Background: Clinically evident chronic pancreatitis is an established, strong risk factor for pancreatic cancer. A small Japanese cohort study reported that pre-diagnostic serum transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) concentration, a potential marker of subclinical pancreatic inflammation, was associated with higher risk of pancreatic cancer.

Methods: Serum TGF-β1 concentrations were measured in pre-diagnostic samples drawn from 729 pancreatic cancer cases and 907 matched controls from a cohort of Finnish male smokers (the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Cancer Prevention Study) and two cohorts of U.S. men and women, the Cancer Prevention Study-II (CPS-II) and the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were estimated using conditional logistic regression.

Results: Overall, high serum TGF-β1 concentration was associated with a marginally statistically significant increase in risk of pancreatic cancer (OR = 1.36, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.98-1.88 for highest vs. lowest quintile). This association differed significantly by follow-up time (p = 0.02). Serum TGF-β1 concentration was not associated with risk during the first 10 years of follow-up, but was associated with risk during follow-up after 10 years (OR = 2.13, 95% CI 1.23-3.68 for highest vs. lowest quintile).

Conclusions: These results suggest that high serum TGF-β1 may be associated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer after a latency period of several years. Further research examining the magnitude and timing of associations between serum TGF-β1 and other potential markers of pancreatic inflammation may be useful in clarifying the role of inflammation in pancreatic carcinogenesis.

Citation Format: Eric J. Jacobs, Christina C. Newton, Debra Silverman, Leticia Nogueira, Demetrius Albanes, Satu Månnistö, Rachael Z. Stolzenberg-Solomon. Serum transforming growth factor-β1 and risk of pancreatic cancer in three prospective cohort studies. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2013 Oct 27-30; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2013;6(11 Suppl): Abstract nr A58.

©2013 American Association for Cancer Research.
2013