Circulating plasma phospholipid fatty acids and risk of pancreatic cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study

Background Epidemiological data support a role for fatty acids (FAs) in pancreatic cancer (PC) development, but their effects may differ depending on specific FA class. To date, no study has explored the association between biomarkers of FAs and PC risk within a prospective cohort setting. Methods A case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study was conducted to assess the association between plasma phospholipid FAs and the risk of PC, as well as their interaction with stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) polymorphisms. The FA composition was measured by gas chromatography in plasma samples collected at recruitment from 375 PC cases and their matched controls. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate relative risk of PC across tertiles of FAs. Models were adjusted for BMI, total energy intake, height, alcohol intake, history of diabetes mellitus, tobacco smoking status, years of education, and physical activity. Results Statistically significant inverse associations were found between PC incidence and levels of saturated heptadecanoic acid (ORT3-T1[odds ratio for highest versus lowest tertile]=0.63; 95%CI[confidence interval]=0.41‒0.98; Ptrend=0.036), n-3 polyunsaturated α-linolenic acid (ORT3-T1=0.60; 95%CI=0.39‒0.92; Ptrend=0.02) and docosapentaenoic acid (ORT3-T1=0.52; 95%CI=0.32‒0.85; Ptrend=0.008). Among current smokers, the long-chain n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio was positively associated with PC risk (ORT3-T1=3.40; 95% CI 1.39-8.34; Ptrend=0.007), while inverse associations emerged for …