As part of the multicenter Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET) lung cancer prevention stu... more As part of the multicenter Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET) lung cancer prevention study, we investigated the associations of baseline demographic, health history, and nutritional intake information and the prerandomization serum concentrations of fl-carotene, retinol, retinyl palmitate, and a-tocopherol in a random subset of 1 182 smokers and asbestos-exposed workers. Dietary intake was estimated via a self-administered food frequency
International journal of epidemiology, Jan 20, 2015
For men and women, taller height is associated with increased risk of all cancers combined. For c... more For men and women, taller height is associated with increased risk of all cancers combined. For colorectal cancer (CRC), it is unclear whether the differential association of height by sex is real or is due to confounding or bias inherent in observational studies. We performed a Mendelian randomization study to examine the association between height and CRC risk. To minimize confounding and bias, we derived a weighted genetic risk score predicting height (using 696 genetic variants associated with height) in 10 226 CRC cases and 10 286 controls. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for associations between height, genetically predicted height and CRC. Using conventional methods, increased height (per 10-cm increment) was associated with increased CRC risk (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.02-1.15). In sex-specific analyses, height was associated with CRC risk for women (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.05-1.26), but not men (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0...
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, Jan 14, 2015
High body mass index (BMI) is consistently linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) fo... more High body mass index (BMI) is consistently linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) for men, whereas the association is less clear for women. As risk estimates from observational studies may be biased and/or confounded, we conducted a Mendelian randomization study to estimate the causal association between BMI and CRC. We used data from 10,226 CRC cases and 10,286 controls of European ancestry. The Mendelian randomization analysis used a weighted genetic risk score, derived from 77 genome-wide association study identified variants associated with higher BMI, as an instrumental variable (IV). We compared the IV odds ratio (IV-OR) with the OR obtained using a conventional covariate-adjusted analysis. Individuals carrying greater numbers of BMI-increasing alleles had higher CRC risk (per weighted allele OR, 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.57). Our IV estimation results support the hypothesis that genetically influenced BMI is directly associated with risk for CRC ...
Previous studies offer suggestive, but not definitive, evidence that total fat or specific fats m... more Previous studies offer suggestive, but not definitive, evidence that total fat or specific fats may increase prostate cancer risk. This study investigates associations of dietary fat, meat, and dairy foods with prostate cancer risk among 12,025 men in the Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET). After 11 y of follow-up, 890 incident prostate cancers were reported and confirmed. Diet was assessed by a biannual FFQ. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of intake of fat and fat-related foods (meat and dairy) with prostate cancer incidence. Multiplicative interaction terms tested whether associations differed by family history, race, or smoking. Overall, fat was not associated with total, nonaggressive or aggressive prostate cancer. In subgroup analyses the HR for men with a family history of prostate cancer were 2.47 (95%CI = 0.96-6.37) and 2.61 (95% CI = 1.01-6.72) for total polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) and (n-6) PUFA for the...
Use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with lower r... more Use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer. To identify common genetic markers that may confer differential benefit from aspirin or NSAID chemoprevention, we tested gene × environment interactions between regular use of aspirin and/or NSAIDs and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in relation to risk of colorectal cancer. Case-control study using data from 5 case-control and 5 cohort studies initiated between 1976 and 2003 across the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany and including colorectal cancer cases (n=8634) and matched controls (n=8553) ascertained between 1976 and 2011. Participants were all of European descent. Genome-wide SNP data and information on regular use of aspirin and/or NSAIDs and other risk factors. Colorectal cancer. Regular use of aspirin and/or NSAIDs was associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer (prevalence, 28% vs 38%; odds ratio [OR], 0.69 [95% CI, 0.64-0.74];...
Observational studies have suggested an inverse relationship between dietary or serum lutein and ... more Observational studies have suggested an inverse relationship between dietary or serum lutein and risk for age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. This evidence has stimulated interest in the biological and other characteristics of lutein, and also zeaxanthin, a structurally similar carotenoid; together, they comprise the macular pigment. Accurate interpretation of data linking dietary intake or serum concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin and risk for eye disease in epidemiologic and clinical studies requires knowledge of biological and nondietary factors influencing these intake data or concentrations. The primary aims of this study were to identify the correlates of dietary lutein + zeaxanthin intake and the determinants of serum lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations in a heterogeneous community-based sample of adults aged 18-92 y, recruited and examined at three U.S. sites (n = 2786). An additional aim was to identify the determinants of change in serum lutein concentrati...
