Studies of jet quenching within a partonic transport model

Background: Finite mixture models posit the existence of a latent categorical variable and can be used for probabilistic classification. The authors illustrate the use of mixture models for dietary pattern analysis. An advantage of this approach is taking classification uncertainty into account. Methods: Participants were a random sample of women from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer. Food consumption was measured using dietary questionnaires. Mixture models identified latent classes in food consumption data, which were interpreted as dietary patterns. Results: Among various assumptions examined, models allowing the variance of foods to vary within and between classes fit better than alternatives assuming constant variance (the K-means method of cluster analysis also makes the latter assumption). An eight-class model was best fitting and five patterns validated well in a second random sample. Patterns with lower classification uncertainty tended to be better validated. One pattern showed low consumption of foods despite being associated with moderate body mass index. Conclusion: Mixture modelling for dietary pattern analysis has advantages over both factor and cluster analysis. In contrast to these other methods, it is easy to estimate pattern prevalence, to describe patterns and to use patterns to predict disease taking classification uncertainty into account. Owing to substantial error in food consumptions, any analysis will usually find some patterns that cannot be well validated. While knowledge of classification uncertainty may aid pattern evaluation, any method will better identify patterns from food consumptions measured with less error. Mixture models may be useful to identify individuals who under-report food consumption

Carbohydrate Intake in the Etiology of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Background: Diet may have a role in the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease. In previous studies, the associations between increased intakes of carbohydrates, sugar, starch, and inflammatory bowel disease are inconsistent. However, few prospective studies have investigated the associations between these macronutrients and incident Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: A total of 401,326 men and women were recruited between 1991 and 1998. At recruitment, dietary intakes of carbohydrate, sugar, and starch were measured using validated food frequency questionnaires. The cohort was monitored identifying participants who developed incident CD or UC. Cases were matched with 4 controls, and odds ratios were calculated for quintiles of total carbohydrate, sugar, and starch intakes adjusted for total energy intake, body mass index, and smoking. Results: One hundred ten participants developed CD, and 244 participants developed UC during follow-up. The adjusted odds ratio for the highest versus the lowest quintiles of total carbohydrate intake for CD was 0.87, 95% CI = 0.24 to 3.12 and for UC 1.46, 95% CI = 0.62 to 3.46, with no significant trends across quintiles for either (CD, Ptrend = 0.70; UC, Ptrend = 0.41). Similarly, no associations were observed with intakes of total sugar (CD, Ptrend = 0.50; UC, Ptrend = 0.71) or starch (CD, Ptrend = 0.69; UC, Ptrend = 0.17). Conclusions: The lack of associations with these nutrients is in agreement with many case–control studies that have not identified associations with CD or UC. As there is biological plausibility for how specific carbohydrates could have an etiological role in inflammatory bowel disease, future epidemiological work should assess individual carbohydrates, although there does not seem to be a macronutrient effect

Estimate of overdiagnosis of breast cancer due to mammography after adjustment for lead time. A service screening study in Italy

INTRODUCTION: Excess of incidence rates is the expected consequence of service screening. The aim of this paper is to estimate the quota attributable to overdiagnosis in the breast cancer screening programmes in Northern and Central Italy. METHODS: All patients with breast cancer diagnosed between 50 and 74 years who were resident in screening areas in the six years before and five years after the start of the screening programme were included. We calculated a corrected-for-lead-time number of observed cases for each calendar year. The number of observed incident cases was reduced by the number of screen-detected cases in that year and incremented by the estimated number of screen-detected cases that would have arisen clinically in that year. RESULTS: In total we included 13,519 and 13,999 breast cancer cases diagnosed in the pre-screening and screening years, respectively. In total, the excess ratio of observed to predicted in situ and invasive cases was 36.2%. After correction for lead time the excess ratio was 4.6% (95% confidence interval 2 to 7%) and for invasive cases only it was 3.2% (95% confidence interval 1 to 6%). CONCLUSION: The remaining excess of cancers after individual correction for lead time was lower than 5%

Dietary Polyphenols in the Aetiology of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis—A Multicenter European Prospective Cohort Study (EPIC)

