Study
PLCO
(Learn more about this study)
Project ID
2007-0043
Initial CDAS Request Approval
Oct 15, 2007
Title
Obesity and risk of pancreatic cancer in a pooled study of NCI-DCEG cohorts
Summary
Background: Pancreatic cancer ranks fourth for cancer mortality in both men and women in the United States in 2007 and it remains a highly fatal malignancy. Age and cigarette smoking are the only firmly established risk factors for pancreatic cancer. Obesity has been suggested as an additional modifiable risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Obesity is associated with abnormal insulin production and development of diabetes, both of which have been implicated in the etiology of pancreatic cancer. The positive association between obesity, as measured by body mass index (BMI), and risk for pancreatic cancer is observed in many studies. However, most studies were small in size and few had pre-diagnostic exposure data or examined how such association is modified by other risk factors of pancreatic cancer. Well-designed and well-conducted studies are needed to further elucidate the etiology of pancreatic cancer. In this proposed project, we hypothesize that BMI has a positive relationship with risk of pancreatic cancer and their relationship is modified by other factors such as age, race, sex, smoking status, alcohol use, family history of cancer and history of diabetes. Method: We aim to pool data from 7 prospective studies conducted within NCI-Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), totaling over 2320 pancreatic cancer cases. In the PLCO trial, pancreatic cancer cases from both intervention and control arms who completed the self-administered baseline questionnaire for general risk factors will be included in the study. We project that there will be 350 pancreatic cancer cases by September 30, 2005. Cox proportional hazard models will be used to estimate the relative risk and its 95% confidence interval. Significance: The pooled study with larger sample size will allow us not only examine the main effect of BMI on risk of pancreatic cancer in a dose-response manner, but also detect interaction between BMI and other risk factors in modifying risk of pancreatic cancer. This study may provide new insight into pancreatic carcinogenesis.
Aims
Our primary aim is: 1. To investigate the association between BMI and risk of pancreatic cancer. We hypothesize that people have higher BMI, i.e., obese people, have a greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared to those with normal BMI. The relationship between BMI and pancreatic cancer risk will be examined within each cohort first and the pooled analysis will be performed later with an appropriate effect model. Our secondary aim is: 2. To investigate whether the association between BMI and risk for pancreatic cancer is modified by age, race, sex, smoking status, alcohol use, family history of cancer and history of diabetes.
Collaborators
Patricia Hartge (DCEG)
Richard Hayes (DCEG-OEEB)
Wen-Yi Huang (DCEG-Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch (OEEB))
Rachel Stozenberg-Solomon (DCEG-NEB)
