Short Communication Prospective Study of Seroreactivity to JCVirus T-Antigen and Risk of Colorectal Cancers and Adenomas

John Cunningham virus (JCV) is a common polyomavirus classified as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. JCV may play a role in colorectal carcinogenesis, although we previously reported no association between JCV capsid antibodies and colorectal cancer. No studies have examined the role of seroreactivity to JCV T-antigen (T-Ag) oncoprotein in colorectal cancer. A case–control study nestedwithin a community-based prospective cohort (CLUE II)was conducted. In 1989, 25,080 residents ofWashingtonCounty,Maryland,were enrolled inCLUE II, completingbaselinequestionnaires andproviding blood samples. At follow-up, 257 incident colorectal cancer cases were identified by linkage to populationbased cancer registries through 2006 and matched to controls on age, sex, race, and date of blood draw. One hundred and twenty-three colorectal adenoma caseswere identified through self-report during follow-up and matched to controls on age, sex, race, date of blood draw, and colorectal cancer screening. Baseline serum samples were tested for seroreactivity to JCV T-Ag. Associations between JCV T-Ag seroreactivity and colorectal cancer/adenomas were evaluated using conditional logistic regression models. Overall, seroreactivity to JCVT-Agwas not statistically significantly associatedwith the risk of either colorectal cancer [OR, 1.34; 95%confidence interval (CI), 0.89–2.01] or adenoma (OR, 1.30; 95%CI, 0.70–2.42),while a borderline association with colorectal cancer was observed among women (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.00–3.31). Our past evaluation of JCV capsid seropositivity, combined with current findings, does not support a notable etiologic role for JCV infection in colorectal cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(11); 2591–6. 2014 AACR.