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Women with a moderate intake of alcohol have higher concentrations of sex steroids in serum, and higher risk of developing breast cancer, compared to non-drinkers. In the present study, we investigate the relationships between alcohol consumption and serum levels of sex steroids and sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in 790 pre- and 1,291 post-menopausal women, who were part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).Serum levels of testosterone (T), androstenedione (Δ4), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), estrone (E1), estradiol (E2) and SHBG were measured by direct immunoassays. Free T (fT) and free E2(fE2) were calculated according to mass action laws. Current alcohol intake exposure to alcohol was assessed from dietary questionnaires.Pre-menopausal women who consumed more than 25 g/day of alcohol had about 30% higher DHEAS, T and fT, 20% higher Δ4and about 40% higher E1, concentrations compared to women who were non-consumers. E2, fE2and SHBG concentrations showed no association with current alcohol intake. In post-menopausal women, DHEAS, fT, T, Δ4, and E1concentrations were between 10% and 20% higher in women who consumed more than 25 g/day of alcohol compared to non-consumers. E2or fE2were not associated with alcohol intake at all. SHBG levels were about 15% lower in alcohol consumers compared to non-consumers.This study supports the hypothesis of an influence of alcohol intake on sex hormone concentrations in blood.

Blood concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) have recently been associated with breast cancer risk, notably in women who developed breast cancer at a young age. Prospective studies published so far, however, were relatively small and odds ratio (OR) estimates imprecise. We present the results of a large prospective case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition on total IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and breast cancer risk including 1081 incident cases of invasive breast cancer and 2098 matched control subjects. Increasing IGF-I and IGFBP-3 concentrations were associated with a significant increase in breast cancer risk in women who developed breast cancer after 50 years of age (highest vs lowest quintile OR 1.38 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.86), P= 0.01, and 1.44 (95% CI 1.04–1.98), P= 0.01, respectively), but no relationship was observed in younger women (OR = 1.03 (95% CI 0.60–1.77), P= 0.81 for IGF-I, and OR = 0.92 (95% CI 0.50–1.70), P= 0.69 for IGFBP-3). There was, however, significant heterogeneity in the relationship of breast cancer with serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels depending on the time interval between blood donation and tumor diagnosis. A reduction in breast cancer risk with increasing IGF-I concentrations was observed in cases with a diagnosis of cancer less than 2 years after blood donation, (OR = 0.76 (95% CI 0.57–1.03)), while an increase in risk was observed for women with a later diagnosis (above or equal to two years after blood collection, OR = 1.51 (95% CI 1.19–1.91)). A similar pattern was observed for IGFBP-3. This study confirms previous findings for an association of serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 concentrations with breast cancer risk, particularly for women with a later diagnosis of cancer, but it does not support the hypothesis of an involvement of IGF-I in younger women.

Considerable experimental and epidemiological evidence suggests that elevated endogenous sex steroids — notably androgens and oestrogens — promote breast tumour development. In spite of this evidence, postmenopausal androgen replacement therapy with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or testosterone has been advocated for the prevention of osteoporosis and improved sexual well-being. We have conducted a case–control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Levels of DHEA sulphate (DHEAS), (Δ4-androstenedione), testosterone, oestrone, oestradiol and sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in prediagnostic serum samples of 677 postmenopausal women who subsequently developed breast cancer and 1309 matched control subjects. Levels of free testosterone and free oestradiol were calculated from absolute concentrations of testosterone, oestradiol and SHBG. Logistic regression models were used to estimate relative risks of breast cancer by quintiles of hormone concentrations. For all sex steroids –the androgens as well as the oestrogens – elevated serum levels were positively associated with breast cancer risk, while SHBG levels were inversely related to risk. For the androgens, relative risk estimates (95% confidence intervals) between the top and bottom quintiles of the exposure distribution were: DHEAS 1.69 (1.23–2.33), androstenedione 1.94 (1.40–2.69), testosterone 1.85 (1.33–2.57) and free testosterone 2.50 (1.76–3.55). For the oestrogens, relative risk estimates were: oestrone 2.07 (1.42–3.02), oestradiol 2.28 (1.61–3.23) and free oestradiol (odds ratios 2.13 (1.52–2.98)). Adjustments for body mass index or other potential confounding factors did not substantially alter any of these relative risk estimates. Our results have shown that, among postmenopausal women, not only elevated serum oestrogens but also serum androgens are associated with increased breast cancer risk. Since DHEAS and androstenedione are largely of adrenal origin in postmenopausal women, our results indicated that elevated adrenal androgen synthesis is a risk factor for breast cancer. The results from this study caution against the use of DHEA(S), or other androgens, for postmenopausal androgen replacement therapy.

