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A Meta-analysis of Individual Participant Data Reveals an Association between Circulating Levels of IGF-I and
Ruth C Travis1, Paul N Appleby1, Richard M Martin2,3
1Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Cancer Research
|February 28, 2016
Summary
Elevated insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels are linked to increased prostate cancer risk. This large pooled analysis confirms IGF-I
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Oncology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The role of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) in prostate cancer (PCa) development remains incompletely understood.
- Circulating IGFs and their binding proteins are implicated in cell proliferation and cancer progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between circulating concentrations of IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-3 and prostate cancer risk.
- To clarify the specific contribution of IGF-I to prostate cancer development.
Main Methods:
- Pooled analysis of individual participant data from 17 prospective and 2 cross-sectional studies.
- Inclusion of up to 10,554 prostate cancer cases and 13,618 control participants.
- Conditional logistic regression used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for prostate cancer risk based on analyte concentrations.
Main Results:
- Positive associations observed between IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-2, IGFBP-3 and prostate cancer risk (Ptrend ≤ 0.005).
- Inverse association noted for IGFBP-1 (Ptrend = 0.05).
- In prospective studies, highest vs. lowest fifth ORs were 1.29 for IGF-I, 0.81 for IGFBP-1, and 1.25 for IGFBP-3. Only IGF-I remained significant after mutual adjustment.
Conclusions:
- Circulating IGF-I concentrations are positively associated with prostate cancer risk.
- IGF-I is strongly implicated in the development of prostate cancer.
- This large-scale pooled analysis provides robust evidence for the role of IGF-I in prostate cancer etiology.