Background: Oxidative stress may be involved in the aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease and whether dietary polyphenols, which possess antioxidants properties, prevent its development is unknown. Methods: A total of 401,326 men and women aged 20 to 80 years from 8 countries were recruited between 1991 and 1998 and at baseline completed validated food frequency questionnaires. Dietary polyphenol intake was measured using Phenol-Explorer, a database with information on the content of 502 polyphenols. Incident cases of Crohn's diseases (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) were identified during the follow-up period of up to December 2010. A nested case–control study using conditional logistic regression estimated the odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals, for polyphenol intake (categories based on quartiles) and developing CD or UC. Results: In total, 110 CD (73% women) and 244 UC (57% women) cases were identified and matched to 440 and 976 controls, respectively. Total polyphenol intake was not associated with CD (P trend = 0.17) or UC (P trend = 0.16). For flavones and CD, there were reduced odds for all quartiles, which were statistically significant for the third (OR3rd versus 1st quartile = 0.33; 95% confidence interval, 0.15–0.69) and there was an inverse trend across quartiles (P = 0.03). Similarly, for resveratrol, there was an inverse association with CD (OR4th versus 1st quartile = 0.40; 95% confidence interval, 0.20–0.82) with an inverse trend across quartiles (P = 0.02). No significant associations between subtypes of polyphenols and UC were found. Effect modification by smoking in CD was documented with borderline statistical significance. Conclusions: The data supports a potential role of flavones and resveratrol in the risk of developing CD; future aetiological studies should investigate these dietary components and further examine the potential for residual confounding.Multiple funders including MRC and CRUK listed on paper

Prediagnostic Serum Vitamin D Levels and the Risk of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis in European Populations: A Nested Case-Control Study

Background: A low vitamin D status has been put forward as a potential risk factor for the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study investigated the association between prediagnostic circulating vitamin D concentrations and dietary intakes of vitamin D, and the risk of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: Among 359,728 participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, individuals who developed CD or UC after enrollment were identified. Each case was matched with2 controls by center, gender, age, date of recruitment, and follow-up time. At cohort entry, blood samples were collected and dietary vitamin D intakes were obtained from validated food frequency questionnaires. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Conditional logistic regression was performed to determine the odds of CD and UC. Results: Seventy-two participants developed CD and 169 participants developed UC after a median follow-up of 4.7 and 4.1 years, respectively. Compared with the lowest quartile, no associations with the 3 higher quartiles of vitamin D concentrations were observed for CD (p trend = 0.34) or UC (p trend = 0.66). Similarly, no associations were detected when serum vitamin D levels were analyzed as a continuous variable. Dietary vitamin D intakes were not associated with CD (p trend = 0.39) or UC (p trend = 0.83). Conclusions: Vitamin D status was not associated with the development of CD or UC. This does not suggest a major role for vitamin D deficiency in the etiology of IBD, although larger studies are needed to confirm these findings

Serologic markers of Chlamydia trachomatis and other sexually transmitted infections and subsequent ovarian cancer risk: Results from the EPIC cohort

A substantial proportion of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) arises in the fallopian tube and other epithelia of the upper genital tract; these epithelia may incur damage and neoplastic transformation after sexually transmitted infections (STI) and pelvic inflammatory disease. We investigated the hypothesis that past STI infection, particularly Chlamydia trachomatis, is associated with higher EOC risk in a nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort including 791 cases and 1669 matched controls. Serum antibodies against C. trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and human papillomavirus (HPV) 16, 18 and 45 were assessed using multiplex fluorescent bead-based serology. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) comparing women with positive vs. negative serology. A total of 40% of the study population was seropositive to at least one STI. Positive serology to C. trachomatis Pgp3 antibodies was not associated with EOC risk overall, but with higher risk of the mucinous histotype (RR = 2.30 [95% CI = 1.22-4.32]). Positive serology for chlamydia heat shock protein 60 (cHSP60-1) was associated with higher risk of EOC overall (1.36 [1.13-1.64]) and with the serous subtype (1.44 [1.12-1.85]). None of the other evaluated STIs were associated with EOC risk overall; however, HSV-2 was associated with higher risk of endometrioid EOC (2.35 [1.24-4.43]). The findings of our study suggest a potential role of C. trachomatis in the carcinogenesis of serous and mucinous EOC, while HSV-2 might promote the development of endometrioid disease

Circulating Fatty Acids and Prostate Cancer Risk: Individual Participant Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies

Background: Individual studies have suggested that some circulating fatty acids are associated with prostate cancer risk, but have not been large enough to provide precise estimates of associations, particularly by stage and grade of disease. Methods: Principal investigators of prospective studies on circulating fatty acids and prostate cancer were invited to collaborate. Investigators provided individual participant data on circulating fatty acids (weight percent) and other characteristics of prostate cancer cases and controls. Prostate cancer risk by study-specific fifths of 14 fatty acids was estimated using multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Five thousand and ninety-eight case patients and 6649 control patients from seven studies with an average follow-up of 5.1 (SD = 3.3) years were included. Stearic acid (18:0) was inversely associated with total prostate cancer (odds ratio [OR] Q5 vs Q1 = 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.78 to 1.00, P trend = .043). Prostate cancer risk was, respectively, 14% and 16% greater in the highest fifth of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.29, P trend = .001) and docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3) (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.33, P trend = .003), but in each case there was heterogeneity between studies (P = .022 and P < .001, respectively). There was heterogeneity in the association between docosapentaenoic acid and prostate cancer by grade of disease (P = .006); the association was statistically significant for low-grade disease but not high-grade disease. The remaining 11 fatty acids were not statistically associated with total prostate cancer risk. Conclusion: There was no strong evidence that circulating fatty acids are important predictors of prostate cancer risk. It is not clear whether the modest associations of stearic, eicosapentaenoic, and docosapentaenoic acid are causal

Human Papillomavirus Antibodies And Future Risk Of Anogenital Cancer: A Nested Case-control Study In The European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer And Nutrition Study

Purpose: Human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 (HPV16) causes cancer at several anatomic sites. In the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition study, HPV16 E6 seropositivity was present more than 10 years before oropharyngeal cancer diagnosis and was nearly absent in controls. The current study sought to evaluate the extent to which HPV16 E6 antibodies are present before diagnosis of anogenital cancers within the same cohort. Methods: Four hundred incident anogenital cancers (273 cervical, 24 anal, 67 vulvar, 12 vaginal, and 24 penile cancers) with prediagnostic blood samples (collected on average 3 and 8 years before diagnosis for cervix and noncervix cancers, respectively) and 718 matched controls were included. Plasma was analyzed for antibodies against HPV16 E6 and multiple other HPV proteins and genotypes and evaluated in relation to risk using unconditional logistic regression. Results: HPV16 E6 seropositivity was present in 29.2% of individuals (seven of 24 individuals) who later developed anal cancer compared with 0.6% of controls (four of 718 controls) who remained cancer free (odds ratio [OR], 75.9; 95% CI, 17.9 to 321). HPV16 E6 seropositivity was less common for cancers of the cervix (3.3%), vagina (8.3%), vulva (1.5%), and penis (8.3%). No associations were seen for non-type 16 HPV E6 antibodies, apart from anti-HPV58 E6 and anal cancer (OR, 6.8; 95% CI, 1.4 to 33.1). HPV16 E6 seropositivity tended to increase in blood samples drawn closer in time to cancer diagnosis. Conclusion: HPV16 E6 seropositivity is relatively common before diagnosis of anal cancer but rare for other HPV-related anogenital cancers

Associations between dietary inflammatory scores and biomarkers of inflammation in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort

Background: Since the first version of the dietary inflammatory index (DII & REG;) developed in the past decade, several other versions have been developed. However, to date no study has attempted to compare these versions with respect to their associations with biomarkers of inflammation. Objective: We aimed to investigate the relationship between four dietary inflammatory scores [DII, two energy-adjusted derivatives (E-DII and E-DIIr), and the Inflammatory Score of the Diet (ISD)], and circulating levels of several inflammatory markers and adipokines. Methods: This study included 17 637 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort with at least one marker of inflammation measured in blood. Associations between the four scores and C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)6, IL10, IL1RA, tumor necrosis factor-a (TNFa), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 (sTNFR1), sTNFR2, leptin, soluble leptin receptor (sLeptin R), adiponectin, and High Molecular Weight (HMW) adiponectin were evaluated using multivariable linear regressions adjusted for potential confounders. Results: Positive associations were observed between the four dietary inflammatory scores and levels of CRP, IL6, sTNFR1, sTNFR2 and leptin. However, only the DII and the ISD were positively associated with IL1RA levels and only the DII and the E-DIIr were positively associated with TNFa levels. The proportion of variance of each biomarker explained by the scores was lower than 2%, which was equivalent to the Conclusions: Our results suggest that the four dietary inflammatory scores were associated with some biomarkers of inflammation and could be used to assess the inflammatory potential of diet in European adults but are not sufficient to capture the inflammatory status of an individual. These findings can help to better understand the inflammatory potential of diet, but they need to be replicated in studies with repeated dietary measurements. Crown Copyright & COPY; 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-N