Selected Articles from This Issue

Red meat consumption is a risk factor for colorectal cancer and has been linked to tumor alkylating DNA damage. rs16906252-T is a cis expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) variant associated with silencing of MGMT, a central alkylating damage repair gene. Gurjao and colleagues conducted mutational signature deconvolution of colorectal cancer whole-exome sequencing data to see whether rs16906252-T carriers are predisposed to alkylating damage mutations. Results showed that MGMT rs16906252-T carriers are predisposed to colorectal cancer oncogenic alkylating damage which is potentiated by red meat intake and these findings may inform tailored dietary and screening guidelines for colorectal cancer prevention.Awareness that alcohol is a carcinogen is low in the United States and Hay and colleagues sought to identify groups that may be less aware of the cancer risks of alcohol use, even after risk message exposure. With a large, US national probability sample of individuals, the study examined predictors of awareness after exposure to a video message regarding the cancer risks of alcohol use. The study demonstrated that a brief video intervention was effective in increasing alcohol-cancer risk awareness and identified subgroups in need of additional tailored messaging to raise awareness of the cancer risks of alcohol use. The findings provide groundwork to guide the development of adaptations to available alcohol and cancer risk messaging.This post hoc analysis of the AMATERASU randomized clinical trial (RCT) of vitamin D3 supplementation examined whether serum vitamin A levels modify the association of vitamin D with relapse or death in patients with digestive tract cancer. Kohmura and colleagues identified significant effect modification by serum vitamin A levels on the effect of vitamin D supplementation in patients with digestive tract cancer. Results show that vitamin D supplementation may reduce relapse and death among patients with middle to upper range serum vitamin A levels. These findings provide the first RCT evidence that serum vitamin A levels modify the effect of vitamin D supplementation on relapse or death among patients with digestive tract cancer.Understanding social drivers of mammography screening is critical to implementing breast cancer screening guidelines that maximize benefits and minimize harms across diverse populations. Using 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data and major screening guidelines to define screening participation, Lui and colleagues examined racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic patterns in guideline-discordant underscreening and overscreening. The study provides a comprehensive analysis of guideline-discordant underscreening and overscreening for breast cancer in a nationally representative racially and ethnically diverse sample of US women, examining a range of socioeconomic predictors, mortality risk and self-rated health. The findings call for strengthening implementation and de-implementation efforts to optimize breast cancer screening.