Environmental exposures and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The global epidemiology of HCC is shifting due to changes in both established and emerging risk factors. This transformation is marked by an emerging prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and type 2 diabetes, alongside traditional risks such as viral hepatitis (HBV and HCV), and exposure to chemical agents like aflatoxin, alcohol, tobacco, and air pollution. This review examines how environmental exposures and evolving liver pathology, exacerbated by lifestyle and metabolic conditions, are contributing to the rising worldwide incidence of HCC.

Racial/ethnic differences in trends of testicular germ cell tumor incidence in the United States, 1992-2021.

Background: Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) are the most common cancers among young men in the United States. Incidence rates among non-Hispanic White (NHW) men historically have been much higher than the rates among other men. To study whether this pattern had changed, the authors examined trends in TGCT incidence for the years 1992-2021.

Maize consumption and circulating aflatoxin levels in Mexican middle- and older-aged adults: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Maize is frequently contaminated by aflatoxin B (AFB), an established liver carcinogen.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to estimate the effect of maize and maize tortilla consumption on AFB-lysine adduct (AFB-lys) concentrations in middle- and older-aged adults living in south and eastern Mexico.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis in a representative sample of 915 adults aged ≥40 y living in south and eastern Mexico in 2018-2019.

Total testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, and free testosterone concentrations and risk of primary liver cancer: A prospective analysis of 200,000 men and 180,000 postmenopausal women.

In most countries, males have ~2-3 times higher incidence of primary liver cancer than females. Sex hormones have been hypothesized to contribute to these differences, but the evidence remains unclear. Using data from the UK Biobank, which included ~200,000 males and ~180,000 postmenopausal females who provided blood samples at recruitment, we estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for a doubling in hormone concentration from multivariable adjusted Cox regression for circulating total testosterone, sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and free testosterone concentrations and risk of primary liver cancer.

Liver Cancer: Progress and Priorities.

Liver cancer, the sixth most frequently occurring cancer in the world and the third most common cause of cancer mortality, has wide geographical variation in both incidence and mortality rates. At the end of the 20th century, incidence rates began declining in some high-rate areas and increasing in some lower-rate areas. These trends were undoubtedly driven by the shifting contributions of both well-established and more novel risk factors.

Use of cholesterol-lowering medications in relation to risk of primary liver cancer in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

Background: Although the relation between statin use and liver cancer risk has been extensively examined, few studies have examined other cholesterol-lowering medications in relation to liver cancer risk. The authors examined five classes of nonstatin medications and liver cancer risk.

Methods: A nested case-control including 3719 cases and 14,876 matched controls was conducted within the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

Testis-specific serine kinase 6 (TSSK6) is abnormally expressed in colorectal cancer and promotes oncogenic behaviors.

Cancer testis antigens (CTAs) are a collection of proteins whose expression is normally restricted to the gamete but abnormally activated in a wide variety of tumors. The CTA, Testis-specific serine kinase 6 (TSSK6), is essential for male fertility in mice. The functional relevance of TSSK6 to cancer, if any, has not previously been investigated.

Long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and risk of liver cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

Background: Fine particulate matter (PM) exposure has been associated with liver cancer incidence and mortality in a limited number of studies. We sought to evaluate this relationship for the first time in a U.S.

Incidence rates of bladder and kidney cancers among US military servicemen: comparison with the rates in the general US population.

Objective: The military population may differ from the general population in factors related to bladder and kidney cancers. However, incidence rates of these cancers have not been systematically compared between the two populations. This study compared incidence rates of bladder and kidney cancers between active-duty servicemen and men in the general US population.

Fiber and whole grain intakes in relation to liver cancer risk: An analysis in 2 prospective cohorts and systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.

Background And Aims: The association between fiber or whole grain intakes and the risk of liver cancer remains unclear. We assessed the associations between fiber or whole grain intakes and liver cancer risk among 2 prospective studies, and systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed these results with published prospective studies.

Approach And Results: A total of 111,396 participants from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) and 26,085 men from the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study were included.

Associations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the United States adult population, 2003-2018.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disorder worldwide and a leading cause of liver-related mortality. Prior studies have linked per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure to liver dysfunction and alterations in metabolic pathways, but the extent of a PFAS-NAFLD relationship is unclear. Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine whether there were associations between PFAS exposures and NAFLD in the US adult population over a 16-year period.

