To determine the association of dietary patterns with cancer recurrence and mortality of early-stage breast cancer survivors.
Patients included 1,901 Life After Cancer Epidemiology Study participants ...diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer between 1997 and 2000 and recruited primarily from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Cancer Registry. Diet was assessed at cohort entry using a food frequency questionnaire. Two dietary patterns were identified: prudent (high intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and poultry) and Western (high intakes of red and processed meats and refined grains). Two hundred sixty-eight breast cancer recurrences and 226 all-cause deaths (128 attributable to breast cancer) were ascertained. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs.
Increasing adherence to a prudent dietary pattern was associated with a statistically significant decreasing risk of overall death (P trend = .02; HR for highest quartile = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.90) and death from non-breast cancer causes (P trend = .003; HR for highest quartile = 0.35; 95% CI, 0.17 to 0.73). In contrast, increasing consumption of a Western dietary pattern was related to an increasing risk of overall death (P trend = .05) and death from non-breast cancer causes (P = .02). Neither dietary pattern was associated with risk of breast cancer recurrence or death from breast cancer. These observations were generally not modified by physical activity, being overweight, or smoking.
Women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer might improve overall prognosis and survival by adopting more healthful dietary patterns.
Background
The nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signalling pathway is a regulator of immune response and inflammation that has been implicated in the carcinogenic process. We examined differentially ...expressed genes in this pathway and miRNAs to determine associations with colorectal cancer (CRC).
Methods
We used data from 217 CRC cases to evaluate differences in NF-κB signalling pathway gene expression between paired carcinoma and normal mucosa and identify miRNAs that are associated with these genes. Gene expression data from RNA-Seq and miRNA expression data from Agilent Human miRNA Microarray V19.0 were analysed. We evaluated genes most strongly associated and differentially expressed (fold change (FC) of > 1.5 or < 0.67) that were statistically significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons.
Results
Of the 92 genes evaluated, 22 were significantly downregulated and nine genes were significantly upregulated in all tumours. Two additional genes (
CD14
and
CSNK2A1
) were dysregulated in MSS tumours and two genes (
CARD11
and
VCAM1
) were downregulated and six genes were upregulated (
LYN, TICAM2, ICAM1, IL1B, CCL4
and
PTGS2
) in MSI tumours. Sixteen of the 21 dysregulated genes were associated with 40 miRNAs. There were 76 miRNA:mRNA associations of which 38 had seed-region matches. Genes were associated with multiple miRNAs, with
TNFSRF11A
(
RANK
) being associated with 15 miRNAs. Likewise several miRNAs were associated with multiple genes (miR-150-5p with eight genes, miR-195-5p with four genes, miR-203a with five genes, miR-20b-5p with four genes, miR-650 with six genes and miR-92a-3p with five genes).
Conclusions
Focusing on the genes and their associated miRNAs within the entire signalling pathway provides a comprehensive understanding of this complex pathway as it relates to CRC and offers insight into potential therapeutic agents.
Introduction: Identifying modifiable factors that reduce the risk of recurrence and improve survival in breast cancer survivors
is a pressing concern. The purpose of this study was to examine the ...association of physical activity following diagnosis and
treatment with the risk of breast cancer recurrence and mortality and all-cause mortality in women with early-stage breast
cancer.
Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 1,970 women from the Life After Cancer Epidemiology study, a prospective investigation
of behavioral risk factors and health outcomes. Self-reported frequency and duration of work-related, household and caregiving,
recreational, and transportation-related activities during the six months prior to enrollment were assessed. Outcomes were
ascertained from electronic or paper medical charts. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated from delayed
entry Cox proportional hazards models.
Results: Although age-adjusted results suggested that higher levels of physical activity were associated with reduced risk
of recurrence and breast cancer mortality ( P for trend = 0.05 and 0.07, respectively for highest versus lowest level of hours per week of moderate physical activity),
these associations were attenuated after adjustment for prognostic factors and other confounding variables ( P for trend = 0.36 and 0.26). In contrast, a statistically significant protective association between physical activity and
all-cause mortality remained in multivariable analyses (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-1.03; P for trend = 0.04).
