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C-reactive protein and postmenopausal breast cancer risk: results from the E3N cohort study

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Abstract

Background

C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of low-grade inflammation, has been associated with breast cancer risk, but results are scarce and inconsistent.

Methods

A case–control study nested within the E3N prospective cohort included 549 postmenopausal breast cancer cases and 1,040 matched controls, all free of breast cancer at baseline. Serum levels of CRP were measured in samples collected between 1995 and 1999. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between CRP and breast cancer risk, adjusting for matching factors and known breast cancer risk factors.

Results

No association was observed between CRP levels and breast cancer risk overall. However, a significant interaction was observed between CRP levels and body mass index (BMI). A statistically significant increase in breast cancer risk was observed in overweight and obese women (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) (OR 1.92, 95 % CI 1.20–3.08 for CRP ≥ 2.5 mg/L compared with CRP < 1.5 mg/l, p trend = 0.003, p interaction between CRP and BMI = 0.03). Similar results were observed in women with waist circumference (WC) ≥ 88 cm (p trend = 0.01, p interaction = 0.06) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) ≥ 0.80 (p trend = 0.06, p interaction = 0.35). CRP levels were not associated with breast cancer risk in women with normal BMI, WC, or WHR.

Conclusions

We found a positive association between CRP levels and postmenopausal breast cancer risk restricted to women with excess adiposity. The suggested relationship between low-grade inflammation, abdominal adiposity, and postmenopausal breast cancer risk deserves further investigation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to R. Chaït, M. Fangon, M. Niravong, and L. Hoang for managing data. They gratefully acknowledge Anne Barnier and Caroline Arcangeli from the biochemistry laboratory of Bichat Hospital (AP-HP) directed by Genevieve Durand for performing all assays. The authors are also indebted to all participants for providing data and to practitioners for providing pathology reports. The Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) supported Aida Jimenez-Corona through the International Associate Laboratory created by the National Institute of Public Health and the National Institute of Cancerology of Mexico and INSERM UMR1018 Team 9 in France. Guy Fagherazzi was funded by the French Ministry of Research. The E3N study is being carried out with financial support from the French League against Cancer, the Mutuelle Générale de l’Education Nationale, the Gustave Roussy Institute of Cancerology, and the National Institute of Health and Medical Research. The present research received grant support from the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), the French National Research Agency (ANR), and the French Cancer Research Association (ARC).

Conflict of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Team 9: Nutrition, Hormones and Women’s Health, Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U1018, Institut Gustave Roussy, 114 Rue Edouard Vaillant, 94805, Villejuif Cedex, France

    Laure Dossus, Aida Jimenez-Corona, Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, Guy Fagherazzi, Francoise Clavel-Chapelon & Sylvie Mesrine

  2. Univ Paris-Sud, Villejuif Cedex, France

    Laure Dossus, Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, Guy Fagherazzi, Francoise Clavel-Chapelon & Sylvie Mesrine

  3. Diabetes and Cardiovascular Risk Research Unit, Population Health Research Center, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Aida Jimenez-Corona

  4. Nutrition and Metabolism Section, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France

    Isabelle Romieu

  5. Service de Biochimie; Hôpital Bichat, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Paris, France

    Anne Boutten & Thierry Dupré

Authors
  1. Laure Dossus
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  2. Aida Jimenez-Corona
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Correspondence to Francoise Clavel-Chapelon.

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Dossus, L., Jimenez-Corona, A., Romieu, I. et al. C-reactive protein and postmenopausal breast cancer risk: results from the E3N cohort study. Cancer Causes Control 25, 533–539 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0355-9

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