Naslov
Exploring causality in the association between circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D and colorectal cancer risk: a large Mendelian randomisation study

Autori
He, Yazhou ; Timofeeva, Maria ; Farrington, Susan M. ; Vaughan-Shaw, Peter ; Svinti, Victoria ; Walker, Marion ; Zgaga, Lina ; Meng, Xiangrui ; Li, Xue ; Spiliopoulou, Athina ; Jiang, Xia ; Hyppönen, Elina ; Kraft, Peter ; Kiel, Douglas P. ; The SUNLIGHT consortium ; Hayward, Caroline ; Campbell, Archie ; Porteous, David ; Vucic, Katarina ; Kirac, Iva ; Filipovic, Masa ; Harris, Sarah E. ; Deary, Ian J. ; Houlston, Richard ; Tomlinson, Ian P. ; Campbell, Harry ; Theodoratou, Evropi ; Dunlop, Malcolm G.

Izvornik
Bmc medicine (1741-7015) 16 (2018), 1; 142, 11

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Colorectal cancer ; Mendelian randomisation ; Vitamin D

Sažetak
BACKGROUND: Whilst observational studies establish that lower plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels are associated with higher risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), establishing causality has proven challenging. Since vitamin D is modifiable, these observations have substantial clinical and public health implications. Indeed, many health agencies already recommend supplemental vitamin D. Here, we explore causality in a large Mendelian randomisation (MR) study using an improved genetic instrument for circulating 25- OHD. METHODS: We developed a weighted genetic score for circulating 25-OHD using six genetic variants that we recently reported to be associated with circulating 25-OHD in a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta- analysis. Using this score as instrumental variable in MR analyses, we sought to determine whether circulating 25-OHD is causally linked with CRC risk. We conducted MR analysis using individual- level data from 10, 725 CRC cases and 30, 794 controls (Scotland, UK Biobank and Croatia). We then applied estimates from meta- analysis of 11 GWAS of CRC risk (18, 967 cases ; 48, 168 controls) in a summary statistics MR approach. RESULTS: The new genetic score for 25- OHD was strongly associated with measured plasma 25-OHD levels in 2821 healthy Scottish controls (P = 1.47 × 10- 11), improving upon previous genetic instruments (F-statistic 46.0 vs. 13.0). However, individual-level MR revealed no association between 25-OHD score and CRC risk (OR 1.03/unit log-transformed circulating 25- OHD, 95% CI 0.51- 2.07, P = 0.93). Similarly, we found no evidence for a causal relationship between 25-OHD and CRC risk using summary statistics MR analysis (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.69- 1.19, P = 0.48). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the scale of this study and employing an improved score capturing more of the genetic contribution to circulating 25-OHD, we found no evidence for a causal relationship between circulating 25-OHD and CRC risk. Although the magnitude of effect for vitamin D suggested by observational studies can confidently be excluded, smaller effects sizes and non-linear relationships remain plausible. Circulating vitamin D may be a CRC biomarker, but a causal effect on CRC risk remains unproven.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Kliničke medicinske znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA