Research Highlights - News Updates
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Extended Follow-up of Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study Cohort Reveals New Insights
The Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study (DEMS) II extends the follow-up of the original study by 18 years. Researchers in the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch observed lung cancer risk remained elevated 20 or more years after diesel exhaust exposure ceased; reported novel association between diesel exhaust exposure and death from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
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NIH Intramural Blog Examines Genetic Influences on Lung Cancer
Dr. Jiyeon Choi, Earl Stadtman investigator in the Laboratory of Translational Genomics, discusses her lab's research on the influence of genetics on lung cancer risk in NIH’s Intramural Research Program blog, I am Intramural.
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First Direct Comparison of Screening Methods for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Investigators in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, led by Dr. Zhiwei Liu, tenure-track investigator, compared two approaches for Epstein-Barr virus screening for early detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: antibody and DNA-based approaches. Their findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Drug Overdose and Firearm Homicide Contributed Significantly to U.S. Mortality Rates from 1999-2020
Dr. Wayne Lawrence and colleagues found a rapid rise in death rates due to unintentional poisoning (drug overdoses) and firearm homicides in the U.S. from 1999-2020. Rates of death from external causes further accelerated in 2019 and 2020, after the onset of COVID-19.
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Twelve Lung Adenocarcinoma Risk Variants Identified for East Asian Individuals
A genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in a population of East Asian ancestry identified 12 novel susceptibility variants. The findings of this genome-wide association study were published May 26, 2023, in Nature Communications.
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Bladder Cancer GWAS Reveals Novel Susceptibility Loci
A collaboration, led by Drs. Stella Koutros, investigator, and Nathaniel Rothman, senior investigator in the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, analyzed data from 32 bladder cancer genome-wide association studies, revealing novel genetic susceptibility loci and enabling the creation of a new polygenic risk score associated with bladder cancer risk.
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Disparities in Mortality Rates Revealed by Disaggregating Data on Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Individuals
Anika Haque and Dr. Meredith Shiels in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch analyzed cancer death rates across racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. during 2018-2020, revealing substantial differences between Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander individuals
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Disaggregating Data on Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Populations by Ethnicity Reveals Disparities in HPV-Associated Cancers
An analysis led by Drs. Jacqueline B. Vo in the Radiation Epidemiology branch and Jaimie Z. Shing in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch revealed disparities in incidence rates of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations when disaggregated by race and ethnicity.
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Exposure-Response Observed for Urine Glyphosate Concentrations, Markers of Oxidative Stress
Drs. Jonathan Hofmann and Vicky Chang, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, and colleagues, reported exposure-response relationships between urine glyphosate concentrations and increasing levels of two established urinary biomarkers of oxidative stress.
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Opportunities to Achieve President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Goal of Reducing Cancer Death Rates in the U.S.
Drs. Shiels, Freedman, and colleagues, have outlined opportunities for achieving President Biden and First Lady Biden’s Cancer Moonshot℠ national goal of reducing the cancer death rate by at least 50% over the next 25 years. A study published April 17, 2023, in Cancer Discovery, led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of NIH, has concluded that achieving this goal will require increased access to and use of interventions known to prevent common causes of cancer death.
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Experiences of Discrimination Linked to Higher Mortality
In the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, a large multi-ethnic cohort with nearly two decades of follow-up, Dr. Wayne Lawrence and colleagues observed an association between discrimination and mortality across all racial/ethnic groups but strongest among Black participants.
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Low Dose Radiation Linked with Elevated Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Meta-analysis led by Dr. Mark Little finds elevated risk of cardiovascular disease associated with moderate and low doses of radiation, suggesting need for extra vigilance.
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Increased Physical Activity Linked with Lower Hospitalization Risk for Common Conditions
In a study of 82,000 UK adults, Dr. Eleanor Watts in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch observed that higher levels of physical activity were associated with a decreased risk of hospitalization from nine common conditions, including colon polyps and urinary tract infections.
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Transgender and Gender Diverse Adults Experience Elevated Mortality Rates
In a large cohort study, Dr. Sarah Jackson and colleagues found that transgender and gender diverse adults were at increased risk of overall mortality compared to cisgender adults.
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Prevalence of VEXAS Syndrome Higher Than Expected, Genome-First Study Finds
Dr. Stewart et al. found that VEXAS syndrome, a novel medical disorder, was more prevalent than previously reported, especially among women. This study shows the power of the genome-first approach and the need to expand genetic panel testing.
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The PLCO Atlas – GWAS Explorer: Milestone in Data Sharing
The GWAS Explorer PLCO Atlas was created to serve as an interactive tool to facilitate data sharing to the public, which enables researchers to search for, visualize, and download aggregated association results from the PLCO genome-wide association analyses (GWAS).
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Black Women Have Highest Mortality Rate of Cervical Cancer Subtype Compared to All other Groups
Camyrn Cohen and colleagues found that, despite having the lowest incidence of cervical adenocarcinoma, Black women also experience the highest mortality rate of this cervical cancer subtype.
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Virtual Pooled Registry Approach Improves Cancer Ascertainment
Investigators describe the value of a Virtual Pooled Registry (VPR) for population-based cohort studies in the United States. The VPR would increase the completeness of data, and decrease the time and costs associated with linking to multiple cancer registries.
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Geographic Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Risk Among Breast Cancer Survivors
Dr. Jacqueline B. Vo led a study using SEER data that observed increased cardiovascular disease mortality risk in breast cancer survivors if they lived in lower socioeconomic and more rural counties at the time of their breast cancer diagnosis compared to those living in higher socioeconomic and more urban counties.
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NIH Intramural Blog Highlights Lung Cancer Screening Research
Hormuzd Katki, senior investigator in the Biostatistics and Branch, and Anil Chaturvedi, senior investigator in the Clinical Genetics Branch, discuss their research on lung cancer screening with the NIH’s Intramural Research Program blog, I am Intramural.