Conclusions: These findings do not support a protective effect of physical activity on breast cancer recurrence or mortality
but do suggest that regular physical activity is beneficial for breast cancer survivors in terms of total mortality. (Cancer
Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(1):87–95)
Several diet and lifestyle factors may impact health by influencing oxidative stress levels. We hypothesize that level of cigarette smoking, alcohol, anti-inflammatory drugs, and diet alter gene ...expression. We analyzed RNA-seq data from 144 colon cancer patients who had information on recent cigarette smoking, recent alcohol consumption, diet, and recent aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory use. Using a false discovery rate of 0.1, we evaluated gene differential expression between high and low levels of exposure using DESeq2. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was used to determine networks associated with de-regulated genes in our data. We identified 46 deregulated genes associated with recent cigarette use; these genes enriched causal networks regulated by TEK and MAP2K3. Different differentially expressed genes were associated with type of alcohol intake; five genes were associated with total alcohol, six were associated with beer intake, six were associated with wine intake, and four were associated with liquor consumption. Recent use of aspirin and/or ibuprofen was associated with differential expression of TMC06, ST8SIA4, and STEAP3 while a summary oxidative balance score (OBS) was associated with SYCP3, HDX, and NRG4 (all up-regulated with greater oxidative balance). Of the dietary antioxidants and carotenoids evaluated only intake of beta carotene (1 gene), Lutein/Zeaxanthine (5 genes), and Vitamin E (4 genes) were associated with differential gene expression. There were similarities in biological function of de-regulated genes associated with various dietary and lifestyle factors. Our data support the hypothesis that diet and lifestyle factors associated with oxidative stress can alter gene expression. However genes altered were unique to type of alcohol and type of antioxidant. Because of potential differences in associations observed between platforms these findings need replication in other populations.
Interferons (IFNs) are proteins involved in many functions including antiviral and antimicrobial response, apoptosis, cell cycle control and mediating other cytokines. IFN gamma (IFNG) is a ...proinflammatory cytokine that modulates many immune-related genes. In this study we examine genetic variation in IFNG, IFNGR1, IFNGR2 and interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) to determine associations with colon and rectal cancer and survival after diagnosis. We include data from two population-based incident studies of colon cancer (1555 cases and 1956 controls) and rectal cancer (754 cases and 959 controls). Five tagSNPs in IFNG, IRF2 and IRF3 were associated with colon cancer and eight tagSNPs in IFNGR1, IFNGR2, IRF2, IRF4, IRF6 and IRF8 were associated with rectal cancer. IRF3 rs2304204 was associated with the strongest direct association and IRF2 3775554 with the strongest inverse association for colon cancer odds ratios (ORs) 1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-1.82 for recessive model and 0.52, 95% CI 0.28-0.97 for unrestricted model. For rectal cancer, IFNGR1 rs3799488 was directly associated with risk (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.04-5.09 for recessive model), whereas IRF6 rs861020 was inversely associated with risk (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.34-0.95). Several single-nucleotide polymorphisms interacted significant with both NF-κB1 and IL6 and with aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cigarette smoking. Using a summary score to estimate mutational load, we observed a hazard rate ratio (HRR) close to 5.00 (95% CI 2.73-8.99) for both colon and rectal (HRR 4.83, 95% CI 2.34-10.05) cancer for those in the category having the most at-risk genotypes. These data suggest the importance of IFN-signaling pathway on colon and rectal cancer risk and survival after diagnosis.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and as such have been implicated in a variety of diseases, including cancer. MiRNAs regulate mRNAs through binding of the miRNA 5' seed sequence ...(~7-8 nucleotides) to the mRNA 3' UTRs; polymorphisms in these regions have the potential to alter miRNA-mRNA target associations. SNPs in miRNA genes as well as miRNA-target genes have been proposed to influence cancer risk through altered miRNA expression levels.
MiRNA-SNPs and miRNA-target gene-SNPs were identified through the literature. We used SNPs from Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) data that were matched to individuals with miRNA expression data generated from an Agilent platform for colon tumor and non-tumor paired tissues. These samples were used to evaluate 327 miRNA-SNP pairs for associations between SNPs and miRNA expression levels as well as for SNP associations with colon cancer.
Twenty-two miRNAs expressed in non-tumor tissue were significantly different by genotype and 21 SNPs were associated with altered tumor/non-tumor differential miRNA expression across genotypes. Two miRNAs were associated with SNP genotype for both non-tumor and tumor/non-tumor differential expression. Of the 41 miRNAs significantly associated with SNPs all but seven were significantly differentially expressed in colon tumor tissue. Two of the 41 SNPs significantly associated with miRNA expression levels were associated with colon cancer risk: rs8176318 (BRCA1), ORAA 1.31 95% CI 1.01, 1.78, and rs8905 (PRKAR1A), ORGG 2.31 95% CI 1.11, 4.77.
Of the 327 SNPs identified in the literature as being important because of their potential regulation of miRNA expression levels, 12.5% had statistically significantly associations with miRNA expression. However, only two of these SNPs were significantly associated with colon cancer.
