Assessment of the Risk of Colorectal Cancer Survivors Developing a Second Primary Pancreatic Cancer

Post-diagnosis adiposity and colorectal cancer prognosis: A Global Cancer Update Programme (CUP Global) systematic literature review and meta-analysis

The adiposity influence on colorectal cancer prognosis remains poorly characterised. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on post-diagnosis adiposity measures (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, weight) or their changes and colorectal cancer outcomes. PubMed and Embase were searched through 28 February 2022. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted when at least three studies had sufficient information. The quality of evidence was interpreted and graded by the Global Cancer Update Programme (CUP Global) independent Expert Committee on Cancer Survivorship and Expert Panel. We reviewed 124 observational studies (85 publications). Meta-analyses were possible for BMI and all-cause mortality, colorectal cancer-specific mortality, and cancer recurrence/disease-free survival. Non-linear meta-analysis indicated a reverse J-shaped association between BMI and colorectal cancer outcomes (nadir at BMI 28 kg/m2). The highest risk, relative to the nadir, was observed at both ends of the BMI distribution (18 and 38 kg/m2), namely 60% and 23% higher risk for all-cause mortality; 95% and 26% for colorectal cancer-specific mortality; and 37% and 24% for cancer recurrence/disease-free survival, respectively. The higher risk with low BMI was attenuated in secondary analyses of RCTs (compared to cohort studies), among studies with longer follow-up, and in women suggesting potential methodological limitations and/or altered physiological state. Descriptively synthesised studies on other adiposity-outcome associations of interest were limited in number and methodological quality. All the associations were graded as limited (likelihood of causality: no conclusion) due to potential methodological limitations (reverse causation, confounding, selection bias). Additional well-designed observational studies and interventional trials are needed to provide further clarification.

Cancer Prevention for Survivors: Incidence of Second Primary Cancers and Sex Differences-A Population-Based Study from an Italian Cancer Registry

BACKGROUND

The number of cancer survivors continues to increase, thanks to advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunately, the incidence of a second primary cancer (SPC) is also increasing, but limited studies reporting incidence data are available regarding multiple cancers. This study presents our observations on multiple primary malignant cancers, the associations between sites, and the inherent sex differences.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We report the data, disaggregated by sex, concerning the SPCs that were recorded in the "Registro Tumori Integrato" (RTI) a population-based cancer registry in Sicily, Italy, as observed in the period from 2003 to 2017, in a total population of approximately 2,300,000. SPCs were divided into synchronous and metachronous cancers. The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third edition (ICD-O-3), was used for topographical and morphological classifications. Multiple primary cancers with multi-organ primitiveness were selected from the database of the RTI by extracting patients with more than one diagnosis. SPCs had different histology or morphology from the particular cancer that was considered to be the index cancer case. Multicenter or multifocal cancers, or metastases, were excluded. The percentages of cancer by sex and topography, the average age of incidence, and a breakdown by age were computed.

RESULTS

Differences were observed between sexes in terms of incidence and site for SPCs. The most frequent SPC was skin cancer (20% of the SPCs observed). The associations among sites of multiple cancers are reported.

CONCLUSION

There are many gaps in our knowledge of sex differences in cancer. The study of multiple primary cancers could bring more likely opportunities for evaluation of the cancer burden and trends that can be used to identify new research areas by population health programs, as well as for clinical researchers.

The incidence of second primary cancer in male and female patients with initial colorectal cancer: a SEER population-based study

BACKGROUND

Second primary cancer (SPC) after primary colorectal cancer (CRC), emerges as a novel challenge for cancer prevention with pronounced differences between female and male patients.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of 140 907 CRC survivors from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results program database. Competing risk models and nomograms were constructed to predict the risk of SPCs, which were assessed with the C-Index, calibration and decision curve analysis.

