Adult height is associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer: a Mendelian randomisation study

Dixon-Suen, S. C. et al. (2018) Adult height is associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer: a Mendelian randomisation study. British Journal of Cancer, 118(8), pp. 1123-1129. (doi: 10.1038/s41416-018-0011-3) (PMID:29555990) (PMCID:PMC5931085)

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.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Paul, Mr James and Glasspool, Dr Rosalind
• Authors: Dixon-Suen, S. C., Nagle, C. M., Thrift, A. P., Pharoah, P. D.P., Ewing, A., Pearce, C. L., Zheng, W., Chenevix-Trench, G., Fasching, P. A., Beckmann, M. W., Lambrechts, D., Vergote, I., Lambrechts, S., Van Nieuwenhuysen, E., Rossing, M. A., Doherty, J. A., Wicklund, K. G., Chang-Claude, J., Jung, A. Y., Moysich, K. B., Odunsi, K., Goodman, M. T., Wilkens, L. R., Thompson, P. J., Shvetsov, Y. B., Dörk, T., Park-Simon, T.-W., Hillemanns, P., Bogdanova, N., Butzow, R., Nevanlinna, H., Pelttari, L. M., Leminen, A., Modugno, F., Ness, R. B., Edwards, R. P., Kelley, J. L., Heitz, F., du Bois, A., Harter, P., Schwaab, I., Karlan, B. Y., Lester, J., Orsulic, S., Rimel, B. J., Kjær, S. K., Høgdall, E., Jensen, A., Goode, E. L., Fridley, B. L., Cunningham, J. M., Winham, S. J., Giles, G. G., Bruinsma, F., Milne, R. L., Southey, M. C., Hildebrandt, M. A.T., Wu, X., Lu, K. H., Liang, D., Levine, D. A., Bisogna, M., Schildkraut, J. M., Berchuck, A., Cramer, D. W., Terry, K. L., Bandera, E. V., Olson, S. H., Salvesen, H. B., Thomsen, L. C. V., Kopperud, R. K., Bjorge, L., Kiemeney, L. A., Massuger, L. F.A.G., Pejovic, T., Bruegl, A., Cook, L. S., Le, N. D., Swenerton, K. D., Brooks-Wilson, A., Kelemen, L. E., Lubiński, J., Huzarski, T., Gronwald, J., Menkiszak, J., Wentzensen, N., Brinton, L., Yang, H., Lissowska, J., Høgdall, C. K., Lundvall, L., Song, H., Tyrer, J. P., Campbell, I., Eccles, D., Paul, J., Glasspool, R., Siddiqui, N., Whittemore, A. S., Sieh, W., McGuire, V., Rothstein, J. H., Narod, S. A., Phelan, C., Risch, H. A., McLaughlin, J. R., Anton-Culver, H., Ziogas, A., Menon, U., Gayther, S. A., Ramus, S. J., Gentry-Maharaj, A., Wu, A. H., Pike, M. C., Tseng, C.-C., Kupryjanczyk, J., Dansonka-Mieszkowska, A., Budzilowska, A., Rzepecka, I. K., and Webb, P. M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
• Journal Name: British Journal of Cancer
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• ISSN: 0007-0920
• ISSN (Online): 1532-1827
• Published Online: 20 March 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 Cancer Research UK
• First Published: First published in British Journal of Cancer 118(8): 1123-1129
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License