Publications

These publications are examples of research made possible with data from CanPath and its regional cohorts.

2024

Early Changes in Tumor-Naive Cell-Free Methylomes and Fragmentomes Predict Outcomes in Pembrolizumab-Treated Solid Tumors

Authors: Eric Y. Stutheit-Zhao, Enrique Sanz-Garcia; Zhihui (Amy) Liu; Derek Wong; Kayla Marsh; Albiruni R. Abdul Razak; Anna Spreafico; Philippe L. Bedard; Aaron R. Hansen; Stephanie Lheureux; Dax Torti; Bernard Lam; Shih Yu Cindy Yang; Justin Burgener; Ping Luo; Yong Zeng; Nicholas Cheng; Philip Awadalla; Scott V. Bratman; Pamela S. Ohashi; Trevor J. Pugh; Lillian L. Siu

The researchers investigated pharmacodynamic biomarkers of response to pembrolizumab in 106 patients with advanced solid tumors. Researchers analyzed genome-wide methylation and fragment-length profiles using cfMeDIP-seq in 204 plasma samples from 87 patients. Two cohorts of normal control cfMeDIP-seq data, including 72 healthy women from the Ontario Health Study, were used for comparison. CSM and FLS are strongly correlated with tumor-informed ctDNA levels. The study found that early kinetics of cancer-specific methylation (CSM) predicted overall survival and progression-free survival, independent of tumor type, PD-L1, and tumor mutation burden. The researchers’ tumor-naïve mutation-agnostic ctDNA approach integrating methylomics and fragmentomics could predict outcomes in patients treated with pembrolizumab.

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2024

Risk factors for early-onset colorectal cancer: A Canadian prospective cohort study

Authors: Dylan E O'Sullivan, Yibing Ruan, Eliya Farah, John M Hutchinson, Robert J Hilsden, Darren R Brenner

Researchers aimed to determine associations between specific risk factors and early-onset colorectal cancer (eoCRC). Accordingly, the researchers utilized data from 127,852 healthy study participants who were less than 50 years of age and were either part of the Ontario Health Study cohort or the Alberta’s Tomorrow Project cohort. Ninety-eight cases of eoCRC were identified after an average follow-up of 6.63 years. Analyses indicated that a family history of CRC alone or with a history of other cancer types was associated with a heightened risk of developing eoCRC. However, there was no significant association between eoCRC and a family history of solely non-CRC cancer. Those classified as heavy smokers at baseline had a higher risk of eoCRC compared to non-smokers. Lastly, there were no significant associations between sex, socioeconomic factors, diabetes, alcohol consumption, and other factors with the risk of eoCRC.

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2024

The mediating role of health behaviors in the association between depression, anxiety and cancer incidence: An individual participant data meta-analysis

Authors: Kuan-Yu Pan, Lonneke van Tuijl , Maartje Basten, Judith J M Rijnhart, Alexander de Graeff, Joost Dekker , Mirjam I Geerlings, Adriaan Hoogendoorn, Adelita V Ranchor, Roel Vermeulen, Lützen Portengen, Adri C Voogd, Jessica Abell, Philip Awadalla, Aartjan T F Beekman, Ottar Bjerkeset, Andy Boyd, Yunsong Cui, Philipp Frank, Henrike Galenkamp, Bert Garssen, Sean Hellingman, Monika Hollander, Martijn Huisman, Anke Huss, Melanie R Keats, Almar A L Kok, Steinar Krokstad, Flora E van Leeuwen, Annemarie I Luik, Nolwenn Noisel, Yves Payette, Brenda W J H Penninx , Susan Picavet, Ina Rissanen, Annelieke M Roest, Judith G M Rosmalen, Rikje Ruiter, Robert A Schoevers, David Soave, Mandy Spaan, Andrew Steptoe, Karien Stronks, Erik R Sund, Ellen Sweeney, Alison Teyhan, Emma L Twait, Kimberly D van der Willik, Femke Lamers

Researchers investigated how various health behaviors might mediate the relationships between depression, anxiety, and the onset of different types of cancer. They conducted individual participant data meta-analyses using participants from 18 cohorts from the Psychosocial Factors and Cancer Incidence consortium.The cohorts analyzed included the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health, Ontario Health Study, and CARTaGENE. The findings suggested that smoking serves as a mediating factor that connects depression and anxiety with lung cancer and other cancers related to smoking.

