title: Higher plasma levels of lysophosphatidylcholine 18:0 are related to a lower risk of common cancers in a prospective metabolomics study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  First metabolomics studies have indicated that metabolic fingerprints from accessible tissues might be useful to better understand the etiological links between metabolism and cancer. However, there is still a lack of prospective metabolomics studies on pre-diagnostic metabolic alterations and cancer risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  Associations between pre-diagnostic levels of 120 circulating metabolites (acylcarnitines, amino acids, biogenic amines, phosphatidylcholines, sphingolipids, and hexoses) and the risks of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer were evaluated by Cox regression analyses using data of a prospective case-cohort study including 835 incident cancer cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median follow-up duration was 8.3 years among non-cases and 6.5 years among incident cases of cancer. Higher levels of lysophosphatidylcholines (lysoPCs), and especially lysoPC a C18:0, were consistently related to lower risks of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer, independent of background factors. In contrast, higher levels of phosphatidylcholine PC ae C30:0 were associated with increased cancer risk. There was no heterogeneity in the observed associations by lag time between blood draw and cancer diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Changes in blood lipid composition precede the diagnosis of common malignancies by several years. Considering the consistency of the present results across three cancer types the observed alterations point to a global metabolic shift in phosphatidylcholine metabolism that may drive tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany. t.kuehn@dkfz.de.
authors.forename: Tilman
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kühn
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Arthur-Scheunert-Allee 114, D-14558, Nuthetal, Germany. anna.floegel@dife.de.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Floegel
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany. d.sookthai@dkfz.de.
authors.forename: Disorn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sookthai
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany. t.johnson@dkfz.de.
authors.forename: Theron
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolomics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Permoserstraße 15, D-04318, Leipzig, Germany. ulrike.rolle-kampczyk@ufz.de.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rolle-Kampczyk
authors.affiliation: Department of Proteomics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Permoserstraße 15, D-04318, Leipzig, Germany. wolfgang.otto@ufz.de.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolomics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Permoserstraße 15, D-04318, Leipzig, Germany. martin.vonbergen@ufz.de.|Department of Proteomics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Permoserstraße 15, D-04318, Leipzig, Germany. martin.vonbergen@ufz.de.|University of Aalborg, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220, Aalborg East, Denmark. martin.vonbergen@ufz.de.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: von Bergen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Arthur-Scheunert-Allee 114, D-14558, Nuthetal, Germany. boeing@dife.de.
authors.forename: Heiner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Boeing
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany. r.kaaks@dkfz.de.
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaaks
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D002331:Carnitine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008244:Lysophosphatidylcholines / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D008055:Lipids; D008244:Lysophosphatidylcholines; C116917:acylcarnitine; C006065:We 201; D002331:Carnitine
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