Quantification of the influence of risk factors with application to cardiovascular diseases in subjects with type 1 diabetes.

Future occurrence of a disease can be highly influenced by some specific risk factors. This work presents a comprehensive approach to quantify the event probability as a function of each separate risk factor by means of a parametric model. The proposed methodology is mainly described and applied here in the case of a linear model, but the non-linear case is also addressed.

Development and validation of a risk prediction model for premenopausal breast cancer in 19 cohorts.

Background: Incidence of premenopausal breast cancer (BC) has risen in recent years, though most existing BC prediction models are not generalizable to young women due to underrepresentation of this age group in model development.

Methods: Using questionnaire-based data from 19 prospective studies harmonized within the Premenopausal Breast Cancer Collaborative Group (PBCCG), representing 783,830 women, we developed a premenopausal BC risk prediction model. The data were split into training (2/3) and validation (1/3) datasets with equal distribution of cohorts in each.

Prospective evaluation of 92 protein biomarkers for early detection of endometrial cancer.

The human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) remains the best available endometrial cancer (EC) biomarker; however, its discrimination between cases and cancer-free individuals is limited and might be improved when combined with other protein markers. We evaluated the discrimination capacity of 92 proteins as potential early detection biomarkers for EC in nested case-control studies in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) (63 cases, 123 controls) and Janus (75 cases, 146 controls) cohorts, evaluating blood samples taken ≤2 years prior to diagnosis. Proteins were measured with the Olink Target 96 Oncology II panel assays.

Education level and risk of breast cancer by tumor subtype in the EPIC cohort.

Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease with subtypes based on receptor status (estrogen receptor [ER], progesterone receptor [PR], and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2]), influencing prognosis and treatment. A higher socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with an increased BC risk, but its relation to BC subtypes is less clear. This study analyzed 311,631 women from the EPIC cohort, focusing on the incidence of in situ and invasive BC (overall and by receptor status and subtype).

Occasional smoking is a risk factor for myocardial infarction in the population-based Tromsø Study, 2001-2021.

Aims: While the association between daily smoking and myocardial infarction (MI) risk is well-established, little is known concerning the relationship between occasional smoking and MI risk. In this Norwegian study, we aimed to investigate the risk of first-time MI among occasional smokers over a 20-year follow-up period.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, data on smoking habits and relevant risk factors were collected from 15,617 participants enrolled in the fifth and/or sixth survey of the Tromsø Study.

A Bayesian Belief Network model for the estimation of risk of cardiovascular events in subjects with type 1 diabetes.

Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represent a major risk for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Our aim here is to develop a new methodology that overcomes some of the problems and limitations of existing risk calculators. First, they are rarely tailored to people with T1D and, in general, they do not deal with missing values for any risk factor.

Alcohol and smoking habits in association with hepatocellular carcinoma risk.

We assessed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk associated with smoking and alcohol consumption and their interactions, using both questionnaire data and objective serum biomarkers. Information on smoking and alcohol consumption was collected at baseline from 450,112 participants of the EPIC cohort, among whom 255 developed HCC after a median follow-up of 14 years. In a nested case-control subset of 108 HCC cases and 108 matched controls, known biomarkers of smoking (cotinine, nicotine) and habitual alcohol consumption (2-hydroxy-3-methylbutyric acid) were annotated from untargeted metabolomics features.

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Obesity-Linked Cancer Risk in EPIC.

Importance: Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) has been associated with a lower incidence of cancer and reduced weight gain. These associations suggest a potential role for the MedDiet in lowering the risk of obesity-related cancers (ORCs). Obesity is a known risk factor for various cancers and shows an inverse association with MedDiet adherence.

Pre-diagnostic plasma advanced glycation end-products and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products and mortality in colorectal cancer patients.

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), formed endogenously or obtained exogenously from diet, may contribute to chronic inflammation, intracellular signaling alterations, and pathogenesis of several chronic diseases including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the role of AGEs in CRC survival is less known. The associations of pre-diagnostic circulating AGEs and their soluble receptor (sRAGE) with CRC-specific and overall mortality were estimated using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression among 1369 CRC cases in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

Smoking Cessation and Short- and Longer-Term Mortality.

BACKGROUND: Smoking cessation reduces mortality and morbidity. However, the extent and rapidity at which cessation reduces contemporary death rates from smoking-related illnesses remain uncertain. METHODS: We pooled current or former versus never cigarette smoker hazard ratios from four national cohorts with linkage to death registries in the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, and Canada among adults 20 to 79 years of age from 1974 to 2018.

Prediagnostic serum glyceraldehyde-derived advanced glycation end products and mortality among colorectal cancer patients.

Glyceraldehyde-derived advanced glycation end products (glycer-AGEs) could contribute to colorectal cancer development and progression due to their pro-oxidative and pro-inflammatory properties. However, the association of glycer-AGEs with mortality after colorectal cancer diagnosis has not been previously investigated. Circulating glycer-AGEs were measured by competitive ELISA.

Factors associated with predictors of smoking cessation from a Norwegian internet-based smoking cessation intervention study.

Introduction: We examined if we could identify predictors for smoking cessation at six months post cessation, among smokers enrolled in a large Norwegian population-based intervention study.

Methods: We followed 4333 (72.1% women) smokers who enrolled in an internet-based smoking cessation intervention during 2010-2012.

