Monnereau, Alain

Summary Evidence for an association between insulin‐like growth factors (IGF) and multiple myeloma (MM) is inconsistent. We examined total IGF‐I concentrations and risk of MM by combining baseline serological data among UK Biobank participants ( n = 444 187; 732 incident MM) with a two‐sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis using identified genetic variants associated with circulating total IGF‐I and IGF‐binding protein 3 (IGFBP‐3) in the InterLymph consortium (2434 MM and their 2567 controls). Finally, additional lymphoid neoplasm (LN) subtypes were included for comparison with the main hypothesis. Circulating IGF‐I level was positively associated with MM risk Hazard ratio‐HR‐per one standard deviation‐SD‐increase (HR 1‐SD = 1.11, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–1.22; p ‐value = 0.03), especially closer to diagnosis. Genetically inferred IGF‐I levels were associated with increased MM risk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.05–1.54) but not with any other LNs. Genetically inferred IGFBP‐3 levels showed no associations with any LN evaluated. Corroborating previous findings, in a secondary analysis, IGF‐I levels were associated with the risk of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) in males with higher body mass index (HR 1‐SD in obese male = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.14–1.61). Our serological and MR analyses suggest a contributing role of IGF‐I in the susceptibility of MM; the CLL/SLL findings warrant further investigation considering sex‐specific adiposity.

Abstract Obesity has been associated with non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but the evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between genetically determined adiposity and four common NHL subtypes: diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and marginal zone lymphoma, using eight genome‐wide association studies of European ancestry ( N = 10,629 cases, 9505 controls) and constructing polygenic scores for body mass index (BMI), waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR), and waist‐to‐hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI). Higher genetically determined BMI was associated with an increased risk of DLBCL [odds ratio (OR) per standard deviation (SD) = 1.18, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.05–1.33, p = .005]. This finding was consistent with Mendelian randomization analyses, which demonstrated a similar increased risk of DLBCL with higher genetically determined BMI (OR per SD = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02–1.23, p = .03). No significant associations were observed with other NHL subtypes. Our study demonstrates a positive link between a genetically determined BMI and an increased risk of DLBCL, providing additional support for increased adiposity as a risk factor for DLBCL.

Abstract Background: A previous International Lymphoma Epidemiology (InterLymph) Consortium evaluation of joint associations between five immune gene variants and autoimmune conditions reported interactions between B-cell response-mediated autoimmune conditions and the rs1800629 genotype on risk of B-cell non–Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes. Here, we extend that evaluation using NHL subtype-specific polygenic risk scores (PRS) constructed from loci identified in genome-wide association studies of three common B-cell NHL subtypes. Methods: In a pooled analysis of NHL cases and controls of Caucasian descent from 14 participating InterLymph studies, we evaluated joint associations between B-cell–mediated autoimmune conditions and tertile (T) of PRS for risk of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL; n = 1,914), follicular lymphoma (n = 1,733), and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL; n = 407), using unconditional logistic regression. Results: We demonstrated a positive association of DLBCL PRS with DLBCL risk [T2 vs. T1: OR = 1.24; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08–1.43; T3 vs. T1: OR = 1.81; 95% CI, 1.59–2.07; P-trend (Ptrend) < 0.0001]. DLBCL risk also increased with increasing PRS tertile among those with an autoimmune condition, being highest for those with a B-cell–mediated autoimmune condition and a T3 PRS [OR = 6.46 vs. no autoimmune condition and a T1 PRS, Ptrend < 0.0001, P-interaction (Pinteraction) = 0.49]. Follicular lymphoma and MZL risk demonstrated no evidence of joint associations or significant Pinteraction. Conclusions: Our results suggest that PRS constructed from currently known subtype-specific loci may not necessarily capture biological pathways shared with autoimmune conditions. Impact: Targeted genetic (PRS) screening among population subsets with autoimmune conditions may offer opportunities for identifying those at highest risk for (and early detection from) DLBCL.