MiRNAs regulate gene expression by post-transcriptionally suppressing mRNA translation or by causing mRNA degradation. It has been proposed that unique miRNAs influence specific tumor molecular ...phenotype. In this paper, we test the hypotheses that miRNA expression differs by tumor molecular phenotype and that those differences may influence prognosis. Data come from population-based studies of colorectal cancer conducted in Utah and the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program. A total of 1893 carcinoma samples were run on the Agilent Human miRNA Microarray V19.0 containing 2006 miRNAs. We assessed differences in miRNA expression between TP53-mutated and non-mutated, KRAS-mutated and non-mutated, BRAF-mutated and non-mutated, CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) high and CIMP low, and microsatellite instability (MSI) and microsatellite stable (MSS) colon and rectal tumors. Using a Cox proportional hazard model we evaluated if those miRNAs differentially expressed by tumor phenotype influenced survival after adjusting for age, sex, and AJCC stage. There were 22 differentially expressed miRNAs for TP53-mutated colon tumors and 5 for TP53-mutated rectal tumors with a fold change of >1.49 (or <0.67). Additionally, 13 miRNAS were differentially expressed for KRAS-mutated rectal tumors, 8 differentially expressed miRNAs for colon CIMP high tumors, and 2 differentially expressed miRNAs for BRAF-mutated colon tumors. The majority of differentially expressed miRNAS were observed between MSI and MSS tumors (94 differentially expressed miRNAs for colon; 41 differentially expressed miRNAs for rectal tumors). Of these miRNAs differentially expressed between MSI and MSS tumors, the majority were downregulated. Ten of the differentially expressed miRNAs were associated with survival; after adjustment for MSI status, five miRNAS, miR-196b-5p, miR-31-5p, miR-99b-5p, miR-636, and miR-192-3p, were significantly associated with survival. In summary, it appears that the majority of miRNAs that are differentially expressed by tumor molecular phenotype are MSI tumors. However, these miRNAs appear to have minimal effect on prognosis.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs' (NSAID) use has consistently been associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer; however, studies showed inconsistent results on which cohort of individuals ...may benefit most. We performed multivariable logistic regression analysis to systematically test for the interaction between regular use of NSAIDs and other lifestyle and dietary factors on colorectal cancer risk among 11,894 cases and 15,999 controls. Fixed-effects meta-analyses were used for stratified analyses across studies for each risk factor and to summarize the estimates from interactions. Regular use of any NSAID, aspirin, or nonaspirin NSAIDs was significantly associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer within almost all subgroups. However, smoking status and BMI were found to modify the NSAID-colorectal cancer association. Aspirin use was associated with a 29% lower colorectal cancer risk among never-smokers odds ratios (OR) = 0.71; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.64-0.79, compared with 19% and 17% lower colorectal cancer risk among smokers of pack-years below median (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71-0.92) and above median (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.74-0.94), respectively (
interaction = 0.048). The association between any NSAID use and colorectal cancer risk was also attenuated with increasing BMI (
interaction = 0.075). Collectively, these results suggest that obese individuals and heavy smokers are unlikely to benefit as much as other groups from the prophylactic effect of aspirin against colorectal cancer.
Obesity and heavy smoking attenuate the benefit of aspirin use for colorectal cancer prevention.
.
Background: Cigarette smoking has been associated with microsatellite instability in sporadic colon cancer. Most microsatellite-unstable colon cancers have widespread methylation of CpG islands ...(i.e., the CpG island methylator phenotype CIMP), and many of these tumors harbor the V600E BRAF mutation. We investigated whether the association between smoking and all colon cancers could be explained through induction of CIMP and/or BRAF mutations. Methods: We evaluated 1315 case patients with colon cancer and 2392 control subjects in a population-based study. Demographic information, including smoking history, was obtained in an interview. Microsatellite instability was determined primarily by evaluation of the mononucleotide repeat BAT-26. CIMP was determined by sodium bisulfite modification of DNA followed by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction amplification of CpG islands in hMLH1, p16, and MINTS1, -2, and -31. Tumors were scored as CIMP high (i.e., ≥2 CpG islands methylated) or CIMP low (i.e., <2 CpG islands methylated). BRAF V600E mutations were identified by sequencing. Logistic regression was used to quantify relationships among smoking, CIMP, and BRAF. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Heavy smoking (i.e., >20 cigarettes per day), compared with nonsmoking, was associated with an increased risk of CIMP-high colon cancer (odds ratio OR = 2.06, 95% confidence interval CI = 1.43 to 2.97) and also with BRAF V600E mutations (OR = 3.16, 95% CI = 1.80 to 5.54). The association between cigarette smoking and the risk of colon cancer was limited to the minority of tumors that were CIMP high and BRAF wild type or CIMP high and BRAF mutated (for heavy smokers, OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.23 to 2.97, and OR = 2.85, 95% CI = 1.53 to 5.29, respectively). All relationships above showed a statistically significant relationship to amount smoked (Ptrend<.001 for all, except that relationship with tumors that were CIMP high and BRAF wild type, for which Ptrend = .008) and were independent of microsatellite instability. Conclusions: Previously identified associations between smoking and colon cancer, whether microsatellite unstable or stable, appear to be explained by the association of smoking with CIMP and BRAF mutations.