Inflammatory biomarkers, aspirin, and risk of colorectal cancer: Findings from the physicians' health study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Chronic inflammation has been implicated in colorectal carcinogenesis. However, the associations between plasma inflammatory markers and risk of colorectal cancer have been inconsistent.

METHODS:

In a nested case-control study in the Physicians' Health Study, we prospectively investigated the associations of plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR-2) with risk of colorectal cancer, and whether aspirin modified these associations among 268 colorectal cancer patients and 446 age- and smoking-matched controls.

RESULTS:

In multivariate-adjusted models, plasma levels of CRP, IL-6 and TNFR-2 were not significantly associated with risk of colorectal cancer, although a positive trend was observed for TNFR-2 (RRhighestvs.lowestquartile=1.55; 95% CI=0.95-2.54; Ptrend=0.05). We observed a statistically significant association between elevated TNFR-2 levels and colorectal cancer risk in the placebo arm (RRhighestvs.lowesttertile=1.77; 95% CI=1.02-3.06; Ptrend=0.02), but not in the aspirin arm (Ptrend=0.72). However, the interaction between TNFR-2 and aspirin was not statistically significant (Pinteraction=0.34).

CONCLUSION:

Plasma inflammatory markers were not significantly associated with colorectal cancer risk among men, though there was a statistically non-significant positive trend between TNFR-2 and colorectal cancer risk. More studies are required to understand the relationship between the role of TNFα pathway, aspirin, and colorectal cancer risk.

• Authors: Chul Kim, Xuehong Zhang, Andrew T Chan, Howard D Sesso, Nader Rifai, Meir J Stampfer, Jing Ma
• Journal: Cancer epidemiology (Cancer Epidemiol) Vol. 44 Pg. 65-70 (10 2016) ISSN: 1877-783X [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 27504605 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)
• Copyright: Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Chemical References

• IL6 protein, human
• Interleukin-6
• Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II
• C-Reactive Protein
• Aspirin

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Aspirin (therapeutic use)
• C-Reactive Protein (genetics)
• Case-Control Studies
• Colorectal Neoplasms (blood, diagnosis)
• Double-Blind Method
• Female
• Humans
• Inflammation
• Interleukin-6 (genetics)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Prospective Studies
• Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II (genetics)
• Risk Factors