Highlights of This Issue

In breast cancer patients, studies have shown that obesity is associated with both an increased risk of dying from breast cancer and increased risk of distant metastasis. In this pilot study, Pilie and colleagues focused on the potential differences in protein expression patterns of mammary epithelial cells obtained from obese versus nonobese women. They found that vimentin protein expression was significantly different between obese and nonobese women. Differential protein expression analysis may enhance the understanding of breast cancer initiation and progression in obese women.

Epidemiologic studies have established an inverse association between isoflavone intake and breast and prostate cancer risks and an inverse association with lung cancer risk has also been suggested. To help clarify the association of isoflavone intake and lung cancer risk, Shimazu and colleagues examined plasma isoflavone concentrations and lung cancer risks in a population of Japanese women. An inverse association was indeed found between plasma levels of the isoflavone genistein and lung cancer risk, supporting the previously observed association between isoflavone intake and lung cancer risk.

The evidence linking the acute phase inflammatory response marker C-reactive Protein (CRP) and cancer remains inconclusive. To address this, Van Hemelrijck and collleagues performed a prospective cohort study using repeated measurements of CRP and leukocyte levels to evaluate their association with cancer risk. They report a positive trend between CRP and cancer and found that the associations between leukocytes and cancer were slightly stronger than CRP. These encouraging results are evidence that the use of CRP for early cancer detection may have merit.

Experimental evidence suggests that long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may modify early skin carcinogenesis, but it is not known if this effect exists in the general population. To explore this, van der Pols and colleagues used p53 expression as a biomarker of early UV-induced carcinogenesis and monitored serum omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as p53 immunoreactivity in dorsal hand punch biopsies. They report an inverse association between total serum omega-3 (but not omega-6) fatty acid and p53 immunoreactivity in the whole epidermis as well as basal layer. These results add to the growing evidence that long-chain fatty acids may modify early skin carcinogenesis.