Abstract
BACKGROUND: Observational studies suggest greater height is associated with increased ovarian cancer risk, but cannot exclude bias and/or confounding as explanations for this. Mendelian randomisation (MR) can provide evidence which may be less prone to bias.
METHODS: We pooled data from 39 Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium studies (16,395 cases; 23,003 controls). We applied two-stage predictor-substitution MR, using a weighted genetic risk score combining 609 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Study-specific odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between genetically predicted height and risk were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis.
RESULTS: Greater genetically predicted height was associated with increased ovarian cancer risk overall (pooled-OR (pOR) = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.01-1.11 per 5 cm increase in height), and separately for invasive (pOR = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.01-1.11) and borderline (pOR = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.02-1.29) tumours.
CONCLUSIONS: Women with a genetic propensity to being taller have increased risk of ovarian cancer. This suggests genes influencing height are involved in pathways promoting ovarian carcinogenesis.
Original language | English |
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Journal | British Journal of Cancer |
Volume | 118 |
Issue number | 8 |
Pages (from-to) | 1123-1129 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISSN | 0007-0920 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2018 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Body Height/genetics
- Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial/epidemiology
- Case-Control Studies
- Female
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Geography
- Humans
- Mendelian Randomization Analysis
- Middle Aged
- Ovarian Neoplasms/epidemiology
- Risk Factors
- Young Adult