AbstractEvidence for the human health effects of pesticides is needed to inform risk assessment. We studied the relationship between occupational insecticide use and risk of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) by pooling data from nine case‐control studies participating in the InterLymph Consortium, including 7909 cases and 8644 controls from North America, the European Union and Australia. Insecticide use was coded using self‐report or expert assessment, for insecticide groups (eg, organophosphates, pyrethroids) and active ingredients (eg, malathion, permethrin). Associations with insecticides were estimated using logistic regression to produce odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all NHL and NHL subtypes, with adjustment for study site, demographic factors and use of other pesticides. Occupational insecticide use, overall, was not associated with risk of NHL. Use of organophosphate insecticides was associated with increased risk of all NHL and the subtype follicular lymphoma, and an association was found with diazinon, in particular (ever use: OR = 2.05, 95%CI: 1.24‐3.37). The carbamate insecticide, carbaryl, was associated with risk of all NHL, and the strongest associations were found with T‐cell NHL for ever‐use (OR = 2.44, 95%CI: 1.13‐5.28) and longer duration (>8 years vs never: OR = 2.90, 95%CI: 1.02‐8.25). There was no association of NHL with other broad groups of insecticides, including organochlorines and pyrethroids, and some inverse associations were estimated in relation to historical DDT use. Our findings contribute to the totality of evidence available to help inform risk decisions by public health and regulatory agencies of importance given continued, widespread use of organophosphate and carbamate insecticides.

Abstract Background: Lipid traits have been inconsistently linked to risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). We examined the association of genetically predicted lipid traits with risk of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), follicular lymphoma (FL), and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Methods: Genome-wide association study data from the InterLymph Consortium were available for 2,661 DLBCLs, 2,179 CLLs, 2,142 FLs, 824 MZLs, and 6,221 controls. SNPs associated (P < 5 × 10−8) with high-density lipoprotein (HDL, n = 164), low-density lipoprotein (LDL, n = 137), total cholesterol (TC, n = 161), and triglycerides (TG, n = 123) were used as instrumental variables (IV), explaining 14.6%, 27.7%, 16.8%, and 12.8% of phenotypic variation, respectively. Associations between each lipid trait and NHL subtype were calculated using the MR inverse variance–weighted method, estimating odds ratios (OR) per standard deviation and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: HDL was positively associated with DLBCL (OR = 1.14; 95% CI, 1.00–1.30) and MZL (OR = 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01–1.18), while TG was inversely associated with MZL risk (OR = 0.90; 95% CI, 0.83–0.99), all at nominal significance (P < 0.05). A positive trend was observed for HDL with FL risk (OR = 1.08; 95% CI, 0.99–1.19; P = 0.087). No associations were noteworthy after adjusting for multiple testing. Conclusions: We did not find evidence of a clear or strong association of these lipid traits with the most common NHL subtypes. While these IVs have been previously linked to other cancers, our findings do not support any causal associations with these NHL subtypes. Impact: Our results suggest that prior reported inverse associations of lipid traits are not likely to be causal and could represent reverse causality or confounding.

