Comparison of volumetric and single-slice computed tomography body composition metrics for colorectal cancer survival.

Background: Body composition is associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) survival. However, body composition measurements have traditionally relied on single-slice, axial imaging. Fully automated volumetric body composition analysis is widely available, but associations with CRC survival have yet to be examined in detail.

Association Between Body Iron Status and Biological Aging.

Background/objectives: Iron is necessary for bodily function, but abnormal levels can increase the risk of chronic diseases. Studies of leukocyte telomere length suggest blood iron levels are positively associated with cellular senescence and accelerated aging. However, associations between blood iron and more robust metrics of biological aging, specifically those based on DNA methylation, have not been examined.

Methylation-based biological age and cardiotoxicity risk in breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab.

Background: Trastuzumab is an effective treatment for HER2-positive cancers that has known cardiotoxic properties. Discovering biomarkers that assess cardiotoxicity risk before trastuzumab therapy is essential for protecting the cardiovascular health of cancer patients.

Objective: To examine the associations between pre-treatment epigenetic age acceleration, circulating leukocyte composition, and candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with cardiotoxicity risk in breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab.

DNA methylation-predicted plasma protein levels and breast cancer risk.

Background: Blood DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles have been used to show that changes in circulating leukocyte composition occur during breast cancer development, suggesting that peripheral immune system alterations are markers of breast cancer risk. Blood DNAm profiles have recently been used to predict plasma protein concentrations ("Protein EpiScores"), but their associations with breast cancer risk have not been examined in detail.

Methods: Whole blood DNAm profiles were obtained for a case-cohort sample of participants in the Sister Study and used to calculate 109 Protein EpiScores.

Diet quality and cardiometabolic health in breast cancer survivors: the Pathways Study.

Purpose: Breast cancer (BC) survivors experience higher rates of cardiometabolic conditions, partly due to treatment. While healthy eating decreases the risk of these conditions in the general population, its association in BC survivors is unclear.

Methods: We included 3415 participants from the Pathways Study, a prospective cohort of women diagnosed with invasive BC between 2005 and 2013 and followed through 2021.

Blood-based epigenome-wide association study and prediction of alcohol consumption.

Alcohol consumption is an important risk factor for multiple diseases. It is typically assessed via self-report, which is open to measurement error through recall bias. Instead, molecular data such as blood-based DNA methylation (DNAm) could be used to derive a more objective measure of alcohol consumption by incorporating information from cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites known to be linked to the trait.

Physical activity and incident cardiovascular disease in breast cancer survivors: the Pathways Study.

Background: Breast cancer survivors experience higher rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than women without breast cancer, due in part to cardiotoxic cancer treatments and shared lifestyle risk factors. Physical activity is associated with lower mortality risk in breast cancer survivors, but associations with CVD have not been examined in detail.

Methods: The Pathways Study is a prospective cohort study of 4504 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 2005 and 2013.

Plasma prolactin and postmenopausal breast cancer risk: a pooled analysis of four prospective cohort studies.

Background: Prolactin, a hormone produced by the pituitary gland, regulates breast development and may contribute to breast cancer etiology. However, most epidemiologic studies of prolactin and breast cancer have been restricted to single, often small, study samples with limited exploration of effect modification.

Methods: The Biomarkers in Breast Cancer Risk Prediction consortium includes 8,279 postmenopausal women sampled from four prospective cohort studies, of whom 3,441 were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer after enrollment.

Epigenome-wide association study of prostate cancer in African American men identified differentially methylated genes.

Introduction: Men with African ancestry have the highest incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer (PCa) worldwide.

Methods: This study aimed to identify differentially methylated genes between tumor vs. adjacent normal and aggressive vs.

Associations between use of chemical hair products and epigenetic age: Findings from the Sister Study.

Background: Hair products may be a source of harmful chemicals and have been linked to age-related health outcomes. We investigated whether the use of hair products is related to epigenetic age in a sample of Black (both Hispanic and non-Hispanic) and non-Hispanic White women.

Methods: In a subset of 4358 participants aged 35-74 years from the Sister Study, we estimated cross-sectional associations between self-reported use of four chemical hair products (permanent dye, semipermanent dye, straighteners/relaxers, and hair permanents/body waves) in the year before enrollment (2003-2009) and three DNA methylation-based measures of epigenetic age (DunedinPACE, GrimAge age acceleration [GrimAgeAccel], and PhenoAge age acceleration [PhenoAgeAccel]) using survey-weighted multivariable linear regressions.

methscore: a comprehensive R function for DNA methylation-based health predictors.

Motivation: DNA methylation-based predictors of various biological metrics have been widely published and are becoming valuable tools in epidemiologic studies of epigenetics and personalized medicine. However, generating these predictors from original source software and web servers is complex and time consuming. Furthermore, different predictors were often derived based on data from different types of arrays, where array differences and batch effects can make predictors difficult to compare across studies.

