UK Biobank analysis of the association of circulating levels of biomarkers with risk of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast

Observational studies have shown associations between circulating levels of various biomarkers (eg total cholesterol [TC], LDL-cholesterol [LDL-C], insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1], C-reactive protein [CRP], and glycated hemoglobin-1c [HbA1c]) and risk of invasive breast cancer (IBC). Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast is a nonobligate precursor of IBC and shares several risk factors with it. Analysis in the UK Biobank cohort (156,801 women aged 40 to 69 years and breast cancer-free at enrolment when blood samples were collected) investigated association of various circulating biomarkers and risk of DCIS. During 11,4 years of follow-up, 969 incident cases of DCIS were diagnosed in the cohort. The figure shows that TC was inversely associated with the risk of DCIS (p for trend = 0.008), while LDL-C was positively associated with DCIS risk (p for trend = 0,004). In postmenopausal women, CRP had a weak positive association with DCIS risk, while HbA1c showed a nonlinear association with the risk. The authors conclude that these findings suggest a link between these molecules and the early phase of IBC development.