Ye Jin Lee1, Kyung-Do Han2, Da Hye Kim3, Chang-Hoon Lee4. 1. Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kang Dong Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 2. Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Soongsil University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 3. Department of Biostatistics, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 4. Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although elevated serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is a known indicator of increased risk of several cancers, the clinical value of repeated measurements of GGT has not been determined. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether repeatedly elevated serum GGT levels are associated with the risk of respiratory cancer incidence. METHODS: We included participants who had undergone the Korean Health screening four times during 2009-2012 and had previously undergone four consecutive examinations. Those who were diagnosed with respiratory cancer before the date of examination were excluded. The participants obtained one GGT point if their GGT levels were in the highest quartile (the quartile 4 group). We analyzed the association between GGT points and respiratory cancer incidence by Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: During mean follow-up of 6.39 ± 1.2 years, 3,559,109 participants were enrolled. Of them, 8,944 (0.34%) men and 1,484 (0.14%) women were newly diagnosed with respiratory cancer. In multivariate analysis adjusted for confounding factors, male participants with 4 GGT points had a significantly higher hazards of developing respiratory cancer than those with 0 GGT points (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-1.48). Among female, participants with the highest points of GGT also had sixfold increased risk of developing laryngeal cancer. However, no significant association was observed between GGT points and lung cancer incidence among women (HR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.81-1.11). CONCLUSION: Repeatedly elevated serum levels of GGT were associated with a higher risk of respiratory cancer incidence, especially in men. This finding suggests that physicians can identify a person with a higher risk of respiratory cancer through a simple repeated measurement of GGT.
BACKGROUND: Although elevated serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is a known indicator of increased risk of several cancers, the clinical value of repeated measurements of GGT has not been determined. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether repeatedly elevated serum GGT levels are associated with the risk of respiratory cancer incidence. METHODS: We included participants who had undergone the Korean Health screening four times during 2009-2012 and had previously undergone four consecutive examinations. Those who were diagnosed with respiratory cancer before the date of examination were excluded. The participants obtained one GGT point if their GGT levels were in the highest quartile (the quartile 4 group). We analyzed the association between GGT points and respiratory cancer incidence by Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: During mean follow-up of 6.39 ± 1.2 years, 3,559,109 participants were enrolled. Of them, 8,944 (0.34%) men and 1,484 (0.14%) women were newly diagnosed with respiratory cancer. In multivariate analysis adjusted for confounding factors, male participants with 4 GGT points had a significantly higher hazards of developing respiratory cancer than those with 0 GGT points (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-1.48). Among female, participants with the highest points of GGT also had sixfold increased risk of developing laryngeal cancer. However, no significant association was observed between GGT points and lung cancer incidence among women (HR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.81-1.11). CONCLUSION: Repeatedly elevated serum levels of GGT were associated with a higher risk of respiratory cancer incidence, especially in men. This finding suggests that physicians can identify a person with a higher risk of respiratory cancer through a simple repeated measurement of GGT.
Authors: Saverio Stranges; Joan M Dorn; Paola Muti; Jo L Freudenheim; Eduardo Farinaro; Marcia Russell; Thomas H Nochajski; Maurizio Trevisan Journal: Hepatology Date: 2004-03 Impact factor: 17.425
Authors: Brigitte N Gomperts; Avrum Spira; Pierre P Massion; Tonya C Walser; Ignacio I Wistuba; John D Minna; Steven M Dubinett Journal: Semin Respir Crit Care Med Date: 2011-04-15 Impact factor: 3.119
Authors: Douglas S Lee; Jane C Evans; Sander J Robins; Peter W Wilson; Irene Albano; Caroline S Fox; Thomas J Wang; Emelia J Benjamin; Ralph B D'Agostino; Ramachandran S Vasan Journal: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol Date: 2006-11-09 Impact factor: 8.311
Authors: Alexander M Strasak; Ruth M Pfeiffer; Jochen Klenk; Wolfgang Hilbe; Willi Oberaigner; Martin Gregory; Hans Concin; Günter Diem; Karl P Pfeiffer; Elfriede Ruttmann; Hanno Ulmer Journal: Int J Cancer Date: 2008-10-15 Impact factor: 7.396