Recent prospective studies have suggested that insulin- like growth factor (IGF)-I levels are rel... more Recent prospective studies have suggested that insulin- like growth factor (IGF)-I levels are related to risk of some epithelial cancers. We previously reported in a case- control study a significant association between IGF-I level and lung cancer risk, with a 2-fold increased risk in the highest quartile. We now report the results of a lung cancer case-control study nested in
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2014
Genome-wide association studies have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) th... more Genome-wide association studies have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with risk of colorectal cancer. Prior research has evaluated the presence of gene-environment interaction involving the first 10 identified susceptibility loci, but little work has been conducted on interaction involving SNPs at recently identified susceptibility loci, including: rs10911251, rs6691170, rs6687758, rs11903757, rs10936599, rs647161, rs1321311, rs719725, rs1665650, rs3824999, rs7136702, rs11169552, rs59336, rs3217810, rs4925386, and rs2423279. Data on 9,160 cases and 9,280 controls from the Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium (GECCO) and Colon Cancer Family Registry (CCFR) were used to evaluate the presence of interaction involving the above-listed SNPs and sex, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, smoking, aspirin use, postmenopausal hormone (PMH) use, as well as intake of dietary calcium, dietary fiber, dietary folate, red mea...
We performed a multistage genome-wide association study including 7,683 individuals with pancreat... more We performed a multistage genome-wide association study including 7,683 individuals with pancreatic cancer and 14,397 controls of European descent. Four new loci reached genome-wide significance: rs6971499 at 7q32.3 (LINC-PINT, per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.74-0.84, P = 3.0 × 10(-12)), rs7190458 at 16q23.1 (BCAR1/CTRB1/CTRB2, OR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.30-1.65, P = 1.1 × 10(-10)), rs9581943 at 13q12.2 (PDX1, OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.10-1.20, P = 2.4 × 10(-9)) and rs16986825 at 22q12.1 (ZNRF3, OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.12-1.25, P = 1.2 × 10(-8)). We identified an independent signal in exon 2 of TERT at the established region 5p15.33 (rs2736098, OR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.76-0.85, P = 9.8 × 10(-14)). We also identified a locus at 8q24.21 (rs1561927, P = 1.3 × 10(-7)) that approached genome-wide significance located 455 kb telomeric of PVT1. Our study identified multiple new susceptibility alleles for pancreatic cancer that are worthy of follow-up studies.
We present a method of data reduction using a wavelet transform in discriminant analysis when the... more We present a method of data reduction using a wavelet transform in discriminant analysis when the number of variables is much greater than the number of observations. The method is illustrated with a prostate cancer study, where the sample size is 248, and the number of variables is 48,538 (generated using the ProteinChip technology). Using a discrete wavelet transform, the 48,538 data points are represented by 1271 wavelet coefficients. Information criteria identified 11 of the 1271 wavelet coefficients with the highest discriminatory power. The linear classifier with the 11 wavelet coefficients detected prostate cancer in a separate test set with a sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 100%.