Circulating Leukocyte Subsets Before and After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy.

Importance: Changes in leukocyte composition often precede chronic disease onset. Patients with a history of breast cancer (hereinafter referred to as breast cancer survivors) are at increased risk for subsequent chronic diseases, but the long-term changes in peripheral leukocyte composition following a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment remain unknown.

Objective: To examine longitudinal changes in peripheral leukocyte composition in women who did and did not develop breast cancer and identify whether differences in breast cancer survivors were associated with specific treatments.

Air pollution and epigenetic aging among Black and White women in the US.

Background: DNA methylation-based measures of biological aging have been associated with air pollution and may link pollutant exposures to aging-related health outcomes. However, evidence is inconsistent and there is little information for Black women.

Objective: We examined associations of ambient particulate matter <2.

Changes in methylation-based aging in women who do and do not develop breast cancer.

Background: Breast cancer survivors have increased incidence of age-related diseases, suggesting that some survivors may experience faster biological aging.

Methods: Among 417 women enrolled in the prospective Sister Study cohort, DNA methylation data were generated on paired blood samples collected an average of 7.7 years apart and used to calculate 3 epigenetic metrics of biological aging (PhenoAgeAccel, GrimAgeAccel, and Dunedin Pace of Aging Calculated from the Epigenome [DunedinPACE]).

Differences in epigenetic age by HIV status among patients with a non-AIDS defining cancer.

Objective: People with HIV (PWH) are living longer and experiencing higher numbers of non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADC). Epigenetic aging biomarkers have been linked to cancer risk, and cancer is now a leading cause of death in PWH, but these biomarkers have not been investigated in PWH and cancer.

Design: In order to compare epigenetic age by HIV status, HIV-uninfected participants were matched to PWH by reported age, tumor site, tumor sequence number, and cancer treatment status.

Methylation-Based Biological Age and Hypertension Prevalence and Incidence.

Background: Hypertension is common in older individuals and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Blood DNA methylation profiles have been used to derive metrics of biological age that capture age-related physiological change, disease risk, and mortality. The relationships between hypertension and DNA methylation-based biological age metrics have yet to be carefully described.

Peripheral Immune Cell Composition is Altered in Women Before and After a Hypertension Diagnosis.

Background: The development and consequences of hypertension involve multiple biological systems that may include changes in immune profiles. Whether hypertension is related to peripheral immune cell composition has not been examined in large human cohorts.

Methods: We estimated circulating proportions of 12 leukocyte subsets from the lymphoid and myeloid lineages by deconvolving cell-type-specific DNA methylation data from 4124 women.

Healthy eating patterns and epigenetic measures of biological age.

Background: Healthy eating is associated with lower risks of disease and mortality, but the mechanisms underlying these associations are unclear. Age is strongly related to health outcomes, and biological age can be estimated using the blood methylome.

Objectives: To determine whether healthy eating patterns are associated with methylation-based measures of biological age.

Blood DNA methylation profiles improve breast cancer prediction.

Although blood DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles are reported to be associated with breast cancer incidence, they have not been widely used in breast cancer risk assessment. Among a breast cancer case-cohort of 2774 women (1551 cases) in the Sister Study, we used candidate CpGs and DNAm estimators of physiologic characteristics to derive a methylation-based breast cancer risk score, mBCRS. Overall, 19 CpGs and five DNAm estimators were selected using elastic net regularization to comprise mBCRS.

Alcohol Consumption and Methylation-Based Measures of Biological Age.

Epigenetic age acceleration is considered a measure of biological aging based on genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation. Although age acceleration has been associated with the incidence of diseases and death, less is known about how it is related to lifestyle behaviors. Among 2316 women, we evaluate associations between self-reported alcohol consumption and various metrics of epigenetic age acceleration.

Associations of Body Composition and Physical Activity Level With Multiple Measures of Epigenetic Age Acceleration.

Epigenetic clocks use DNA methylation to estimate biological age. Whether body composition and physical activity are associated with these clocks is not well understood. Using blood samples collected at enrollment (2003-2009) from 2,758 women in the US nationwide Sister Study, we calculated 6 epigenetic age acceleration metrics using 4 epigenetic clocks (Hannum, Horvath, PhenoAge, GrimAge).

Association of Neighborhood Deprivation With Epigenetic Aging Using 4 Clock Metrics.

Importance: Neighborhood deprivation is associated with age-related disease, mortality, and reduced life expectancy. However, biological pathways underlying these associations are not well understood.

Objective: To evaluate the association between neighborhood deprivation and epigenetic measures of age acceleration and genome-wide methylation.