The age-dependent association of risk factors with pancreatic cancer

The age-dependent association of risk factors with pancreatic cancer ANNALS OF ONCOLOGY Yuan, C., Kim, J., Wang, Q. L., Lee, A. A., Babic, A., Amundadottir, L. T., Klein, A. P., Li, D., McCullough, M. L., Petersen, G. M., Risch, H. A., Stolzenberg-Solomon, R. Z., Perez, K., Ng, K., Giovannucci, E. L., Stampfer, M. J., Kraft, P., Wolpin, B. M., Panscan Panc4 I-III Consortium 2022; 33 (7): 693-701

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer presents as advanced disease in >80% of patients; yet, appropriate ages to consider prevention and early detection strategies are poorly defined. We investigated age-specific associations and attributable risks of pancreatic cancer for established modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors.We included 167 483 participants from two prospective US cohort studies with 1190 incident cases of pancreatic cancer during >30 years of follow-up; 5107 pancreatic cancer cases and 8845 control participants of European ancestry from a completed multicenter genome-wide association study (GWAS); and 248 893 pancreatic cancer cases documented in the US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. Across different age categories, we investigated cigarette smoking, obesity, diabetes, height, and non-O blood group in the prospective cohorts; weighted polygenic risk score of 22 previously identified single nucleotide polymorphisms in the GWAS; and male sex and black race in the SEER Program.In the prospective cohorts, all five risk factors were more strongly associated with pancreatic cancer risk among younger participants, with associations attenuated among those aged >70 years. The hazard ratios comparing participants with three to five risk factors with those with no risk factors were 9.24 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.11-20.77] among those aged =60 years, 3.00 (95% CI 1.85-4.86) among those aged 61-70 years, and 1.46 (95% CI 1.10-1.94) among those aged >70 years (Pheterogeneity = 3×10-5). These factors together were related to 65.6%, 49.7%, and 17.2% of incident pancreatic cancers in these age groups, respectively. In the GWAS and the SEER Program, the associations with the polygenic risk score, male sex, and black race were all stronger among younger individuals (Pheterogeneity =0.01).Established risk factors are more strongly associated with earlier-onset pancreatic cancer, emphasizing the importance of age at initiation for cancer prevention and control programs targeting this highly lethal malignancy.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.annonc.2022.03.276

View details for Web of Science ID 000814934800005

View details for PubMedID 35398288

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9233063