Objective To examine the association between breast cancer risk and the fatty acid composition o... more Objective To examine the association between breast cancer risk and the fatty acid composition of phospholipids in prediagnostic serum samples. Methods We analyzed the fatty acid composition in 130 incident postmenopausal breast cancer cases and 257 matched controls nested within the β-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial Cohort. The fatty acid composition was measured by gas chromatography. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios and corresponding 95%
Despite numerous published studies, debate continues regarding the risk of developing lung cancer... more Despite numerous published studies, debate continues regarding the risk of developing lung cancer among men exposed occupationally to asbestos, particularly those without radiographic or functional evidence of asbestosis. The β-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), a study of vitamin supplementation for chemoprevention of lung cancer, has followed 4,060 heavily exposed US men for 9-17 years. Lung cancer incidence for 1989-2002
We have implemented a strategy to identify tumor antigens that induce a humoral immune response i... more We have implemented a strategy to identify tumor antigens that induce a humoral immune response in lung cancer based on the analysis of tumor cell proteins. Chromatographically fractionated protein extracts from three lung cancer cell lines were subjected to Western blotting and hybridization with individual sera to determine serum antibody binding. Two sets of sera were initially investigated. One set
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2014
Calcium intake may reduce risk of colorectal cancer, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Studies o... more Calcium intake may reduce risk of colorectal cancer, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Studies of interaction between calcium intake and SNPs in calcium-related pathways have yielded inconsistent results. To identify gene-calcium interactions, we tested interactions between approximately 2.7 million SNPs across the genome with self-reported calcium intake (from dietary or supplemental sources) in 9,006 colorectal cancer cases and 9,503 controls of European ancestry. To test for multiplicative interactions, we used multivariable logistic regression and defined statistical significance using the conventional genome-wide α = 5E-08. After accounting for multiple comparisons, there were no statistically significant SNP interactions with total, dietary, or supplemental calcium intake. We found no evidence of SNP interactions with calcium intake for colorectal cancer risk in a large population of 18,509 individuals. These results suggest that in genome-wide analysis common genetic variant...
Journal of translational medicine & epidemiology, 2014
Strategies for constructing and maintaining cross-disciplinary teams are in their infancy. We out... more Strategies for constructing and maintaining cross-disciplinary teams are in their infancy. We outline strategies to support one form, transdisciplinary research, in a major initiative of the National Cancer Institute, the Transdisciplinary Research in Energetics and Cancer 2 (TREC2) initiative. Discussion of the TREC2 sites' experiences with transdisciplinarity is structured around a conceptual model that identifies four iterative phases of transdisciplinary research. An active coordination center, regular face-to-face meetings, and input from external advisors were instrumental in moving TREC2 to the translation phase. The possibilities for advancements in the science of energetics and cancer increased as investigator ties became denser. TREC2 can be seen as a flagship effort in transdisciplinary science that provides lessons on moving ideas from development to translation.
As part of the multicenter Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET) lung cancer prevention stu... more As part of the multicenter Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET) lung cancer prevention study, we investigated the associations of baseline demographic, health history, and nutritional intake information and the prerandomization serum concentrations of fl-carotene, retinol, retinyl palmitate, and a-tocopherol in a random subset of 1 182 smokers and asbestos-exposed workers. Dietary intake was estimated via a self-administered food frequency
International journal of epidemiology, Jan 20, 2015
For men and women, taller height is associated with increased risk of all cancers combined. For c... more For men and women, taller height is associated with increased risk of all cancers combined. For colorectal cancer (CRC), it is unclear whether the differential association of height by sex is real or is due to confounding or bias inherent in observational studies. We performed a Mendelian randomization study to examine the association between height and CRC risk. To minimize confounding and bias, we derived a weighted genetic risk score predicting height (using 696 genetic variants associated with height) in 10 226 CRC cases and 10 286 controls. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for associations between height, genetically predicted height and CRC. Using conventional methods, increased height (per 10-cm increment) was associated with increased CRC risk (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.02-1.15). In sex-specific analyses, height was associated with CRC risk for women (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.05-1.26), but not men (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0...
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, Jan 14, 2015
High body mass index (BMI) is consistently linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) fo... more High body mass index (BMI) is consistently linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) for men, whereas the association is less clear for women. As risk estimates from observational studies may be biased and/or confounded, we conducted a Mendelian randomization study to estimate the causal association between BMI and CRC. We used data from 10,226 CRC cases and 10,286 controls of European ancestry. The Mendelian randomization analysis used a weighted genetic risk score, derived from 77 genome-wide association study identified variants associated with higher BMI, as an instrumental variable (IV). We compared the IV odds ratio (IV-OR) with the OR obtained using a conventional covariate-adjusted analysis. Individuals carrying greater numbers of BMI-increasing alleles had higher CRC risk (per weighted allele OR, 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.57). Our IV estimation results support the hypothesis that genetically influenced BMI is directly associated with risk for CRC ...
