Publications by authors named "Hopper Jl"
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) users are at increased breast cancer (BC) risk and decreased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk compared with never users, but these opposing associations might differ by familial risk of BC and CRC. We harmonized data from three cohorts and generated separate BC and CRC familial risk scores (FRS) based on cancer family history. We defined moderate/strong family history as FRS ≥ 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArtificial intelligence (AI) is enabling us to delve deeply into the information inherent in a mammogram and identify novel features associated with high risk of a future breast cancer diagnosis. Here, we discuss how AI is improving mammographic density-associated risk prediction and shaping the future of screening and risk-reducing strategies.
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- The study investigates the impact of wildfire-related particulate matter (PM) on epigenetic aging, revealing a link between exposure levels and increased biological aging.
- For every 1 µg/m increase in annual wildfire PM, there was an acceleration of 0.25 years in GrimAge1 and 0.36 years in GrimAge2, indicating faster aging impacts.
- Older adults, individuals with smoking or alcohol backgrounds, and those in rural areas are particularly affected, highlighting the health risks associated with wildfire smoke exposure.
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- Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic variants may experience surgical menopause after RRSO, with previous studies showing increased depressive and anxiety symptoms at 6 and 12 months post-surgery.
- A controlled study tracking 59 women undergoing RRSO and 91 comparison women found that, at 24 months, depressive and anxiety symptoms were not significantly elevated and did not differ between the two groups. However, symptoms at 12 months strongly predicted outcomes at 24 months.
- The study concluded that while symptoms don't seem to escalate after 24 months, persistent symptoms observed at 12 months can indicate ongoing issues, with no significant impact from Menopausal Hormone Therapy on mental health.
Physical activity during adolescence and early adulthood and breast cancer risk before age 40 years.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between recreational physical activity (RPA) in adolescence and early adulthood and breast cancer (BC) risk in women under 40 years old, using data from a large international family cohort.
- Results indicate that higher levels of RPA are linked to reduced BC risk, with a 12% lower risk during adolescence and a 16% lower risk during early adulthood for women in the highest activity quartiles.
- The findings suggest that encouraging more physical activity in young women could be a crucial strategy for lowering the increasing incidence of breast cancer in this age group.
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- Further research on identified regions could enhance our understanding of genetic risks for glioma.
- The study indicates that sex might influence genetic susceptibility to glioma.
- It emphasizes the need for future glioma studies to consider sex-specific factors in their analyses.*
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- The study investigates the relationship between hormonal contraceptive use and breast cancer risk in both unaffected women and mutation carriers.
- Out of the participants, it was found that hormonal contraceptive use was linked to a higher breast cancer risk in mutation carriers, particularly with longer duration of use.
- The findings suggest that decisions regarding hormonal contraceptive use for women with genetic mutations should consider individual risk factors and benefits.
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- Elevated mammographic density (MD) is a significant risk factor for breast cancer, and this study investigates how factors like childbirth, age at first birth, and breastfeeding relate to MD in a large group of women across different countries.
- The research analyzed data from 11,755 women aged 35-85 years, focusing on how factors such as the number of births and the timing of the first birth influence measurements of MD.
- The findings suggest that having more children decreases MD, while older age at first birth is linked to higher MD, particularly in post-menopausal women, highlighting the complex relationships between reproductive factors and breast density.
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- AI readers show comparable effectiveness to individual radiologists in detecting breast cancer from mammograms, but fall short when matched against multi-reader systems used in screening programs in countries like Australia, Sweden, and the UK.
- A study utilizing a high-quality dataset from Victoria, Australia, simulates five AI-integrated screening pathways, finding that AI functioning as a second reader or high-confidence filter can enhance screening outcomes, improving sensitivity and specificity by a small margin.
- While automation bias negatively impacts performance in multi-reader situations, it can benefit single-reader cases; this research suggests promising strategies for integrating AI in mammography screening and highlights the need for further studies before clinical use.
Importance: Few studies have investigated whether the associations between pregnancy-related factors and breast cancer (BC) risk differ by underlying BC susceptibility. Evidence regarding variation in BC risk is critical to understanding BC causes and for developing effective risk-based screening guidelines.
Objective: To examine the association between pregnancy-related factors and BC risk, including modification by a of BC where scores are based on age and BC family history.
Article Synopsis
- Colorectal cancers (CRCs) linked to biallelic germline variants show specific mutational signatures (SBS18+SBS36 and SBS30) that could also be present in adenomas, which are precursors to CRCs.
- A study sequenced DNA from adenomas and CRCs in biallelic cases and compared them with sporadic cases to investigate these signatures.
- Results indicated that adenomas in biallelic cases had similar mutational signature proportions as their corresponding CRCs, suggesting testing adenomas could enhance the detection of biallelic cases and improve variant classification for better CRC prevention strategies.