Helicobacter hepaticus and Helicobacter bilis in liver and biliary cancers from ATBC and PLCO.

Background: Helicobacter species (spp.) have been detected in human bile and hepatobiliary tissue Helicobacter spp. promote gallstone formation and hepatobiliary tumors in laboratory studies, though it remains unclear whether Helicobacter spp.

The Cancer Testis Antigen Testis Specific Serine Kinase 6 (TSSK6) is abnormally expressed in colorectal cancer and promotes oncogenic behaviors.

Cancer testis antigens (CTAs) are a collection of proteins whose expression is normally restricted to the gamete, but abnormally activated in a wide variety of tumors. The CTA, Testis specific serine kinase 6 (TSSK6), is essential for male fertility in mice. Functional relevance of TSSK6 to cancer, if any, has not previously been investigated.

Prediagnostic serum concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and risk of papillary thyroid cancer in the Finnish Maternity Cohort.

Human exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) occurs globally through contaminated food, dust, and drinking water. Studies of PFAS and thyroid cancer have been limited. We conducted a nested case-control study of prediagnostic serum levels of 19 PFAS and papillary thyroid cancer (400 cases, 400 controls) in the Finnish Maternity Cohort (pregnancies 1986-2010; follow-up through 2016), individually matched on sample year and age.

Testicular cancer mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean: trend analysis from 1997 to 2019.

Background: In the last decades, an increasing incidence of testicular cancer has been observed in several countries worldwide. Although mortality rates have been variable in many countries, little information is available from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Therefore, we examined mortality trends of testicular cancer in the last two decades.

The cancer testes antigen, HORMAD1, limits genomic instability in cancer cells by protecting stalled replication forks.

Tumors anomalously induce the expression of meiotic genes, which are otherwise restricted only to developing gametes. If and how these aberrantly expressed meiotic proteins influence DNA metabolism is not clear, but could have important implications for how tumors acquire and mitigate genomic instability. HORMAD1 is a highly conserved meiotic protein that is frequently expressed in lung adenocarincoma where its expression correlates with reduced patient survival and increased mutation burden.

Trends in hepatocellular carcinoma stage by racial/ethnic group in the United States, 1992-2019.

Background & Aims: Although incidence rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) began to decline in the United States in the past decade, disparities in rates among racial/ethnic groups have persisted. Whether disparities in stage at diagnosis have remained over time, however, is unclear.

Methods: National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program has created a new staging-over-time variable that facilitates the examination of trends in HCC stage.

Cancer incidence in the US military: An updated analysis.

Background: Military and general populations differ in factors related to cancer occurrence and diagnosis. This study compared incidence of colorectal, lung, prostate, testicular, breast, and cervical cancers between the US military and general US populations.

Methods: Data from the US Department of Defense's Automated Central Tumor Registry (ACTUR) and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program were analyzed.

Daytime napping, nighttime sleeping duration, and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver disease-related mortality.

Background & Aims: Sleep duration has been linked to metabolic dysfunction and chronic inflammation, which may contribute to the development of liver cancer and chronic liver disease (CLD). However, little is known about the relationship between sleep or napping duration and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk and CLD mortality.

Methods: We followed 295,837 individuals in the National Institutes of Health-American Association of Retired Persons (NIH-AARP) Diet and Health Study.

Incidence of Etiology-specific Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Diverging Trends and Significant Heterogeneity by Race and Ethnicity.

Background & Aims: The main causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) include chronic hepatitis C and B viral infections (HCV, HBV), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and alcohol-related disease (ALD). Etiology-specific HCC incidence rates and temporal trends on a population-basis are needed to improve HCC control and prevention.

Methods: All 14,420 HCC cases from the Florida statewide cancer registry were individually linked to data from the hospital discharge agency and the viral hepatitis department to determine the predominant etiology of each case diagnosed during 2010 to 2018.

Aflatoxin exposure in adults in southern and eastern Mexico in 2018: A descriptive study.

Objective: To estimate the frequency of detection and levels of aflatoxin B-lysine adduct (AFB-lys), an important hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk factor, in eastern and southern Mexico.

Materials And Methods: We determined serum AFB-lys using mass spectrometry in a representative sample of 952 adults (weighted n = 7,493,354) from five states (Campeche, Chiapas, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Yucatán) in 2018. We calculated overall and subgroup-specific frequency of detection and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) and median AFB-lys levels and quartiles.