Selected Articles from This Issue

Parada and colleagues examined cancer incidence among adults from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a multi-site prospective cohort study. To characterize cancer incidence, the authors conducted linkages of the HCHS/SOL to four population-based state cancer registries. The authors examined cancer incidence rates overall, and for screen-detectable cancers and etiologically grouped cancers. Additionally, building on prior calls for the disaggregation of cancer incidence rates, they reported rates by Hispanic/Latino heritage or country of origin. These stratified results highlight variability in cancer risk by Hispanic/Latino heritage to guide targeted cancer control and prevention efforts to reduce the burden of cancer across US communities.Parity and breastfeeding history have been linked to reduced ovarian cancer risk, but their impact on the tumor immune microenvironment remains unclear. Mongiovi and colleagues investigated the associations between parity and breastfeeding with various types of tumor-infiltrating T cells in ovarian tumors. Their findings revealed that among parous women, longer duration of breastfeeding for 12 or more months was associated with increased odds of helper and cytotoxic T-cell infiltration in the ovarian tumor compared to those who never breastfed. These results suggest that breastfeeding history may influence ovarian tumor immunity which could help identify new pathways for cancer prevention.The association between imaging-derived body composition and early response to treatment in pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma is unknown. In this post-hoc analysis of clinical trials in pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma, Wadhwa and colleagues found that extremes of adipose tissue mass measured using routinely obtained computed tomography scans are associated with significantly increased odds of slow early response assessed by positron emission tomography, whereas skeletal muscle mass and body mass index are not. Further validation of these results could inform studies investigating body composition-based chemotherapy dosing.Evidence suggests higher physical activity (PA) levels are associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. However, the mediating role of the circulating metabolome in this relationship remains unclear. Papadimitriou and colleagues used targeted blood metabolomics data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study to identify individual metabolites associated with PA and derive a metabolomic signature of PA levels by combining data from all identified metabolites. Results showed PC ae C34:3 mediates part of the PA–colorectal cancer inverse association, but further studies with improved PA measures and extended metabolomic panels are needed. These findings provide insights into PA-related biological mechanisms influencing colorectal cancer risk and suggest potential targets for cancer prevention interventions.