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Cited by 24Cancer Risks and FactorsGenetic Associations and EpidemiologyBody Composition Measurement Techniques

New role of fat-free mass in cancer risk linked with genetic predisposition

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Harris, Benjamin H. L., Di Giovannantonio, Matteo, Zhang, Ping, Harris, David A., Lord, Simon R., Allen, Naomi E., Maughan, Tim S., Bryant, Richard J. +3 more·2024·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-024-54291-7PMC PMC10973462
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Abstract

Cancer risk is associated with the widely debated measure body mass index (BMI). Fat mass and fat-free mass measurements from bioelectrical impedance may further clarify this association. The UK Biobank is a rare resource in which bioelectrical impedance and BMI data was collected on ~ 500,000 individuals. Using this dataset, a comprehensive analysis using regression, principal component and genome-wide genetic association, provided multiple levels of evidence that increasing whole body fat (WBFM) and fat-free mass (WBFFM) are both associated with increased post-menopausal breast cancer risk, and colorectal cancer risk in men. WBFM was inversely associated with prostate cancer. We also identified rs615029[T] and rs1485995[G] as associated in independent analyses with both PMBC (p = 1.56E–17 and 1.78E–11) and WBFFM (p = 2.88E–08 and 8.24E–12), highlighting splice variants of the intriguing long non-coding RNA CUPID1 (LINC01488) as a potential link between PMBC risk and fat-free mass.

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  • Each pQTL in the CHRDL2/BMP region also colocalizes with a GWAS risk signal for colorectal cancer, and the four proteins are linked in STRING.

    “Each pQTL also colocalizes with a GWAS risk signal for colorectal cancer (table S14) (32), and the four proteins are linked in STRING (fig. S7C).”

    From Low overlap of plasma and CSF protein quantitative trait loci affects protein discovery for neurological disease (2026) · cites this paper as [32]

    The Results section describes GWAS associations involving body composition and cancer, but does not report pQTL colocalization at the CHRDL2/BMP region with a colorectal-cancer risk signal. Searches for CHRDL2, pQTL colocalization, and STRING also found no passage addressing the specific claim; the STRING clause is separately attributed to a figure rather than clearly to this citation. No page numbers were available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Harris, B. H. L., Di Giovannantonio, M., Zhang, P., Harris, D. A., Lord, S. R., Allen, N. E., Maughan, T. S., Bryant, R. J., Harris, A. L., Bond, G. L., & Buffa, F. M.
Affiliations
  • University of Oxford (GB)
  • Centre for Human Genetics (GB)
  • Churchill Hospital (GB)
  • University of Birmingham (GB)
Corresponding author
  • Harris, Benjamin H. L.
  • Buffa, Francesca M.
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-03-27
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
7270-7270
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-024-54291-7
PMC
PMC10973462
OpenAlex
W4393233791
Cited by
24
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 1
FWCI
3.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Archivio istituzionale della Ricerca - Bocconi (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) (University of Oxford) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Cancer Research UK
  • UCARE
  • Royal College of Surgeons of England (A22748)
  • European Research Council (772970)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Risks and Factors
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
Keywords
fat-free mass, body mass index, postmenopausal breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, genetic susceptibility, long non-coding RNA, cancer risk, UK Biobank, bioimpedance
MeSH terms
Body Composition, Humans, Male, Neoplasms, Body Mass Index, Electric Impedance, Genetic Predisposition to Disease

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