Previous studies offer suggestive, but not definitive, evidence that total fat or specific fats m... more Previous studies offer suggestive, but not definitive, evidence that total fat or specific fats may increase prostate cancer risk. This study investigates associations of dietary fat, meat, and dairy foods with prostate cancer risk among 12,025 men in the Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET). After 11 y of follow-up, 890 incident prostate cancers were reported and confirmed. Diet was assessed by a biannual FFQ. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of intake of fat and fat-related foods (meat and dairy) with prostate cancer incidence. Multiplicative interaction terms tested whether associations differed by family history, race, or smoking. Overall, fat was not associated with total, nonaggressive or aggressive prostate cancer. In subgroup analyses the HR for men with a family history of prostate cancer were 2.47 (95%CI = 0.96-6.37) and 2.61 (95% CI = 1.01-6.72) for total polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) and (n-6) PUFA for the...
Use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with lower r... more Use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer. To identify common genetic markers that may confer differential benefit from aspirin or NSAID chemoprevention, we tested gene × environment interactions between regular use of aspirin and/or NSAIDs and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in relation to risk of colorectal cancer. Case-control study using data from 5 case-control and 5 cohort studies initiated between 1976 and 2003 across the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany and including colorectal cancer cases (n=8634) and matched controls (n=8553) ascertained between 1976 and 2011. Participants were all of European descent. Genome-wide SNP data and information on regular use of aspirin and/or NSAIDs and other risk factors. Colorectal cancer. Regular use of aspirin and/or NSAIDs was associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer (prevalence, 28% vs 38%; odds ratio [OR], 0.69 [95% CI, 0.64-0.74];...
Observational studies have suggested an inverse relationship between dietary or serum lutein and ... more Observational studies have suggested an inverse relationship between dietary or serum lutein and risk for age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. This evidence has stimulated interest in the biological and other characteristics of lutein, and also zeaxanthin, a structurally similar carotenoid; together, they comprise the macular pigment. Accurate interpretation of data linking dietary intake or serum concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin and risk for eye disease in epidemiologic and clinical studies requires knowledge of biological and nondietary factors influencing these intake data or concentrations. The primary aims of this study were to identify the correlates of dietary lutein + zeaxanthin intake and the determinants of serum lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations in a heterogeneous community-based sample of adults aged 18-92 y, recruited and examined at three U.S. sites (n = 2786). An additional aim was to identify the determinants of change in serum lutein concentrati...
Recent prospective studies have suggested that insulin- like growth factor (IGF)-I levels are rel... more Recent prospective studies have suggested that insulin- like growth factor (IGF)-I levels are related to risk of some epithelial cancers. We previously reported in a case- control study a significant association between IGF-I level and lung cancer risk, with a 2-fold increased risk in the highest quartile. We now report the results of a lung cancer case-control study nested in
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2014
Genome-wide association studies have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) th... more Genome-wide association studies have identified several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with risk of colorectal cancer. Prior research has evaluated the presence of gene-environment interaction involving the first 10 identified susceptibility loci, but little work has been conducted on interaction involving SNPs at recently identified susceptibility loci, including: rs10911251, rs6691170, rs6687758, rs11903757, rs10936599, rs647161, rs1321311, rs719725, rs1665650, rs3824999, rs7136702, rs11169552, rs59336, rs3217810, rs4925386, and rs2423279. Data on 9,160 cases and 9,280 controls from the Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium (GECCO) and Colon Cancer Family Registry (CCFR) were used to evaluate the presence of interaction involving the above-listed SNPs and sex, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, smoking, aspirin use, postmenopausal hormone (PMH) use, as well as intake of dietary calcium, dietary fiber, dietary folate, red mea...