Abstract Background. A recent meta-analysis of 9 case-control and 5 cohort studies reported a positive association of transfusion history with risk of NHL (RR=1.20; 95% CI 1.07-1.35), which was only evident in cohort (RR=1.25) and not case-control (RR=1.05) studies (Castillo et al., Blood 2010;116:2897-2907). Risk was similar in men and women, and for transfusions before or after 1992. In subset analyses, elevated risk was only apparent for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and not diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma (DLBCL) or follicular lymphoma, but power was low. To further investigate these findings, particularly from studies conducted after 1990, better assess confounding, and address heterogeneity by NHL subtypes, we conducted an individual-level, pooled analysis of 13 case-control studies in the InterLymph Consortium (including 11 studies conducted after 1990; 8 studies were not included in the published meta-analysis). Methods. There were a total of 10,805 cases and 14,026 controls with transfusion data from 13 studies conducted in Europe, North America, and Australia. Transfusion history and other risk factors were self-reported in interviewer-administered or self-administered questionnaires. All risk factor data were harmonized centrally, and cases were grouped into NHL subtypes according to the WHO classification using guidelines from the InterLymph Pathology Working Group. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using logistic regression, adjusted for age, sex, and study center. Results. The median age at diagnosis was 60 years for cases (range, 18-97) and 59 years for controls (range, 16-97). The overall prevalence of a history of any transfusion in controls was 15.5%, was higher in women (18.6%) than men (13.0%), and increased with age, but was not associated with race/ethnicity (Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, other) or geographic region after adjusting for age and sex. Among whites, history of any transfusion was inversely associated with NHL risk among men (OR=0.74; 95% CI 0.65-0.83) but not women (OR=0.92; 95% CI 0.83-1.03); there were no significant results for other race/ethnicity groups, and ORs were highly variable and imprecise due to small sample sizes. Thus analyses were restricted to white men, where there was no trend with the number of transfusions, time since first transfusion, age at first transfusion, or decade of first transfusion. Further adjustment for socioeconomic status, body mass index, smoking, alcohol use or hepatitis C virus (HCV) seropositivity did not alter these results. The associations were stronger in hospital-based (OR=0.56; 95% CI 0.45-0.70) than population-based (OR=0.84; 95% CI 0.72-0.98) studies, and were stronger in studies from Southern Europe (OR=0.53; 95% CI 0.36-0.79) than northern Europe (OR=0.67; 95% CI 0.53-0.83) or North America (OR=0.82; 95% CI 0.70-0.98). For NHL subtypes, statistically significant inverse associations were observed for follicular lymphoma (OR=0.70; 95% CI 0.56-0.88), DLBCL (OR=0.72; 95% CI 0.59-0.87), and CLL/SLL (OR=0.67; 95% CI 0.52-0.87), whereas weaker and non-statistically significant associations were observed for mantle cell (OR=0.81; 95% CI 0.54-1.23), marginal zone (OR=0.78; 95% CI 0.54-1.15), lymphoplasmacytic (OR=0.82; 95% CI 0.47-1.42) and peripheral T-cell (OR=0.83; 95% CI 0.49-1.40) lymphomas. Conclusion. Contrary to earlier results, transfusion history was inversely associated with risk of NHL and the common subtypes of follicular lymphoma, DLBCL and CLL/SLL among white men, whereas associations were null among white women and other racial/ethnic groups. These results were not explained by confounding by lifestyle factors or HCV seropositivity, era of first transfusion, hospital versus population-based study design, or geographic location. Despite dramatic changes in transfusion practice over the past 40 years, results were similar for decade of first transfusion, suggesting secular trends are a less likely explanation. Our results are unexpected and bias cannot be ruled out. Further studies, particularly cohort studies, are needed to clarify the role of transfusion history in NHL risk. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract We previously identified five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at four susceptibility loci for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in individuals of European ancestry through a large genome-wide association study (GWAS). To further elucidate genetic susceptibility to DLBCL, we sought to validate two loci at 3q13.33 and 3p24.1 that were suggestive in the original GWAS with additional genotyping. In the meta-analysis (5662 cases and 9237 controls) of the four original GWAS discovery scans and three replication studies, the 3q13.33 locus (rs9831894; minor allele frequency [MAF] = 0.40) was associated with DLBCL risk [odds ratio (OR) = 0.83, P = 3.62 × 10−13]. rs9831894 is in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with additional variants that are part of a super-enhancer that physically interacts with promoters of CD86 and ILDR1. In the meta-analysis (5510 cases and 12 817 controls) of the four GWAS discovery scans and four replication studies, the 3p24.1 locus (rs6773363; MAF = 0.45) was also associated with DLBCL risk (OR = 1.20, P = 2.31 × 10−12). This SNP is 29 426-bp upstream of the nearest gene EOMES and in LD with additional SNPs that are part of a highly lineage-specific and tumor-acquired super-enhancer that shows long-range interaction with AZI2 promoter. These loci provide additional evidence for the role of immune function in the etiology of DLBCL, the most common lymphoma subtype.

AbstractEpidemiologic studies show an increased risk of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in patients with autoimmune disease (AD), due to a combination of shared environmental factors and/or genetic factors, or a causative cascade: chronic inflammation/antigen‐stimulation in one disease leads to another. Here we assess shared genetic risk in genome‐wide‐association‐studies (GWAS).Secondary analysis of GWAS of NHL subtypes (chronic lymphocytic leukemia, diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, and marginal zone lymphoma) and ADs (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and multiple sclerosis). Shared genetic risk was assessed by (a) description of regional genetic of overlap, (b) polygenic risk score (PRS), (c)"diseasome", (d)meta‐analysis.Descriptive analysis revealed few shared genetic factors between each AD and each NHL subtype. The PRS of ADs were not increased in NHL patients (nor vice versa). In the diseasome, NHLs shared more genetic etiology with ADs than solid cancers (p = .0041). A meta‐analysis (combing AD with NHL) implicated genes of apoptosis and telomere length.This GWAS‐based analysis four NHL subtypes and three ADs revealed few weakly‐associated shared loci, explaining little total risk. This suggests common genetic variation, as assessed by GWAS in these sample sizes, may not be the primary explanation for the link between these ADs and NHLs.