Sex steroid concentrations in urine samples from post-menopausal women have been associated with risk of various chronic diseases. The basic requirement for the assessment of risk in such large-scale epidemiological studies is that subjects be ranked accurately by their average, long-term hormone levels. We examined the reproducibility over time of measurements of urinary testosterone (T), 5α-androstane-3α, 17β-diol (ADIOL), estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), 2-hydroxy estrone and 2-hydroxy estradiol, (2(OH)-E), 16α-hydroxyestrone (16α(OH)-E1) and the ratio of 2(OH)-E and 16α(OH)-E1, in a representative sub-sample of post-menopausal women (n = 43) participating in an ongoing prospective cohort study. Women collected three first morning urine voids on different occasions, with average time difference between the first and the third urine sample of 5.1 years. T, ADIOL, E1and E2were measured by radio immunoassay after enzymatic hydrolysis, solid-phase extraction and HPLC purification of the samples, while 2(OH)-E and 16α(OH)-E1were assayed by solid-phase enzyme immunoassay after enzymatic hydrolysis. Intra-class correlation co-efficients (ICCs) over time were very good for T (r= 0.85), acceptable for E2, E1and ADIOL (r> 0.55), but low for 2(OH)-E, 16α(OH)-E1and their ratio (r< 0.46). The adjustment for creatinine concentrations did not increase these correlations.

BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) has antiapoptotic and mitogenic effects on various cell types, and raised IGF-1 levels are increasingly being implicated as potential risk factors for cancer. AIMS: To examine the relationship between IGF-1 and its major plasma binding protein, IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), and the risk of colorectal cancer. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study nested within the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort. IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were measured in prediagnostic plasma samples from 168 men and women who developed cancers of the colon (n=110) or rectum (n=58), and from 336 matched controls. RESULTS: Conditional logistic regression analyses showed an increase in colon cancer risk with increasing levels of IGF-1 (odds ratios (ORs) 1.00, 1.89, 2.30, 2.66; p(trend)=0.03) and IGFBP-3 (ORs 1.00, 0.91, 1.80, 1.93; p(trend)=0.02). Rectal cancer risk was inversely related to levels of IGF-1 (ORs 1.00, 0.45, 0.33, 0.33; p(trend)=0.09) and IGFBP-3 (ORs 1.00, 0.75, 0.66, 0.49; p(trend)=0.21). Mutual adjustments between IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 did not materially alter these relationships. CONCLUSIONS: These results support earlier findings of increased risk of colon cancer in subjects with elevated plasma IGF-1. Our results however do not support the hypothesis that the risk of rectal cancer could also be directly related to IGF-1 levels.

In past decades, evidence from both experimental and observational studies has accumulated suggesting that chronic inflammation could promote breast cancer development. Therefore, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a class of drugs commonly used to treat pain, fever and inflammation, has been proposed as potential chemo-preventive agents for breast cancer. Although inverse associations between NSAIDs and breast cancer risk have been reported in most case-control studies, results from cohort studies are less consistent. Our objective was to assess the association between NSAID use and breast cancer risk within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Au Maroc, comme dans nombreux pays en transition épidémiologique et nutritionnelle, l’incidence du cancer du sein a fortement augmenté ces dernières années. Plusieurs études épidémiologiques ont mis en évidence des associations entre les mesures anthropométriques et le risque de cancer du sein. L’objectif de cette étude était d’étudier les associations entre les facteurs anthropométriques et le risque de cancer du sein chez les femmes Marocaines dans la région de Fès.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are both rare cancers which are particularly prevalent in Western countries and for which increasing incidence rates have been observed for the past decades. Moreover, both of them have unclear etiology and only few risk factors identified so far. While PC has been firmly associated with cigarette smoking, type II diabetes, obesity, as well as chronic pancreatitis, NHL has been mainly related to immune disorders and occupational exposure like benzenes. Roles of lifestyle factors in PC and NHL etiologies are still largely undefined, but recent evidences suggested that lifestyle, as well as high levels of alcohol consumption may be related to PC and NHL risks. Therefore, associations between modifiable lifestyle factors and either PC risk or NHL risk were investigated using an index expressing healthy lifestyle behaviors in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

Some modifiable lifestyle factors have been associated with decreased breast cancer risk. This study aimed to assess the association of a combined healthy lifestyle index with the risk of breast cancer in Moroccan women.

Premenopausal breast cancer risk has been associated with greater height and inversely associated with excess adiposity in many studies conducted among Western populations. However, data are scarce on Hispanic populations, in particular in Latin American countries. Our work investigated the associations between excess adiposity, defined by several anthropometric factors, and risk of breast cancer among premenopausal Latin American women from the PRECAMA study.