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2024

Age- and sex-specific associations of frailty with mortality and healthcare utilization in community-dwelling adults from Ontario, Canada

Authors: Chris P. Verschoor, Olga Theou, Jinhui Ma, Phyllis Montgomery, Sharolyn Mossey, Parveen Nangia, Refik Saskin, David W. Savage

The researchers sought to estimate the association of frailty with the risk of death, hospital admissions, and length of hospital stay. Using data from the Ontario Health Study linked to all-cause mortality and hospital admissions data from ICES, they found that frailty is an important health construct for both younger and older adults.

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2024

Psychosocial factors, health behaviors and risk of cancer incidence: Testing interaction and effect modification in an individual participant data meta-analysis

Authors: Maartje Basten, Kuan-Yu Pan, Lonneke A vanTuijl, Alexander de Graeff, Joost Dekker, Adriaan W Hoogendoorn, Femke Lamers, Adelita V Ranchor, Roel Vermeulen, Lützen Portengen, Adri C Voogd, Jessica Abell, Philip Awadalla, Aartjan T.F. Beekman, Ottar Bjerkeset, Andy Boyd, Yunsong Cui, Philipp Frank, Henrike Galenkamp, Bert Garssen, Sean Hellingman, Martijn Huisman, Anke Huss, Melanie R. Keats, Almar A.L. Kok, Steinar Krokstad, Flora E. van Leeuwen, Annemarie I. Luik, NolwennNoisel, Yves Payette, Brenda W.J.H. Penninx, Ina Rissanen, Annelieke M. Roest, Judith G.M. Rosmalen, Rikje Ruiter, Robert A. Schoevers, David Soave, Mandy Spaan, Andrew Steptoe, Karien Stronks, Erik R. Sund, Ellen Sweeney, Emma L. Twait, Alison Teyhan, W.M. Monique Verschuren, Kimberly D. van der Willik, Mirjam I. Geerlings

Researchers determined whether psychosocial factors interact with or modify the effects of health behaviors, such as smoking and alcohol use, in relation to cancer incidence. Data were used from 22 cohorts, including the Ontario Health Study, Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health, and CARTaGENE. After exploring 744 combinations of psychosocial factors, the researchers found no evidence that psychosocial factors interacted with or modified health behaviors related to cancer incidence.

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2023

Factors associated with change in moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety and depression in community-living adults and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors: Helen-Maria Vasiliadis, Jessica Spagnolo, Mary Bartram, Marie-Josée Fleury, Jean-Philippe Gouin, Sébastien Grenier, Pasquale Roberge, Grace Shen-Tu, Jennifer E Vena, Catherine Lamoureux-Lamarche , JianLi Wang

Researchers explored changes in moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety or depression (MSSANXDEP) from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, and examined associated sociodemographic, economic, psychosocial, health behavior and lifestyle, and clinical factors. Data from 59,997 participants from the five established cohorts of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath) were used. Analyses indicated that certain sociodemographic, economic, lifestyle, health behavior, psychosocial, and clinical factors were associated with remitted, incident, and persistent MSSANXDEP.

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2023

Factors associated with mental health service use during the pandemic: Initiation and barriers

Authors: Helen-Maria Vasiliadis, Jessica Spagnolo, Marie-Josée Fleury, Jean-Philippe Gouin, Pasquale Roberge, Mary Bartram, Sébastien Grenier, Grace Shen-Tu, Jennifer E. Vena, JianLi Wang

This study aimed to understand the factors associated with initiating new mental health service use (MHSU) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as distinguishing between different reasons for not seeking mental health services. The research found that several factors influenced MHSU, such as age, living situation, income, and health professional status. The study suggests the need for awareness campaigns targeting older adults to explain the importance of seeking treatment and for sensitizing health professionals to facilitate access to mental health care for individuals at risk of social isolation and lower socioeconomic status.