We performed a multistage genome-wide association study including 7,683 individuals with pancreat... more We performed a multistage genome-wide association study including 7,683 individuals with pancreatic cancer and 14,397 controls of European descent. Four new loci reached genome-wide significance: rs6971499 at 7q32.3 (LINC-PINT, per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.74-0.84, P = 3.0 × 10(-12)), rs7190458 at 16q23.1 (BCAR1/CTRB1/CTRB2, OR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.30-1.65, P = 1.1 × 10(-10)), rs9581943 at 13q12.2 (PDX1, OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.10-1.20, P = 2.4 × 10(-9)) and rs16986825 at 22q12.1 (ZNRF3, OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.12-1.25, P = 1.2 × 10(-8)). We identified an independent signal in exon 2 of TERT at the established region 5p15.33 (rs2736098, OR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.76-0.85, P = 9.8 × 10(-14)). We also identified a locus at 8q24.21 (rs1561927, P = 1.3 × 10(-7)) that approached genome-wide significance located 455 kb telomeric of PVT1. Our study identified multiple new susceptibility alleles for pancreatic cancer that are worthy of follow-up studies.
We present a method of data reduction using a wavelet transform in discriminant analysis when the... more We present a method of data reduction using a wavelet transform in discriminant analysis when the number of variables is much greater than the number of observations. The method is illustrated with a prostate cancer study, where the sample size is 248, and the number of variables is 48,538 (generated using the ProteinChip technology). Using a discrete wavelet transform, the 48,538 data points are represented by 1271 wavelet coefficients. Information criteria identified 11 of the 1271 wavelet coefficients with the highest discriminatory power. The linear classifier with the 11 wavelet coefficients detected prostate cancer in a separate test set with a sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 100%.
Objective To examine the association between breast cancer risk and the fatty acid composition o... more Objective To examine the association between breast cancer risk and the fatty acid composition of phospholipids in prediagnostic serum samples. Methods We analyzed the fatty acid composition in 130 incident postmenopausal breast cancer cases and 257 matched controls nested within the β-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial Cohort. The fatty acid composition was measured by gas chromatography. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios and corresponding 95%
Despite numerous published studies, debate continues regarding the risk of developing lung cancer... more Despite numerous published studies, debate continues regarding the risk of developing lung cancer among men exposed occupationally to asbestos, particularly those without radiographic or functional evidence of asbestosis. The β-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), a study of vitamin supplementation for chemoprevention of lung cancer, has followed 4,060 heavily exposed US men for 9-17 years. Lung cancer incidence for 1989-2002
We have implemented a strategy to identify tumor antigens that induce a humoral immune response i... more We have implemented a strategy to identify tumor antigens that induce a humoral immune response in lung cancer based on the analysis of tumor cell proteins. Chromatographically fractionated protein extracts from three lung cancer cell lines were subjected to Western blotting and hybridization with individual sera to determine serum antibody binding. Two sets of sera were initially investigated. One set
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2014
Calcium intake may reduce risk of colorectal cancer, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Studies o... more Calcium intake may reduce risk of colorectal cancer, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Studies of interaction between calcium intake and SNPs in calcium-related pathways have yielded inconsistent results. To identify gene-calcium interactions, we tested interactions between approximately 2.7 million SNPs across the genome with self-reported calcium intake (from dietary or supplemental sources) in 9,006 colorectal cancer cases and 9,503 controls of European ancestry. To test for multiplicative interactions, we used multivariable logistic regression and defined statistical significance using the conventional genome-wide α = 5E-08. After accounting for multiple comparisons, there were no statistically significant SNP interactions with total, dietary, or supplemental calcium intake. We found no evidence of SNP interactions with calcium intake for colorectal cancer risk in a large population of 18,509 individuals. These results suggest that in genome-wide analysis common genetic variant...
Journal of translational medicine & epidemiology, 2014
Strategies for constructing and maintaining cross-disciplinary teams are in their infancy. We out... more Strategies for constructing and maintaining cross-disciplinary teams are in their infancy. We outline strategies to support one form, transdisciplinary research, in a major initiative of the National Cancer Institute, the Transdisciplinary Research in Energetics and Cancer 2 (TREC2) initiative. Discussion of the TREC2 sites' experiences with transdisciplinarity is structured around a conceptual model that identifies four iterative phases of transdisciplinary research. An active coordination center, regular face-to-face meetings, and input from external advisors were instrumental in moving TREC2 to the translation phase. The possibilities for advancements in the science of energetics and cancer increased as investigator ties became denser. TREC2 can be seen as a flagship effort in transdisciplinary science that provides lessons on moving ideas from development to translation.
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Papers by Mark Thornquist