Kvik is an open-source system that we developed for explorative analysis of functional genomics data from large epidemiological studies. Creating such studies requires a significant amount of time and resources. It is therefore usual to reuse the data from one study for several research projects. Often each project requires implementing new analysis code, integration with specific knowledge bases, ...

Background: Metabolomics is a promising molecular tool for identifying novel etiological pathways leading to cancer. In an earlier prospective study among pre- and postmenopausal women not using exogenous hormones, we observed a higher risk of breast cancer associated with higher blood concentrations of one metabolite (acetylcarnitine) and a lower risk associated with higher blood concentrations of ...

Breast cancer patients with metastatic disease have a higher incidence of deaths from breast cancer than patients with early-stage cancers. Recent findings suggest that there are differences in immune cell function between metastatic and non-metastatic cases, even years before diagnosis. We have analyzed whole blood gene expression by Illumina bead chips in blood samples taken using the PAXgene blood ...

Background - Epidemiological studies of associations between metabolites and cancer risk have typically focused on specific cancer types separately. Here, we designed a multivariate pan-cancer analysis to identify metabolites potentially associated with multiple cancer types, while also allowing the investigation of cancer type-specific associations.<p> <p>Methods - We analysed targeted metabolomics ...

Background/Objectives: Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with increased risk of developing several diseases, but much is unknown about the molecular effects involved. Gene expression technology is increasingly being used to elucidate molecular mechanisms related to nutritional factors, and in this study of free-living, middle-aged Norwegian women, we aimed at identifying gene expression ...

For tissue-based studies of breast cancer, getting access to truly normal, well-annotated tissue can be a challenge. To address that need, we collected 368 breast tissue biopsies and buffered blood samples from healthy postmenopausal women. Volunteers were part of the Norwegian Women and Cancer (NOWAC) Postgenome cohort, recruited through the national mammography screening program. The NOWAC normal ...

Selenium (Se) may help prevent breast cancer (BC) development. Owing to limited observational evidence, we investigated whether prediagnostic Se status and/or variants in the selenoprotein genes are associated with BC risk in a large European cohort. Se status was assessed by plasma measures of Se and its major circulating proteins, selenoprotein P (SELENOP) and glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPX3), in ...

The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) is a long-term, multi-centric prospective study in Europe investigating the relationships between cancer and nutrition. This study has served as a basis for a number of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and other types of genetic analyses. Over a period of 5 years, 52,256 EPIC DNA samples have been extracted using an automated ...

In nutrigenomics, gene expression profiling is used to investigate transcriptional mechanisms associated with nutrients and diet. Blood samples collected in the framework of dietary interventions and epidemiological studies allow the use of humans as the model system, as opposed to using cell lines or animal models. Here, we review recent publications in the field of gene expression profiling, based ...