Abstract Background: We previously identified 5 SNPs at 4 susceptibility loci for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in individuals of European ancestry through a large genome-wide association study (Cerhan et al, Nat Gen 2014;46:1233-8); however, much of the heritability remains unexplained. To further elucidate genetic susceptibility to DLBCL, we sought to validate 2 loci at 3q13.33 and 3p24.1 that were suggestive in the original report. Methods: We selected two SNPs rs9831894 (3q13.33) and rs6773363 (3p24.1) for de novo replication from studies at the Mayo Clinic, MD Anderson, and Memorial Sloan Kettering. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs), using a log-additive model, and adjusting for age, gender and significant eigenvectors for each genotyping center separately. For both SNPs, we then conducted a meta-analysis of all replication studies (n=3) and our original GWAS studies (n=4), encompassing in total 5662 cases and 9237 controls for rs9831894, and 5510 cases and 12,817 controls for rs6773363. Meta-analysis was conducted using the fixed-effects inverse variance method based on the β estimates and standard errors from each study. Results: In a meta-analysis of the 4 original GWAS scans (3856 cases and 7666 controls), rs9831894 (MAF=0.40) was associated with DLBCL risk (OR=0.84, P=4.52 x 10-9) and this replicated in a meta-analysis of the 3 studies with de novo genotyping (OR=0.80, P=4.17 x 10-5); the overall meta-analysis showed a strong association with DLBCL risk (OR=0.83, P=3.62 x 10-13). This locus maps near a plausible candidate gene, CD86, a protein coding gene and a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily that encodes a type I membrane protein. Binding of CD86 with cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 negatively regulates T-cell activation and diminishes the immune response, while binding of CD86 with CD28 antigen is a costimulatory signal for activation of the T-cell. In a meta-analysis of the same 4 GWAS scans, rs6773363 (MAF=0.45) was tentatively associated with DLBCL risk (OR=1.17, P= 3.68 x 10-7) and this replicated in a meta-analysis of the studies with de novo genotyping (OR=1.27, P=3.78 x 10-7); the overall meta-analysis showed a strong association with DLBCL risk (OR=1.20, P=2.31 x 10-12). This locus also maps near a plausible candidate gene, eomesodermin (EOMES), a transcription factor crucial for embryonic development of the central nervous system and also putatively involved in T-cell differentiation in viral infection defense. Conclusion: In this follow-up analysis of our initial GWAS, we have identified two additional loci associated with risk of DLBCL, the most common lymphoma subtype. These loci provide additional evidence for the role of immune function in the etiology of DLBCL. Citation Format: Geffen Kleinstern, Michelle Hildebrand, Vijai Joseph, Sonja I. Berndt, Hervé Ghesquières, James McKay, Sophia S. Wang, Alexandra Nieters, David Cox, Alain Monnereau, Angela R. Brooks-Wilson, Qing Lan, Mads Melbye, Rebecca D. Jackson, Lauren R. Teras, Mark P. Purdue, Claire M. Vajdic, Demetrius Albanes, Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Simon Crouch, Yawei Zhang, Susan L. Slager, Xifeng Wu, Karin E. Smedby, Gilles Salles, Christine F. Skibola, Nathaniel Rothman, Stephen J. Chanock, James R. Cerhan. Inherited variants at 3q13.33 and 3p24.1 influences risk of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 221.

Abstract A growing number of loci within the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region have been implicated in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) etiology. Here, we test a complementary hypothesis of “heterozygote advantage” regarding the role of HLA and NHL, whereby HLA diversity is beneficial and homozygous HLA loci are associated with increased disease risk. HLA alleles at class I and II loci were imputed from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using SNP2HLA for 3,617 diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL), 2,686 follicular lymphomas (FL), 2,878 chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphomas (CLL/SLL), 741 marginal zone lymphomas (MZL), and 8,753 controls of European descent. Both DLBCL and MZL risk were elevated with homozygosity at class I HLA-B and -C loci (OR DLBCL = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.06–1.60; OR MZL = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.12–1.89) and class II HLA-DRB1 locus (OR DLBCL = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.24–3.55; OR MZL = 2.10, 95% CI = 0.99–4.45). Increased FL risk was observed with the overall increase in number of homozygous HLA class II loci (P trend < 0.0001, FDR = 0.0005). These results support a role for HLA zygosity in NHL etiology and suggests that distinct immune pathways may underly the etiology of the different NHL subtypes. Significance: HLA gene diversity reduces risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Cancer Res; 78(14); 4086–96. ©2018 AACR.