RESULTS

The 10-year cumulative incidence of SPC was higher in male than in female CRC survivors. The top five common SPCs in female CRC survivors were colorectal, breast, lung and bronchus, corpus and uterus and pancreatic cancers, while in male were prostate, colorectal, lung and bronchus, urinary cancer and melanoma of the skin. Breast and prostate were the most common sites for the development of SPCs after CRC. Older age, stage I and surgery were common risk factors for SPCs in both female and male. The nomogram for predicting the risk of developing SPC-breast cancer in female patients included age, race, site, histology grade, surgery, chemotherapy and stage. However, the model of predicting SPC-prostate cancer in male patients included age, race, site, size, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and stage. Notably, the nomograms were validated to have a precise discriminative ability, accuracy and clinical effectiveness.

CONCLUSIONS

The study surveyed the characteristics of CRC survivors with a particular focus on the incidence of SPC. The models could help supervise the development of a second breast or prostate cancer in female or male CRC survivors.

The risk of developing second primary malignancies among colorectal cancer patients

Background: The increasing number of young colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors has led to ongoing concerns about the risk of secondary primary malignancies (SPMs). Here, we intended to comprehensively explore the pooled standardized incidence rates (SIRs) for total and site-specific SPMs in CRC survivors with different restriction to lag period.

Methods: Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of science databases were searched to identify any studies reporting the SIRs of SPM following CRC until August 2021. Total and site-specific SIRs with different restriction to lag period were pooled using fixed/random effect models.

Results: A total of 42 full-text publications with more than 1, 524, 236 CRC survivors and 166, 210 SPM patients were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled data showed an increased SIRs for all SPMs in CRC survivors with different restriction to lag period (no restriction to lag period, SIR = 1.15, 95% CI = [1.08–1.23]; 1-year lag, 1.16 [1.10–1.23]; 5-year lag, 1.18 [1.09–1.28]; 10-year lag, 1.24 [1.11–1.39]). The conclusions were consistent for neoplasms of colorectum, corpus uteri, and small intestine with different restriction to lag period. However, limited evidence was presented for associations between CRC survivors and SPM for prostate, breast (female), ovarian, stomach, urinary bladder, kidney, thyroid, bone and soft tissue.

Conclusion: CRC survivors are associated with an increased risk of SPMs, especially neoplasms of colorectum, corpus uteri, and small intestine. Further studies should explore the risks for these neoplasms in CRC survivors, thus providing the reference for future follow-up care.

Risk of Second Primary Malignancies in Colon Cancer Patients Treated With Colectomy

Background: Second primary malignancy (SPM) attracts a growing attention. However, the clinical features of colon cancer (CC) survivors with SPMs are not clear and could help guide clinicians to develop a better surveillance strategy.

Methods: We reviewed 56,930 CC survivors treated with colectomy from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database during 1998–2011. Competing risk models and nomograms were conducted for predicting the risk of occurring SPMs. The clinical utility of the models was measured by decision curve analysis (DCA) using net benefit approaches.

Results: Five thousand thirteen (17.1%) of male patients developed SPMs and sites of SPMs included prostate (32.2%), lung and bronchus (11.6%), urinary bladder and kidney (10.8%), colon (10.0%), and melanoma of the skin (3.9%), while 3,592 (13.0%) of female patients occurred SPMs and sites of SPMs involved breast (25.8%), lung and bronchus (13.6%), colon (11.6%), uterus (8.2%), urinary bladder, and kidney (5.6%). Survivors with a second carcinoma of lung and bronchus showed the worst prognosis. Older age increased the risk of SPMs in both male (Subdistribution hazard ratio =2.85 [95% confidence interval = 2.53–3.21]) and female (1.80 [1.59–2.04]) survivors, especially for the risk of a second prostate carcinoma in male (5.33 [4.03–7.03]). Compared with white race, black male survivors remained at higher risk to develop the second prostate carcinoma (1.98 [1.74–2.26]). Competing-risk nomograms for CC survivors were established to help clinicians predict the probabilities of overall SPMs and prostate carcinoma. Validation of nomograms showed good discrimination and accuracy, and DCAs revealed the clinical effectiveness.

