Publications by authors named "Koon-Ho Tsang"

Article Synopsis
  • Normal tissues adjacent to breast tumors (NATs) may contain early signs of breast cancer development due to a phenomenon called field cancerization.
  • A study using advanced genomic techniques on samples from 43 breast cancer patients in Hong Kong revealed that NATs often had single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in driver genes also found in tumor samples, but rarely had large-scale genomic changes.
  • The researchers identified different evolutionary patterns among NAT and tumor pairs, indicating distinct genomic characteristics and the influence of the tumor microenvironment on cancer development.
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Background: Few studies have examined epigenetic age acceleration (AA), the difference between DNA methylation (DNAm) predicted age and chronological age, in relation to somatic genomic features in paired cancer and normal tissue, with less work done in non-European populations. In this study, we aimed to examine DNAm age and its associations with breast cancer risk factors, subtypes, somatic genomic profiles including mutation and copy number alterations and other aging markers in breast tissue of Chinese breast cancer (BC) patients from Hong Kong.

Methods: We performed genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of 196 tumor and 188 paired adjacent normal tissue collected from Chinese BC patients in Hong Kong (HKBC) using Illumina MethylationEPIC array.

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Unlabelled: Preserved food such as cured foods may contain nitrate and nitrite that may contribute to the breast cancer development. Evidence on the associations between these preserved food intakes and risk of breast cancer is sparse. This study aimed to examine the associations between preserved foods (i.

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Age-related DNA methylation is a potential mechanism contributing to breast cancer development. Studies of primarily Caucasian women have identified many CpG sites of age-related methylation in non-diseased breast tissue possibly driving cancer development over time. There is a paucity of studies involving Asian women whose ages at breast cancer onset are usually younger than Caucasians.

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Previous studies reported heterogeneous associations between obesity and reproductive-related breast cancer risk factors and breast cancer intrinsic subtypes; however, few studies have been conducted in Asian populations. Here, we aimed to examine whether risks associated with established breast cancer risk factors varied by breast cancer subtypes in Chinese women. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study in Hong Kong, including a total of 2169 Chinese women.

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Background: Heterogeneity of immune gene expression patterns of luminal breast cancer (BC), which is clinically heterogeneous and overall considered as low immunogenic, has not been well studied especially in non-European populations. Here, we aimed at characterizing the immune gene expression profile of luminal BC in an Asian population and associating it with patient characteristics and tumor genomic features.

Methods: We performed immune gene expression profiling of tumor and adjacent normal tissue in 92 luminal BC patients from Hong Kong using RNA-sequencing data and used unsupervised consensus clustering to stratify tumors.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study explored the link between coffee consumption and breast cancer risk among Hong Kong Chinese women, using data from 2,169 participants aged 24-84.
  • - Results indicated no overall association between coffee drinking and breast cancer risk; however, instant coffee drinkers had a higher risk (AOR = 1.50) while brewed coffee drinkers had a lower risk (AOR = 0.48).
  • - The findings suggest conflicting risks based on coffee type and highlight the need for larger studies to better understand the relationship between different coffee products and breast cancer.
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Article Synopsis
  • Breast cancer is a significant health issue in Shanghai and Hong Kong, contributing to 20-25% of new female cancer cases, with a notable increasing trend in incidence rates from 1976 to 2009.
  • In Shanghai, the average annual percentage change (AAPC) in breast cancer incidence was 2.83, particularly high for women aged 50 and above, suggesting strong birth cohort effects, especially in post-menopausal women.
  • The study concludes that breast cancer incidence is rising faster in Shanghai than in Hong Kong, potentially linked to decreased birth rates and environmental factors, necessitating further research on these contributing elements.
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Background: A novel line of research suggests that eating at nighttime may have several metabolic consequences that are highly relevant to breast cancer. We investigated the association between nighttime eating habits after 10 p.m.

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No risk assessment tool is available for identifying high risk population of breast cancer (BCa) in Hong Kong. A case-control study including 918 BCa cases and 923 controls was used to develop the risk assessment model among Hong Kong Chinese women.Each participant received an in-depth interview to obtain their lifestyle and environmental risk factors.

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