Association between biomarkers of tobacco consumption and lung cancer risk among daily smokers

ABSTRACT

Background

Biomarkers of tobacco consumption may play a role in the lung cancer risk assessment. However, the role of salivary biomarkers has not been well studied. The aim of this study is to assess the use of salivary biomarkers of tobacco consumption as lung cancer screening criterion.

Research design and methods

Data came from the Determinants of cotinine phase 3 project (Barcelona, 2013–2014). We compared the concentrations of TSNAs, including NNAL, NNN and NNK, and cotinine, in saliva samples of 142 daily smokers from the general population according to their risk of lung cancer. High risk of lung cancer was defined as per the inclusion criteria in the US National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) and in the Dutch-Belgian lung cancer screening trial (NELSON).

Results

Among daily smokers accomplishing the age criterion for lung cancer screening, salivary concentrations of cotinine, NNAL and NNK adjusted for sex were significantly higher (p-value < 0.05) in daily smokers at high risk of lung cancer compared to smokers not at high risk according to both NELSON and NLST criteria.

Conclusions

Saliva concentrations of cotinine, NNAL and NNK may be used as additional criteria for lung cancer screening. Further research on this topic is guaranteed.

KEYWORDS:

• Lung cancer
• salivary biomarkers
• screening
• smoking
• tobacco-specific nitrosamines

Acknowledgments

This work was presented as an oral communication in the I Online Spanish Society of Epidemiology Meeting in October 2020.

Author contributions

All authors revised the paper critically for intellectual content and interpreted the dat1 They all approve the final version to be published and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. J.A. Pascual, E. Fernández and J.M. Martínez-Sánchez were involved in the conception and design of the project. A. González-Marrón drafted the original draft and carried out the formal analysis.

Declaration of interests

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Additional information

Funding

This project was co-funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Evaluación, Government of Spain (PI12/01114 and PI12/01119) and by FEDER funds/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) -a way to build Europe-A. González-Marrón, J.C. Martín-Sánchez, A. Cartanyà-Hueso, N. Matilla-Santander and J.M. Martínez-Sánchez are supported by the Ministry of Universities and Research, Government of Catalonia (2017SGR608). M. Fu, M. Ballbè, and E. Fernández are supported by the Ministry of Universities and Research, Government of Catalonia (2017SGR139). R. Pérez-Ortuño and J.A. Pascual are supported by the Ministry of Universities and Research, Government of Catalonia (2017SGR138). J.M. Martínez-Sánchez is also supported by Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte en el marco del Programa Estatal de Promoción del Talento y su Empleabilidad en I+D+i, Subprograma Estatal de Movilidad, del Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013–2016 (CAS18/00153). IDIBELL investigators also thank CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya, for its institutional support.