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2023

The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Canada: a time-series study, 2020-2023

Authors: Tanya J. Murphy, Hanna Swail, Jaspreet Jain, Maureen Anderson, Philip Awadalla, Lesley Behl, Patrick E. Brown, Carmen L. Charlton, Karen Colwill, Steven J. Drews, Anne-Claude Gingras, Deena Hinshaw, Prabhat Jha, Jamil N. Kanji, Victoria A. Kirsh, Amanda L. S. Lang, Marc-André Langlois, Stephen Lee, Antoine Lewin, Sheila F. O'Brien, Chantale Pambrun, Kimberly Skead, David A. Stephens, Derek R. Stein, Graham Tipples, Paul G. Van Caeseele, Timothy G. Evans, Olivia Oxlade, Bruce D. Mazer, David L. Buckeridge

This study used data from the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, which includes CanPath data, to track the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the Canadian population over the pre-vaccination period, the vaccine rollout, and the emergence of the Omicron variant. By March 2023, over three-quarters of the population had detectable antibodies, with the most substantial increases seen after the arrival of the Omicron variant. However, variations in immunity by age and geography highlight the importance of tailoring public health policies and clinical decisions to local patterns of population immunity, considering factors like potential antibody decline and the emergence of new variants that might evade immunity.

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2023

Depression, anxiety, and the risk of cancer: An individual participant data meta-analysis

Authors: Lonneke A van Tuijl, Maartje Basten, Kuan-Yu Pan, Roel Vermeulen, Lützen Portengen, Alexander de Graeff, Joost Dekker, Mirjam I Geerlings, Adriaan Hoogendoorn, Femke Lamers, Adri C Voogd, Jessica Abell, Philip Awadalla, Aartjan T F Beekman, Ottar Bjerkeset, Andy Boyd, Yunsong Cui, Philipp Frank, Henrike Galenkamp, Bert Garssen, Sean Hellingman, Martijn Huisman, Anke Huss, Trynke R de Jong, Melanie R Keats, Almar A L Kok, Steinar Krokstad, Flora E van Leeuwen, Annemarie I Luik, Nolwenn Noisel, N Charlotte Onland-Moret, Yves Payette, Brenda W J H Penninx, Ina Rissanen, Annelieke M Roest, Rikje Ruiter, Robert A Schoevers, David Soave, Mandy Spaan, Andrew Steptoe, Karien Stronks, Erik R Sund, Ellen Sweeney, Emma L Twait, Alison Teyhan, W M Monique Verschuren, Kimberly D van der Willik, Judith G M Rosmalen, Adelita V Ranchor

Researchers performed meta-analyses within the Psychosocial Factors and Cancer Incidence (PSY-CA) consortium to develop a stronger foundation for addressing associations between depression, anxiety, and the incidence of various cancer types. They found that depression and anxiety are not related to increased risk for most cancer outcomes, except for lung and smoking-related cancers.

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2023

Importance of accounting for timing of time-varying exposures in association studies: Hydrochlorothiazide and non-melanoma skin cancer

Authors: Coraline Danieli, Cristiano S Moura, Louise Pilote, Sasha Bernatsky, Michal Abrahamowicz

The researchers used different models to determine how non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) risk varies with hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) exposure and explored how the results may be contingent on modeling strategies. Data was collected from study participants who were part of the Ontario Health Study cohort. In parametric models considering all exposures, longer duration of past HCTZ use was linked to a higher risk of NMSC, while cumulative dose did not show a consistent association. However, weighted cumulative exposure model results indicated that only exposures occurring 2.5–4 years ago were associated with the current hazard of NMSC.

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