Smoking and pancreatic cancer: a sex-specific analysis in the Multiethnic Cohort study.

Purpose: To examine whether the detrimental smoking-related association with pancreatic cancer (PC) is the same for women as for men.

Methods: We analyzed data from 192,035 participants aged 45-75 years, enrolled in the Multiethnic Cohort study (MEC) in 1993-1996. We identified PC cases via linkage to the Hawaii and California Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program cancer registries through December 2017.

A longitudinal evaluation of alcohol intake throughout adulthood and colorectal cancer risk.

Background: Alcohol intake is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC); however, there is limited knowledge on whether changing alcohol drinking habits during adulthood modifies CRC risk.

Objective: Leveraging longitudinal exposure assessments on alcohol intake at different ages, we examined the relationship between change in alcohol intake and subsequent CRC risk.

Methods: Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, changes in alcohol intake comparing follow-up with baseline assessments were investigated in relation to CRC risk.

Cigarette Smoking and Endometrial Cancer Risk: Observational and Mendelian Randomization Analyses.

Background: Current epidemiologic evidence indicates that smoking is associated with a lower endometrial cancer risk. However, it is unknown if this association is causal or confounded. To further elucidate the role of smoking in endometrial cancer risk, we conducted complementary observational and Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses.

Circulating Isovalerylcarnitine and Lung Cancer Risk: Evidence from Mendelian Randomization and Prediagnostic Blood Measurements.

Background: Tobacco exposure causes 8 of 10 lung cancers, and identifying additional risk factors is challenging due to confounding introduced by smoking in traditional observational studies.

Materials And Methods: We used Mendelian randomization (MR) to screen 207 metabolites for their role in lung cancer predisposition using independent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of blood metabolite levels (n = 7,824) and lung cancer risk (n = 29,266 cases/56,450 controls). A nested case-control study (656 cases and 1,296 matched controls) was subsequently performed using prediagnostic blood samples to validate MR association with lung cancer incidence data from population-based cohorts (EPIC and NSHDS).

Circulating inflammatory biomarkers, adipokines and breast cancer risk-a case-control study nested within the EPIC cohort.

Background: Inflammation has been hypothesized to play a role in the development and progression of breast cancer and might differently impact breast cancer risk among pre and postmenopausal women. We performed a nested case-control study to examine whether pre-diagnostic circulating concentrations of adiponectin, leptin, c-reactive protein (CRP), tumour necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ and 6 interleukins were associated with breast cancer risk, overall and by menopausal status.

Methods: Pre-diagnostic levels of inflammatory biomarkers were measured in plasma from 1558 case-control pairs from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

A Smartphone-Based Information Communication Technology Solution for Primary Modifiable Risk Factors for Noncommunicable Diseases: Pilot and Feasibility Study in Norway.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes are the 4 main noncommunicable diseases. These noncommunicable diseases share 4 modifiable risk factors (tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet). Short smartphone surveys have the potential to identify modifiable risk factors for individuals to monitor trends.

Prospective evaluation of 92 serum protein biomarkers for early detection of ovarian cancer.

Background: CA125 is the best available yet insufficiently sensitive biomarker for early detection of ovarian cancer. There is a need to identify novel biomarkers, which individually or in combination with CA125 can achieve adequate sensitivity and specificity for the detection of earlier-stage ovarian cancer.

Methods: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort, we measured serum levels of 92 preselected proteins for 91 women who had blood sampled ≤18 months prior to ovarian cancer diagnosis, and 182 matched controls.

Never-smokers and the fraction of breast cancer attributable to second-hand smoke from parents during childhood: the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study 1991-2018.

Background: Second-hand smoke (SHS) is not an established risk factor for breast cancer. We examined exposure to SHS from parents during childhood and breast-cancer risk overall and by oestrogen- and progesterone-receptor status in the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study. Furthermore, we utilized our nationally representative prospective cohort study to estimate the fraction of breast cancer attributable to parental SHS during childhood.

Long-term weight change and risk of breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

Background: The role of obesity and weight change in breast-cancer development is complex and incompletely understood. We investigated long-term weight change and breast-cancer risk by body mass index (BMI) at age 20 years, menopausal status, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and hormone-receptor status.

Methods: Using data on weight collected at three different time points from women who participated in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, we investigated the association between weight change from age 20 years until middle adulthood and risk of breast cancer.

Dietary Intake of Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) and Mortality among Individuals with Colorectal Cancer.

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) may promote oxidative stress and inflammation and have been linked to multiple chronic diseases, including cancer. However, the association of AGEs with mortality after colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis has not been previously investigated. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals for associations between dietary intake of AGEs with CRC-specific and all-cause mortality among 5801 participant cases diagnosed with CRC in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study between 1993 and 2013.

Prediagnostic Blood Selenium Status and Mortality among Patients with Colorectal Cancer in Western European Populations.

A higher selenium (Se) status has been shown to be associated with lower risk for colorectal cancer (CRC), but the importance of Se in survival after CRC diagnosis is not well studied. The associations of prediagnostic circulating Se status (as indicated by serum Se and selenoprotein P (SELENOP) measurements) with overall and CRC-specific mortality were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression among 995 CRC cases (515 deaths, 396 from CRC) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Se and SELENOP serum concentrations were measured on average 46 months before CRC diagnosis.