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- Smith-Byrne, Karl, et al.
(författare)
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Identifying therapeutic targets for cancer among 2074 circulating proteins and risk of nine cancers
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Circulating proteins can reveal key pathways to cancer and identify therapeutic targets for cancer prevention. We investigate 2,074 circulating proteins and risk of nine common cancers (bladder, breast, endometrium, head and neck, lung, ovary, pancreas, kidney, and malignant non-melanoma) using cis protein Mendelian randomisation and colocalization. We conduct additional analyses to identify adverse side-effects of altering risk proteins and map cancer risk proteins to drug targets. Here we find 40 proteins associated with common cancers, such as PLAUR and risk of breast cancer [odds ratio per standard deviation increment: 2.27, 1.88-2.74], and with high-mortality cancers, such as CTRB1 and pancreatic cancer [0.79, 0.73-0.85]. We also identify potential adverse effects of protein-altering interventions to reduce cancer risk, such as hypertension. Additionally, we report 18 proteins associated with cancer risk that map to existing drugs and 15 that are not currently under clinical investigation. In sum, we identify protein-cancer links that improve our understanding of cancer aetiology. We also demonstrate that the wider consequence of any protein-altering intervention on well-being and morbidity is required to interpret any utility of proteins as potential future targets for therapeutic prevention.
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| 2. |
- Bouras, Emmanouil, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of potential mediators of the relationship between body mass index and colorectal cancer : a Mendelian randomization analysis
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 53:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third-most-common cancer worldwide and its rates are increasing. Elevated body mass index (BMI) is an established risk factor for CRC, although the molecular mechanisms behind this association remain unclear. Using the Mendelian randomization (MR) framework, we aimed to investigate the mediating effects of putative biomarkers and other CRC risk factors in the association between BMI and CRC.Methods: We selected as mediators biomarkers of established cancer-related mechanisms and other CRC risk factors for which a plausible association with obesity exists, such as inflammatory biomarkers, glucose homeostasis traits, lipids, adipokines, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), sex hormones, 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, smoking, physical activity (PA) and alcohol consumption. We used inverse-variance weighted MR in the main univariable analyses and performed sensitivity analyses (weighted-median, MR–Egger, Contamination Mixture). We used multivariable MR for the mediation analyses.Results: Genetically predicted BMI was positively associated with CRC risk [odds ratio per SD (5 kg/m2) ¼ 1.17, 95% CI: 1.08–1.24, P-value ¼ 1.4 × 10−5] and robustly associated with nearly all potential mediators. Genetically predicted IGF1, fasting insulin, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking, PA and alcohol were associated with CRC risk. Evidence for attenuation was found for IGF1 [explained 7% (95% CI: 2–13%) of the association], smoking (31%, 4–57%) and PA (7%, 2–11%). There was little evidence for pleiotropy, although smoking was bidirectionally associated with BMI and instruments were weak for PA.Conclusions: The effect of BMI on CRC risk is possibly partly mediated through plasma IGF1, whereas the attenuation of the BMI–CRC association by smoking and PA may reflect confounding and shared underlying mechanisms rather than mediation.
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