Intake of freshwater fish and associated fatty acids and risk of breast cancer

A Review of the Epidemiology of Breast Cancer in Asia: Focus on Risk Factors

Background and Aim:

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women. To date, regional differences in breast cancer risk factors have not been identified. The aim of our review was to gain a better understanding of the role of risk factors in women with breast cancer in Asia.

Methods:

We conducted a PubMed search on 15 March 2016, for journal articles published in English between 2011 and 2016, which reported data for human subjects in Asia with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Search terms included breast neoplasm, epidemiology, Asia, prevalence, incidence, risk and cost of illness. Studies of any design were included, except for review articles and meta-analyses, which were excluded to avoid duplication of data. No exclusions were made based on breast cancer treatment. We reported the results using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Results:

A total of 776 abstracts were retrieved. After screening against the eligibility criteria, 562 abstracts were excluded. The remaining 214 abstracts, which were published between 2013 and 2015, were included in this review. Results were summarized and reported under three categories: incidence, prevalence or outcomes for breast cancer in Asia; modifiable risk factors; and non-modifiable risk factors. We found that the increased risk of breast cancer among participants from Asia was associated with older age, family history of breast cancer, early menarche, late menopause, high body mass index, being obese or overweight, exposure to tobacco smoke, and high dietary intake of fats or fatty foods. In contrast, intake of dietary fruits, vegetables, and plant- and soy-based products was associated with a decreased breast cancer risk. While based on limited data, when compared to women from the United States, women from Asia had a decreased risk of breast cancer.

Conclusions:

This review of 214 abstracts of studies in Asia, published between 2013 and 2015, confirmed the relevance of known non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors for women with breast cancer.

SNHG1 Long Noncoding RNA is Potentially Up-Regulated in Colorectal Adenocarcinoma

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in CRC initiation and progression is remained to be unknown. It seems that lncRNAs, as the main and lengthy functional transcripts of the genome, have important roles in different cancers such as CRC. CRC-related lncRNAs are reported to be involved in diverse molecular processes such as metastasis, invasion, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. This study was aimed to analyse the expression level of lncRNA SNHG1 in colorectal adenocarcinoma and normal tissues. We performed an in silico analysis on a large cohort and confirmed the results by experimental analysis of clinical samples through real-time PCR. Our findings demonstrated that that SNHG1 is potentially overexpressed in tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. The expression level of SNHG1 was shown to be potentially associated with clinicopathological features of tumors. The current study suggests the potential role of SNHG1 in colon cancer progression.

Dietary Habits and Breast Cancer Risk: A Hospital-Based Case-Control Study in Chinese Women

PURPOSE

To investigate the relationship between dietary habits and breast cancer (BC) risk in Chinese women.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We performed a hospital-based matched case-control study that included 654 BC cases and 654 healthy controls matched by age and residence. A qualified structured questionnaire was used to collect detailed sociodemographic factors and information about dietary habits. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated with unconditional logistic regression analysis; the patients were grouped according to their estrogen receptor (ER) status and analyzed separately. The propensity score analysis was performed according to different postmenopause status.

RESULTS

ER-negative BC participants with intake of cured foods had increased BC risk (adjusted OR, 2.72, P = .017). Participants diagnosed as having ER-positive BC with intake of grilled foods had increased BC risk compared to those who did not consume such foods (adjusted OR, 2.14, P = .026). After propensity score analysis, fried (OR, 3.19, P = .001) and grilled (OR, 1.77, P = .031) food were considered to be risk factors for BC in premenopausal women; and fried (OR, 1.61, P = .006), grilled (OR, 4.62, P = .001), and smoked foods (OR, 2.28, P = .001) are considered risk factors for BC in postmenopausal women.

CONCLUSION

Chinese women who ate cured, grilled, and fried foods had higher BC risk. Consumption of smoked food might contribute to increased BC risk in Chinese women.

Protective Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Fish Consumption Against Breast Cancer in Asian Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Objective:

This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to determine the protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids in fish consumption against breast cancer in Asian patients.

Methods:

The authors conducted a meta-analysis of published research articles on protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids in fish consumption against breast cancer in Asian patients published between January 2000 and July 2018 in online database of PubMed, ProQuest and EBSCO. Pooled odds ratios (OR) were calculated by using fixed and random-effect models. Publication bias was visually evaluated by using funnel plots and statistically assessed in Egger’s and Begg’s tests. Data were processed by Review Manager 5.3 (RevMan 5.3) and Stata version 14.2 (Stata Corporation).

Results:

This study reviewed 913 articles. There were 11 studies which conducted systematic review then continued by meta-analysis of relevant data with total number of samples were 130,365 patients. The results showed there was protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids in fish consumption against breast cancer in Asian patients (OR = 0.80 [95% CI 0.73-0.87, p <0.00001]). There was not any study with significant publication bias included.

Conclusion:

This analysis confirmed the protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids in fish consumption against breast cancer in Asian patients.

Behavioral risk factors of breast cancer in Bangui of Central African Republic: A retrospective case-control study

Breast cancer is recognized as a major public health problem in developing countries; however, there is very little evidence of behavioral factors associated with breast cancer risk. This study was conducted to identify lifestyles as risk factors for breast cancer among Central African women. A case-control study was conducted with 174 cases confirmed histologically by the pathology unit of the National Laboratory and 348 age-matched controls. Data collection tools included a questionnaire with interviews and medical records of patients. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Odd ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were obtained by unconditional logistic regression. In total, 522 women were studied with a mean age of 45.8 (SD = 13.4) years. By unconditional logistic regression model, women with breast cancer were more likely to have attained illiterate and elementary education level [11.23 (95% CI, 4.65-27.14) and 2.40 (95% CI, 1.15-4.99)], married [2.09 (95% CI, 1.18-3.71)], positive family history [2.31 (95% CI, 1.36-3.91)], radiation exposure [8.21 (95% CI, 5.04-13.38)], consumption charcuterie [10.82 (95% CI, 2.39-48.90)], fresh fish consumption [4.26 (95% CI, 1.56-11.65)], groundnut consumption [6.46 (95% CI, 2.57-16.27)], soybean consumption [16.74 (95% CI, 8.03-39.84)], alcohol [2.53 (95% CI, 1.39-4.60)], habit of keeping money in bras[3.57 (95% CI, 2.24-5.69)], overweight [5.36 (95% CI, 4.46-24.57)] and obesity [3.11(95% CI, 2.39-20.42)]. However, decreased risk of breast cancer was associated with being employed [0.32 (95% CI, 0.19-0.56)], urban residence [0.16 (95% CI, 0.07-0.37)], groundnut oil consumption [0.05 (95% CI, 0.02-0.14)], wine consumption [0.16 (95% CI, 0.09-0.26)], non habit of keeping cell phone in bras [0.56 (95% CI, 0.35-0.89)] and physical activity [0.71(95% CI, 0.14-0.84)]. The study showed that little or no education, marriage, positive family history of cancer, radiation exposure, charcuterie, fresh fish, groundnut, soybean, alcohol, habit of keeping money in bras, overweight and obesity were associated with breast cancer risk among Central African women living in Bangui. Women living in Bangui should be more cautious on the behavioral risk associated with breast cancer.