title: Chromosomal aberration frequency in lymphocytes predicts the risk of cancer: results from a pooled cohort study of 22 358 subjects in 11 countries.
abstract: Mechanistic evidence linking chromosomal aberration (CA) to early stages of cancer has been recently supported by the results of epidemiological studies that associated CA frequency in peripheral lymphocytes of healthy individuals to future cancer incidence. To overcome the limitations of single studies and to evaluate the strength of this association, a pooled analysis was carried out. The pooled database included 11 national cohorts and a total of 22 358 cancer-free individuals who underwent genetic screening with CA for biomonitoring purposes during 1965-2002 and were followed up for cancer incidence and/or mortality for an average of 10.1 years; 368 cancer deaths and 675 incident cancer cases were observed. Subjects were classified within each laboratory according to tertiles of CA frequency. The relative risk (RR) of cancer was increased for subjects in the medium [RR = 1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-1.60] and in the high (RR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.16-1.72) tertiles when compared with the low tertile. This increase was mostly driven by chromosome-type aberrations. The presence of ring chromosomes increased the RR to 2.22 (95% CI = 1.34-3.68). The strongest association was found for stomach cancer [RR(medium) = 1.17 (95% CI = 0.37-3.70), RR(high) = 3.13 (95% CI = 1.17-8.39)]. Exposure to carcinogens did not modify the effect of CA levels on overall cancer risk. These results reinforce the evidence of a link between CA frequency and cancer risk and provide novel information on the role of aberration subclass and cancer type.
authors: Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy. stefano.bonassi@istge.it
authors: Stefano
authors: S
authors: Bonassi
authors: Hannu
authors: H
authors: Norppa
authors: Marcello
authors: M
authors: Ceppi
authors: Ulf
authors: U
authors: Strömberg
authors: Roel
authors: R
authors: Vermeulen
authors: Ariana
authors: A
authors: Znaor
authors: Antonina
authors: A
authors: Cebulska-Wasilewska
authors: Eleonora
authors: E
authors: Fabianova
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Fucic
authors: Sarolta
authors: S
authors: Gundy
authors: Inger-Lise
authors: IL
authors: Hansteen
authors: Lisbeth E
authors: LE
authors: Knudsen
authors: Juozas
authors: J
authors: Lazutka
authors: Pavel
authors: P
authors: Rossner
authors: Radim J
authors: RJ
authors: Sram
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Boffetta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors