong evidence that leisure-time physical activity is protective against postmenopausal breast cancer risk but the association with premenopausal breast cancer is less clear. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of physical activity with the risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer. METHODS We pooled individual-level data on self-reported leisure-time physical activity across 19 cohort studies comprising 547,601 premenopausal women, with 10,231 incident cases of breast cancer. Multivariable Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for associations of leisure-time physical activity with breast cancer incidence. HRs for high versus low levels of activity were based on a comparison of risk at the 90th versus 10th percentiles of activity. We assessed the linearity of the relationship and examined subtype-specific associations and effect modification across strata of breast cancer risk factors, including adiposity. RESULTS Over a median 11.5 years of follow-up (IQR, 8.0-16.1 years), high versus low levels of leisure-time physical activity were associated with a 6% (HR, 0.94 [95% CI, 0.89 to 0.99]) and a 10% (HR, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.85 to 0.95]) reduction in breast cancer risk, before and after adjustment for BMI, respectively. Tests of nonlinearity suggested an approximately linear relationship ( Pnonlinearity = .94). The inverse association was particularly strong for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–enriched breast cancer (HR, 0.57 [95% CI, 0.39 to 0.84]; Phet = .07). Associations did not vary significantly across strata of breast cancer risk factors, including subgroups of adiposity. CONCLUSION This large, pooled analysis of cohort studies adds to evidence that engagement in higher levels of leisure-time physical activity may lead to reduced premenopausal breast cancer risk.

Abstract Background: Observational evidence has shown that smoking is a risk factor for breast and colorectal cancer. We used Mendelian randomization (MR) to examine causal associations between smoking and risks of breast and colorectal cancer. Methods: Genome-Wide Association Study summary data were used to identify genetic variants associated with lifetime amount of smoking (n = 126 variants) and ever having smoked regularly (n = 112 variants). Using two-sample MR, we examined these variants in relation to incident breast (122,977 cases/105,974 controls) and colorectal cancer (52,775 cases/45,940 controls). Results: In inverse-variance weighted models, a genetic predisposition to higher lifetime amount of smoking was positively associated with breast cancer risk [OR per 1-SD increment: 1.13; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.26; P = 0.04]; although heterogeneity was observed. Similar associations were found for estrogen receptor–positive and estrogen receptor–negative tumors. Higher lifetime amount of smoking was positively associated with colorectal cancer (OR per 1-SD increment, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.04–1.40; P = 0.01), colon cancer (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.11–1.55; P < 0.01), and rectal cancer (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.07–1.73; P = 0.01). Ever having smoked regularly was not associated with risks of breast (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.90–1.14; P = 0.85) or colorectal cancer (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.86–1.10; P = 0.68). Conclusions: These findings are consistent with prior observational evidence and support a causal role of higher lifetime smoking amount in the development of breast and colorectal cancer. Impact: The results from this comprehensive MR analysis indicate that lifetime smoking is a causal risk factor for these common malignancies.

Abstract Cohort studies have been central to the establishment of the known causes of cancer. To dissect cancer etiology in more detail—for instance, for personalized risk prediction and prevention, assessment of risks of subtypes of cancer, and assessment of small elevations in risk—there is a need for analyses of far larger cohort datasets than available in individual existing studies. To address these challenges, the NCI Cohort Consortium was founded in 2001. It brings together 58 cancer epidemiology cohorts from 20 countries to undertake large-scale pooling research. The cohorts in aggregate include over nine million study participants, with biospecimens available for about two million of these. Research in the Consortium is undertaken by >40 working groups focused on specific cancer sites, exposures, or other research areas. More than 180 publications have resulted from the Consortium, mainly on genetic and other cancer epidemiology, with high citation rates. This article describes the foundation of the Consortium; its structure, governance, and methods of working; the participating cohorts; publications; and opportunities. The Consortium welcomes new members with cancer-oriented cohorts of 10,000 or more participants and an interest in collaborative research. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 27(11); 1307–19. ©2018 AACR.

Abstract Background: Nulliparity is an established endometrial cancer risk factor, but whether this association is related to infertility is unclear. Although there are many underlying causes of infertility, few studies have assessed risk relationships according to specific causes. Despite concerns that most treatments induce ovulation and that the endometrium is highly hormonally-responsive, previous studies have provided conflicting results on treatment associations. Methods: To address these issues, we conducted a pooled analysis of 8,151 cases and12,471 controls from 2 cohort and 12 case-control studies conducted in 1982 to 2009 (N. America, Europe, Australia, Asia). All studies provided self-reported infertility, causes and treatments, except for 1 study that relied on data from national registries. Study-specific exposures and covariate data were harmonized across studies. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusted for study, age, interview year, race, parity, oral contraceptive and menopausal hormone use, and body mass index. If data were not reported for a particular variable, that study was excluded from the variable-specific analysis. Results: Nulliparous women had an elevated endometrial cancer risk compared with parous women (adjusted OR=1.73; 95% CI: 1.58-1.90).Women with self-reported infertility also had an increased risk (adjusted OR=1.22; 95% CI: 1.13-1.32) compared with those without infertility issues, even after adjusting for parity; the strongest associations was seen among studies that defined infertility as unsuccessfully trying to conceive for 2+ years (adjusted OR=1.31; 95% CI: 1.07-1.60). Infertility was associated with similar risks among nulliparous (1.22; 1.10-1.48) and parous (1.22; 1.12-1.34) women, although there was no increased risk associated with infertility among those who had given birth to 3+ children. Two infertility causes associated with risk elevation were endometriosis (adjusted OR=2.08; 95% CI: 1.46-2.95 compared with women no infertility problems) and anovulation (adjusted OR=1.40; 95% CI: 1.16-1.70). Based on relatively small numbers, none of the individual treatments (in vitro fertilization, selective estrogen response modulators, gonatropins, progestins, estrogens) were substantially related to risk. Conclusion: Based on mainly self-reported infertility data, we found that parity and infertility independently contribute to endometrial cancer risk, with parity seemingly being the predominant risk predictor. Understanding residual endometrial cancer relationships related to causes of infertility and infertility treatment may benefit from documented medical information on causes of infertility and treatment parameters. Citation Format: Hannah P. Yang, Linda S. Cook, Elisabete Weiderpass, Hans-Olov Adami, Kristin E. Anderson, Hui Cai, James R. Cerhan, Tess Clendenen, Ashley S. Felix, Christine Friedenreich, Montserrat Garcia-Closas, Marc T. Goodman, Xiaolin Liang, Jolanta Lissowska, Lingeng Lu, Anthony M. Magliocco, Susan E. McCann, Kristen B. Moysich, Sara H. Olson, Malcolm C. Pike, Silvia Polidoro, Fulvio Ricceri, Harvey Risch, Carlotta Sacerdote, V. Wendy Setiawan, Xiao Ou Shu, Amanda B. Spurdle, Britton Trabert, Penelope M. Webb, Nicolas Wentzensen, Yong-Bing Xiang, Youming Xu, Herbert Yu, Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Louise A. Brinton. Infertility and risk of incident endometrial carcinoma: a pooled analysis from the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2167. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2167