Conclusions: We profiled the clinical characteristics of a large population-based cohort of CC survivors with SPMs. These features may improve future follow-up management, especially for the surveillance of second prostate cancer in men and second breast cancer in women.

Analysis of the methylation of CpG islands in the CDO1, TAC1 and CHFR genes in pancreatic ductal cancer

No difference in the gene methylation status of tumor-suppression genes between pancreatic cancer tissues and adjacent non-cancer tissues is observed. The present study investigated whether the promoter CpG islands of the cysteine dioxygenase 1 (CDO1), tachykinin precursor 1 (TAC1) and checkpoint with forkhead and ring finger domains (CHFR) genes were methylated in pancreatic cancer and adjacent non-cancerous pancreatic tissue in order to determine if they could be considered as markers for the detection of pancreatic cancer. A total of 38 Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues and their adjacent non-cancerous specimens from patients with pancreatic cancer, as well as 9 non-cancerous pancreatic samples from patients without pancreatic adenocarcinoma were obtained following surgical resection. The hypermethylation of CpG islands was detected using a methylation-specific quantitative PCR. The methylation values were calculated using the ∆Cq method and were expressed as 2^−ΔCq. The 2^−ΔCq value of the CDO1 promoter from pancreatic adenocarcinoma specimens was significantly higher compared with that of adjacent non-cancerous and tumor-free pancreatic tissues (P<0.0001 and P=0.0008, respectively). The 2^−ΔCq value of the TAC1 promoter of pancreatic adenocarcinoma was also significantly higher compared with that of adjacent non-cancerous tissues and tumor-free pancreatic samples (both P<0.0001). However, there was no significant difference in the 2^−ΔCq value of the CHFR promoter among the pancreatic cancer, adjacent non-cancer tissue and tumor-free pancreatic samples. Furthermore, 12 out of the 38 pancreatic adenocarcinoma cases (31.6%) presented some methylation in the CHFR promoter. The results from Kaplan-Meier analysis between CHFR promoter methylation values and the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma demonstrated that CHFR promoter methylation was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis. The methylation values of CDO1 and TAC1 promoters in cancer tissues were higher compared with adjacent tissues. However, whether hypermethylation of CDO1 and TAC1 promoters may serve as a biomarker in the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains unclear.

Machine Learning in Prediction of Second Primary Cancer and Recurrence in Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Recurrence of CRC (Re) and onset of a second primary malignancy (SPM) are important indicators in treating CRC, but it is often difficult to predict the onset of a SPM. Therefore, we used mechanical learning to identify risk factors that affect Re and SPM.

PATIENT AND METHODS

CRC patients with cancer registry database at three medical centers were identified. All patients were classified based on Re or no recurrence (NRe) as well as SPM or no SPM (NSPM). Two classifiers, namely A Library for Support Vector Machines (LIBSVM) and Reduced Error Pruning Tree (REPTree), were applied to analyze the relationship between clinical features and Re and/or SPM category by constructing optimized models.

RESULTS

When Re and SPM were evaluated separately, the accuracy of LIBSVM was 0.878 and that of REPTree was 0.622. When Re and SPM were evaluated in combination, the precision of models for SPM+Re, NSPM+Re, SPM+NRe, and NSPM+NRe was 0.878, 0.662, 0.774, and 0.778, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Machine learning can be used to rank factors affecting tumor Re and SPM. In clinical practice, routine checkups are necessary to ensure early detection of new tumors. The success of prediction and early detection may be enhanced in the future by applying "big data" analysis methods such as machine learning.

[Second Primary Cancer after Treating Gastrointestinal Cancer]

Advances in diagnosis and therapeutic technologies have brought increased life expectancy for most cancers, but paradoxically it also has increased the risk of second primary malignancies. Cancer survivors have a higher risk of developing cancer than the general population. This suggests that more studies are needed to develop screen and management programs for cancer survivors, especially patients with gastrointestinal cancers, which are the most common cancers in Korea.