Grant Details
Grant Number: |
5R03CA273625-02 Interpret this number |
Primary Investigator: |
Yoon, Hyung-Suk |
Organization: |
University Of Florida |
Project Title: |
Menthol Cigarette Smoking-Related Blood Metabolites and Lung Cancer Risk |
Fiscal Year: |
2024 |
Abstract
SUMMARY
African Americans (AAs) bear a disproportionately high burden of lung cancer (LC)―AA males have a much
higher likelihood of developing LC and dying from LC than any other race and ethnic groups. Currently, little is
known about the potential contributors to the LC disparities. Menthol cigarette smoking is the most distinctive
feature that defines AA smokers, leading to speculation that menthol cigarette smoking may contribute, in part,
to the extra burden of LC among AAs. However, epidemiologic studies to date could not bring a full explanation
of the role and/or harms of menthol cigarette smoking in LC etiology owing to questionnaire-only investigations,
potential reverse causality, and insufficient numbers of AAs, menthol smokers, and examined metabolites.
Moreover, previous studies did not comprehensively explore the underlying mechanisms of menthol cigarette
smoking and lung carcinogenesis, highlighting the need for innovative research to investigate the hidden clues
that can explain disproportional burdens and disparities related to menthol cigarette smoking among AAs. To
fill the knowledge gaps in epidemiologic evidence and address the actual hazards of menthol cigarettes in LC
etiology, we propose the first population-based prospective study incorporating a multi-stage metabolomics
approach to identify the menthol cigarette smoking-related metabolites and their associations with LC risk in a
comprehensive and cost-efficient way. Leveraging pre-diagnostic blood samples, rich epidemiologic data, and
recently generated metabolomics data in the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), an NCI-funded
prospective cohort, we aim to 1) identify menthol cigarette smoking-related blood metabolites using the
Metabolon’s Global Metabolomics platform (~1,500 metabolites in eight super pathways) among 959 cancer-
free current smokers (617 AAs and 342 EAs) and further evaluate the possible associations of menthol
cigarette smoking-related blood metabolites with race, sex, age, smoking intensity/duration, and other
known/suggested risk factors for LC (Aim 1); and 2) conduct a nested case-control study to investigate the
associations of each menthol cigarette smoking-related metabolite and a standardized metabolite risk score
with LC risk, using pre-diagnostic blood samples of 80 pairs of incident LC cases (adenocarcinoma) and
matched controls who were selected from cancer-free AA male current smokers within the SCCS (Aim 2).
Findings from this proposed study will advance our knowledge of the actual hazards of menthol cigarette
smoking in LC etiology, provide important insight into the pathogenic/molecular pathways of menthol cigarette
smoking, and generate valuable information to develop new public health strategies for LC prevention mainly
targeted at racially/ethnically disadvantaged people. Furthermore, this proposed study will bring a mechanistic
explanation of menthol cigarette smoking, a potential contributor to a disproportionately high burden of LC
among AAs, and thus help elucidate hidden clues underlying the racial/ethnic disparities in LC, which fills the
knowledge gaps in LC disparities research regarding the smoking paradox among AAs.
Publications
Associations between Plasma Tocopherols and Lung Cancer Risk: Results from the Southern Community Cohort Study.
Authors: Yoon H.S.
, Wu J.
, Shidal C.
, Sun Y.
, Franke A.A.
, Yang J.J.
, Braithwaite D.
, Courtney R.
, Cai H.
, Blot W.J.
, et al.
.
Source: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention : A Publication Of The American Association For Cancer Research, Cosponsored By The American Society Of Preventive Oncology, 2024-01-29 00:00:00.0; , .
EPub date: 2024-01-29 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 38284815
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