The Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project is a federally mandated, population-based case-control study to determine whether breast cancer risk among women in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk, NY, is associated with selected environmental exposures, assessed by blood samples, self-reports, and environmental home samples. This report describes the collaborative project's background, rationale, methods, participation rates, and distributions of known risk factors for breast cancer by case-control status, by blood donation, and by availability of environmental home samples. Interview response rates among eligible cases and controls were 82.1% (n = 1,508) and 62.8% (n = 1,556), respectively. Among case and control respondents who completed the interviewer-administered questionnaire, 98.2 and 97.6% self-completed the food frequency questionnaire; 73.0 and 73.3% donated a blood sample; and 93.0 and 83.3% donated a urine sample. Among a random sample of case and control respondents who are long-term residents, samples of dust (83.6 and 83.0%); soil (93.5 and 89.7%); and water (94.3 and 93.9%) were collected. Established risk factors for breast cancer that were found to increase risk among Long Island women include lower parity, late age at first birth, little or no breast feeding, and family history of breast cancer. Factors that were found to be associated with a decreased likelihood that a respondent would donate blood include increasing age and past smoking; factors associated with an increased probability include white or other race, alcohol use, ever breastfed, ever use of hormone replacement therapy, ever use of oral contraceptives, and ever had a mammogram. Long-term residents (defined as 15+ years in the interview home) with environmental home samples did not differ from other long-term residents, although there were a number of differences in risk factor distributions between long-term residents and other participants, as anticipated.

Although geographic variation in semen quality has been reported, this is the first study in the United States to compare semen quality among study centers using standardized methods and strict quality control. We evaluated semen specimens from partners of 512 pregnant women recruited through prenatal clinics in four U.S. cities during 1999-2001; 91% of men provided two specimens. Sperm concentration, semen volume, and motility were determined at the centers, and morphology was assessed at a central laboratory. Study protocols were identical across centers, and quality control was rigorously maintained. Sperm concentration was significantly lower in Columbia, Missouri, than in New York, New York; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Los Angeles, California. Mean counts were 58.7, 102.9, 98.6, and 80.8 X 10(6)/mL (medians 53.5, 88.5, 81.8, and 64.8 X 10(6)/mL) in Missouri, New York, Minnesota, and California, respectively. The total number of motile sperm was also lower in Missouri than in other centers: 113, 196, 201, and 162 X 10(6) in Missouri, New York, Minnesota, and California, respectively. Semen volume and the percent morphologically normal sperm did not differ appreciably among centers. These between-center differences remained significant in multivariate models that controlled for abstinence time, semen analysis time, age, race, smoking, history of sexually transmitted disease, and recent fever (all p-values < 0.01). Confounding factors and differences in study methods are unlikely to account for the lower semen quality seen in this mid-Missouri population. These data suggest that sperm concentration and motility may be reduced in semirural and agricultural areas relative to more urban and less agriculturally exposed areas.

Background Our previous analysis of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) from the Ukrainian-American cohort exposed to 131I from the Chernobyl accident found RET/PTC rearrangements and other driver mutations in 60% of tumors. Methods In this study, we analyzed the remaining, mutation-negative tumors using RNA-Seq and RT-PCR to identify novel chromosomal rearrangements and characterize their relationship with radiation dose. Results The ETV6-NTRK3 rearrangement was identified by RNA-Seq in a tumor from a patient who received a high 131I dose. Overall, it was detected in 9/62 (14.5%) of post-Chernobyl and in 3/151 (2%) of sporadic PTCs (p=0.019). The most common fusion type was between exon 4 of ETV6 and exon 14 of NTRK3. The ETV6-NTRK3 prevalence in post-Chernobyl PTCs was associated with increasing 131I dose, albeit at borderline significance (p=0.126). The group of rearrangement-positive PTCs (ETV6-NTRK3, RET/PTC, PAX8-PPARγ) was associated with significantly higher dose response compared to the group of PTCs with point mutations (BRAF, RAS) (p<0.001). In vitro exposure of human thyroid cells to 1 Gy of 131I and γ-radiation resulted in the formation of ETV6-NTRK3 with a rate of 7.9 × 10−6 and 3.0 ×10−6 cells, respectively. Conclusions We report here the occurrence of ETV6-NTRK3 rearrangements in thyroid cancer and show that this rearrangement is significantly more common in tumors associated with exposure to 131I and has a borderline significant dose response. Moreover, ETV6-NTRK3 can be directly induced in thyroid cells by ionizing radiation in vitro and therefore may represent a novel mechanism of radiation-induced carcinogenesis.

Exposure to radioactive iodine was strongly associated with increased risk of thyroid cancer among those exposed as children and adolescents. In the absence of Chornobyl radiation, 11.2 thyroid cancer cases would have been expected compared with the 45 observed, i.e., a reduction of 75% (95% CI = 50% to 93%). The study also provides quantitative risk estimates minimally confounded by any screening effects. Caution should be exercised in generalizing these results to any future similar accidents because of the potential differences in the nature of the radioactive iodines involved, the duration and temporal patterns of exposures, and the susceptibility of the exposed population.