Science 23 January 1998:
Vol. 279. no. 5350, pp. 563 - 566
DOI: 10.1126/science.279.5350.563
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Reports

Plasma Insulin -Like Growth Factor-I and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Prospective Study
June M. Chan, * Meir J. Stampfer, Edward Giovannucci, Peter H. Gann, Jing Ma, Peter Wilkinson, Charles H. Hennekens, Michael Pollak

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is a mitogen for prostate epithelial cells. To investigate associations between plasma IGF levels and prostate cancer risk, a nested case-control study within the Physicians' Health Study was conducted on prospectively collected plasma from 152 cases and 152 controls. A strong positive association was observed between IGF-I levels and prostate cancer risk. Men in the highest quartile of IGF-I levels had a relative risk of 4.3 (95 percent confidence interval 1.8 to 10.6) compared with men in the lowest quartile. This association was in***endent of baseline prostate-specific antigen levels. Identification of plasma IGF-I as a predictor of prostate cancer risk may have implications for risk reduction and treatment.

J. M. Chan and M. J. Stampfer, ***artment of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
E. Giovannucci and J. Ma, Channing Laboratory, ***artment of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
P. H. Gann, ***artment of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
P. Wilkinson and M. Pollak, Cancer Prevention Research Unit, ***artments of Medicine and Oncology, Lady Davis Research Institute of the Jewish General Hospital and McGill University, Montreal, Canada H3T1E2.
C. H. Hennekens, Division of Preventive Medicine, ***artment of Medicine and ***artment of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: [email protected]