Pre-diagnostic telomere length and colorectal cancer risk

Keming Yang; Jennifer Prescott; Aditi Hazra; Jeffrey A Meyerhardt; Xuehong Zhang; Immaculata De Vivo; Andrew T Chan; Mengmeng Du; Edward L Giovannucci; Hongmei Nan

doi:10.1016/j.canep.2022.102100

Pre-diagnostic telomere length and colorectal cancer risk

Cancer Epidemiol. 2022 Apr:77:102100. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2022.102100. Epub 2022 Jan 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
² Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁰ Department of Global Health, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

Background: Progressive telomere shortening may be related to genomic instability and carcinogenesis. Prospective evidence relating telomere length (TL) with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk has been limited and inconsistent.

Methods: We examined the association between pre-diagnostic peripheral blood leukocyte TL and CRC risk in two matched case-control studies nested within the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS). Relative leukocyte TL was measured using qPCR among 356 incident CRC cases and 801 controls (NHS: 186/465, HPFS: 170/336).

Results: We did not find a significant association between pre-diagnostic TL and CRC risk [in all participants, multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) for TL Quartile 1 (shortest) vs. Quartile 4 (longest) = 1.36 (0.85, 2.17), P-trend = 0.27; OR (95% CI) per 1 SD decrease in TL = 1.12 (0.92, 1.36)].

Conclusions: Our prospective analysis did not support a significant association between pre-diagnostic leukocyte TL and CRC risk.

Keywords: Colon cancer; Colorectal cancer; Nested case-control study; Peripheral blood leukocyte; Rectal cancer; Telomere length.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Case-Control Studies
Colorectal Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Colorectal Neoplasms* / epidemiology
Colorectal Neoplasms* / genetics
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Leukocytes
Risk Factors
Telomere* / genetics

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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