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- Scientists looked at the timing of when girls start their periods (called menarche) and how it can affect their health later in life.
- They studied about 800,000 women and found over a thousand genetic signals that influence when menstruation starts.
- Some women have a much higher chance of starting their periods too early or too late based on their genetic makeup, suggesting that genes play a big role in this process!
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- The article discusses how TP53 mutations can influence breast cancer risk in women.
- It emphasizes the importance of family history in determining the level of risk associated with these mutations.
- The findings suggest that not all women with TP53 mutations have the same likelihood of developing breast cancer, highlighting the role of genetics and personal background.
Mammographic Texture versus Conventional Cumulus Measure of Density in Breast Cancer Risk Prediction: A Literature Review.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
August 2024
Mammographic textures show promise as breast cancer risk predictors, distinct from mammographic density. Yet, there is a lack of comprehensive evidence to determine the relative strengths as risk predictor of textures and density and the reliability of texture-based measures. We searched the PubMed database for research published up to November 2023, which assessed breast cancer risk associations [odds ratios (OR)] with texture-based measures and percent mammographic density (PMD), and their discrimination [area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC)], using same datasets.
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- Consumption of fiber, fruits, and vegetables may lower the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), but genetic factors might influence this connection.
- A large study involving nearly 70,000 participants identified two significant genetic variants linked to dietary intake and CRC risk using advanced statistical methods.
- The findings suggest specific genetic loci (SLC26A3 and NEGR1) may affect how fiber and fruit consumption interacts with CRC risk, highlighting the need for more research on the underlying mechanisms.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 200 common genetic variants independently associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, but the causal variants and target genes are mostly unknown. We sought to fine-map all known CRC risk loci using GWAS data from 100,204 cases and 154,587 controls of East Asian and European ancestry. Our stepwise conditional analyses revealed 238 independent association signals of CRC risk, each with a set of credible causal variants (CCVs), of which 28 signals had a single CCV.
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- Researchers analyzed data from 24,405 patients and found that the prevalence of lifetime depression varied significantly, being 45.7% in those with widespread pain and 30.2% in those with regional pain.
- Two clinical prediction models were developed to estimate the likelihood of depression based on factors like age, gender, BMI, and smoking status, which clinicians can easily gather during routine checkups to better tailor treatment.
Women with high mammographic density have an increased risk of breast cancer. They may be offered contrast-enhanced mammography to improve breast cancer screening performance. Using a cohort of women receiving contrast-enhanced mammography, we evaluated whether conventional and modified mammographic density measures were associated with breast cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFYoung breast and bowel cancers (e.g., those diagnosed before age 40 or 50 years) have far greater morbidity and mortality in terms of years of life lost, and are increasing in incidence, but have been less studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nineteen genomic regions have been associated with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). We used data from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC), Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of (CIMBA), UK Biobank (UKBB), and FinnGen to identify novel HGSOC susceptibility loci and develop polygenic scores (PGS).
Methods: We analyzed >22 million variants for 398,238 women.
Article Synopsis
- A polygenic risk score (PRS) evaluates the impact of multiple genetic variants on disease risk but may reflect familial confounding rather than direct causation.
- New methods, ICE FALCON and ICE CRISTAL, analyze family data to determine the causal relationship of PRSs with breast cancer, showing differing results based on the age of diagnosis.
- Findings indicate no causal link for younger patients (<50 years), while older patients exhibit evidence of causation, suggesting that genetic variants may not directly cause breast cancer but can be related to other familial or nongenetic factors.
The 313-variant polygenic risk score (PRS) provides a promising tool for breast cancer risk prediction. However, evaluation of the PRS across different European populations which could influence risk estimation has not been performed. Here, we explored the distribution of PRS across European populations using genotype data from 94,072 females without breast cancer, of European-ancestry from 21 countries participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) and 225,105 female participants from the UK Biobank.
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- The study investigates how familial factors might affect the link between mental disorders and perceived discrimination, particularly focusing on sex differences.
- Analyzing data from 2044 twin pairs, it was found that while mental disorders and discrimination are related, much of this link is actually due to shared family influences rather than individual differences.
- The results indicate that familial confounding is more significant in males compared to females, highlighting the need to consider family background in mental health research relating to discrimination.
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- The study investigates how familial factors impact the relationship between obesity and internalising disorders (like depression and anxiety) in adolescents and young adults, highlighting its unclear connection in youth compared to adults.
- Using a matched co-twin design with 4,018 twins aged 16 to 27, the researchers found that high internalising symptoms significantly increased the odds of obesity, particularly in females, but not in males.
- The results suggest that familial factors confound the association between internalising symptoms and obesity in females, but this association is not present in males, indicating a need for sex-specific prevention and treatment strategies.