White blood cell count and risk of incident lung cancer in the UK Biobank

Background The contribution of measurable immunological/inflammatory parameters to lung cancer development remains unclear, particularly among never-smokers. We investigated the relationship between total and differential white blood cell (WBC) counts and incident lung cancer risk overall and among subgroups defined by smoking status and sex in the United Kingdom (UK). Methods We evaluated 424,407 adults aged 37-73 years from the UK Biobank. Questionnaires, physical measurements, and blood were administered/collected at baseline in 2006-2010. Complete blood cell counts were measured using standard methods. Lung cancer diagnoses and histological classifications were obtained from cancer registries. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of incident lung cancer in relation to quartiles (Q) of total WBC and subtype-specific counts, with Q1 as the reference. Results There were 1,493 incident cases diagnosed over an average 7-year follow-up. Overall, the highest quartile of total WBC count was significantly associated with elevated lung cancer risk (HRQ4=1.67, 95% CI:1.41-1.98). Among women, increased risks were found in current-smokers (ncases/n=244/19,464, HRQ4=2.15, 95% CI:1.46-3.16), former-smokers (ncases/n=280/69,198, HRQ4=1.75, 95% CI:1.24-2.47), and never-smokers without environmental tobacco smoke exposure (ncases/n=108/111,294, HRQ4=1.93, 95% CI:1.11-3.35). Among men, stronger associations were identified in current-smokers (ncases/n=329/22,934, HRQ4=2.95, 95% CI:2.04-4.26) and former-smokers (ncases/n= 358/71,616, HRQ4=2.38, 95% CI:1.74-3.27) but not in never-smokers. Findings were similar for lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma and were driven primarily by elevated neutrophil fractions. Conclusions Elevated WBCs could potentially be one of many important markers for increased lung cancer risk, especially among never-smoking women and ever-smoking men

Association of untargeted urinary metabolomics and lung cancer risk among never-smoking women in China

Importance Chinese women have the highest rate of lung cancer among female never-smokers in the world, and the etiology is poorly understood. Objective To assess the association between metabolomics and lung cancer risk among never-smoking women. Design, Setting, and Participants This nested case-control study included 275 never-smoking female patients with lung cancer and 289 never-smoking cancer-free control participants from the prospective Shanghai Women’s Health Study recruited from December 28, 1996, to May 23, 2000. Validated food frequency questionnaires were used for the collection of dietary information. Metabolomic analysis was conducted from November 13, 2015, to January 6, 2016. Data analysis was conducted from January 6, 2016, to November 29, 2018. Exposures Untargeted ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomic profiles were characterized using prediagnosis urine samples. A total of 39 416 metabolites were measured. Main Outcomes and Measures Incident lung cancer. Results Among the 564 women, those who developed lung cancer (275 participants; median [interquartile range] age, 61.0 [52-65] years) and those who did not develop lung cancer (289 participants; median [interquartile range] age, 62.0 [53-66] years) at follow-up (median [interquartile range] follow-up, 10.9 [9.0-11.7] years) were similar in terms of their secondhand smoke exposure, history of respiratory diseases, and body mass index. A peak metabolite, identified as 5-methyl-2-furoic acid, was significantly associated with lower lung cancer risk (odds ratio, 0.57 [95% CI, 0.46-0.72]; P < .001; false discovery rate = 0.039). Furthermore, this peak was weakly correlated with self-reported dietary soy intake (ρ = 0.21; P < .001). Increasing tertiles of this metabolite were associated with lower lung cancer risk (in comparison with first tertile, odds ratio for second tertile, 0.52 [95% CI, 0.34-0.80]; and odds ratio for third tertile, 0.46 [95% CI, 0.30-0.70]), and the association was consistent across different histological subtypes and follow-up times. Additionally, metabolic pathway analysis found several systemic biological alterations that were associated with lung cancer risk, including 1-carbon metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Conclusions and Relevance This prospective study of the untargeted urinary metabolome and lung cancer among never-smoking women in China provides support for the hypothesis that soy-based metabolites are associated with lower lung cancer risk in never-smoking women and suggests that biological processes linked to air pollution may be associated with higher lung cancer risk in this population

Two high-risk susceptibility loci at 6p25.3 and 14q32.13 for Waldenström macroglobulinemia

Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM)/lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) is a rare, chronic B-cell lymphoma with high heritability. We conduct a two-stage genome-wide association study of WM/LPL in 530 unrelated cases and 4362 controls of European ancestry and identify two high-risk loci associated with WM/LPL at 6p25.3 (rs116446171, near EXOC2 and IRF4; OR = 21.14, 95% CI: 14.40–31.03, P = 1.36 × 10−54) and 14q32.13 (rs117410836, near TCL1; OR = 4.90, 95% CI: 3.45–6.96, P = 8.75 × 10−19). Both risk alleles are observed at a low frequency among controls (~2–3%) and occur in excess in affected cases within families. In silico data suggest that rs116446171 may have functional importance, and in functional studies, we demonstrate increased reporter transcription and proliferation in cells transduced with the 6p25.3 risk allele. Although further studies are needed to fully elucidate underlying biological mechanisms, together these loci explain 4% of the familial risk and provide insights into genetic susceptibility to this malignancy

Genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asia and comparison with a European population

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (Pinteraction = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications

Distinct germline genetic susceptibility profiles identified for common non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes

Lymphoma risk is elevated for relatives with common non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes, suggesting shared genetic susceptibility across subtypes. To evaluate the extent of mutual heritability among NHL subtypes and discover novel loci shared among subtypes, we analyzed data from eight genome-wide association studies within the InterLymph Consortium, including 10,629 cases and 9505 controls. We utilized Association analysis based on SubSETs (ASSET) to discover loci for subsets of NHL subtypes and evaluated shared heritability across the genome using Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis (GCTA) and polygenic risk scores. We discovered 17 genome-wide significant loci (P &lt; 5 × 10−8) for subsets of NHL subtypes, including a novel locus at 10q23.33 (HHEX) (P = 3.27 × 10−9). Most subset associations were driven primarily by only one subtype. Genome-wide genetic correlations between pairs of subtypes varied broadly from 0.20 to 0.86, suggesting substantial heterogeneity in the extent of shared heritability among subtypes. Polygenic risk score analyses of established loci for different lymphoid malignancies identified strong associations with some NHL subtypes (P &lt; 5 × 10−8), but weak or null associations with others. Although our analyses suggest partially shared heritability and biological pathways, they reveal substantial heterogeneity among NHL subtypes with each having its own distinct germline genetic architecture

Genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asia and comparison with a European population

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (P interaction  = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications

Genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asia and comparison with a European population.

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (Pinteraction = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications

Exploring juvenile delinquency: Violence as perceived and justified by juvenile delinquents

Crimes are on the rise and nowadays these crimes are committed not only by adults but by children as well. There are a lot of possible reasons why children commit these crimes, and these reasons will be the main focus of this study. This study discusses the influence of different factors surrounding a child that may negatively affect the child\u27s psychological development. In this study, the population consists of Filipino juvenile delinquents whose ages range from 15-18 years old. They were interviewed through a focus group discussion facilitated by the researchers. Data from the interviews have been analyzed using a three-phased variant of the Grounded Theory. The study found out that most juveniles perceive violence as a way of survival. Most of them also believed that violence is justified when they use this as a means to survive, for example, to gather needed financial resources or as a method of protecting themselves and their loved ones. As long as juveniles are continuously exposed to violence and to have reason to commit them, they would continue to rely of violence as their primary mode of survival

Historical occupational trichloroethylene air concentrations based on inspection measurements from shanghai, china

PURPOSE: Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a carcinogen that has been linked to kidney cancer and possibly other cancer sites including non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Its use in China has increased since the early 1990s with China's growing metal, electronic, and telecommunications industries. We examined historical occupational TCE air concentration patterns in a database of TCE inspection measurements collected in Shanghai, China to identify temporal trends and broad contrasts among occupations and industries. METHODS: Using a database of 932 short-term, area TCE air inspection measurements collected in Shanghai worksites from 1968 through 2000 (median year 1986), we developed mixed-effects models to evaluate job-, industry-, and time-specific TCE air concentrations. RESULTS: Models of TCE air concentrations from Shanghai work sites predicted that exposures decreased 5-10% per year between 1968 and 2000. Measurements collected near launderers and dry cleaners had the highest predicted geometric means (GM for 1986 = 150-190 mg m(-3)). The majority (53%) of the measurements were collected in metal treatment jobs. In a model restricted to measurements in metal treatment jobs, predicted GMs for 1986 varied 35-fold across industries, from 11 mg m(-3) in 'other metal products/repair' industries to 390 mg m(-3) in 'ships/aircrafts' industries. CONCLUSIONS: TCE workplace air concentrations appeared to have dropped over time in Shanghai, China between 1968 and 2000. Understanding differences in TCE concentrations across time, occupations, and industries may assist future epidemiologic studies in China