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Active and secondhand smoke exposure throughout life and DNA methylation in breast tumors

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Abstract

Purpose

Tobacco smoke exposure has been associated with altered DNA methylation. However, there is a paucity of information regarding tobacco smoke exposure and DNA methylation of breast tumors.

Methods

We conducted a case-only analysis using breast tumor tissue from 493 postmenopausal and 225 premenopausal cases in the Western New York Exposures and Breast Cancer (WEB) study. Methylation of nine genes (SFN, SCGB3A1, RARB, GSTP1, CDKN2A, CCND2, BRCA1, FHIT, and SYK) was measured with pyrosequencing. Participants reported their secondhand smoke (SHS) and active smoking exposure for seven time periods. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) of having methylation higher than the median.

Results

SHS exposure was associated with tumor DNA methylation among postmenopausal but not premenopausal women. Active smoking at certain ages was associated with increased methylation of GSTP1, FHIT, and CDKN2A and decreased methylation of SCGB3A1 and BRCA1 among both pre- and postmenopausal women.

Conclusion

Exposure to tobacco smoke may contribute to breast carcinogenesis via alterations in DNA methylation. Further studies in a larger panel of genes are warranted.

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Disclaimer

This article was prepared while Catherine Callahan and Youjin Wang were employed at the University at Buffalo. The opinions expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government.

Funding

Catherine L. Callahan was supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Grant R25CA113951.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Catherine L. Callahan

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Catherine L. Callahan, Matthew R. Bonner, Jing Nie, Youjin Wang & Jo L. Freudenheim

  3. Clinical Genetics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Youjin Wang

  4. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA

    Meng-Hua Tao

  5. Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, College of Medicine and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA

    Peter G. Shields & Catalin Marian

  6. Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania

    Catalin Marian

  7. Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Kevin H. Eng

  8. City College of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Maurizio Trevisan

Authors
  1. Catherine L. Callahan
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Correspondence to Catherine L. Callahan.

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Callahan, C.L., Bonner, M.R., Nie, J. et al. Active and secondhand smoke exposure throughout life and DNA methylation in breast tumors. Cancer Causes Control 30, 53–62 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-018-1102-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-018-1102-4

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