NIH Research Festival
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NCI
EPIG-10
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmentally persistent organic pollutants detectable in the serum of most U.S. adults. We previously reported that serum concentrations of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), one of the most studied PFAS, were positively associated with risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, comprising predominantly White individuals. To extend our investigations to a larger and more racially and ethnically diverse population, we conducted a nested case-control study of pre-diagnostic serum concentrations of nine PFAS and RCC (428 cases, 428 individually matched controls) within the Multiethnic Cohort Study. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for risk of RCC related to each PFAS using multivariable conditional logistic regression. PFOA was not associated with RCC risk overall [doubling in serum concentration, ORcontinuous=0.89 (95%CI=0.67,1.18)]. However, we observed a suggestive positive association among White participants [2.12 (0.87,5.18)]. Furthermore, higher perfluorononanoate (PFNA) concentration was associated with increased risk of RCC overall [fourth vs. first quartile, OR=1.84 (0.97,3.50), Ptrend=0.04; ORcontinuous=1.29 (0.97,1.71)], with the strongest association observed among African American participants [ORcontinuous=3.69 (1.33,10.25)], followed by Native Hawaiian [2.24 (0.70,7.19)] and White [1.98 (0.92,4.25)] participants. While PFOA was not associated with RCC risk overall, the positive association observed among White participants is consistent with previous PLCO findings. Our study provided new evidence of a positive association between PFNA and RCC risk that was strongest in African American participants. Additional investigations of PFAS exposures and RCC in large racially and ethnically diverse populations are needed.
Scientific Focus Area: Epidemiology
This page was last updated on Monday, September 25, 2023