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- Title
Leukocyte telomere length, cancer incidence and all‐cause mortality among Chinese adults: Singapore Chinese Health Study.
- Authors
Samavat, Hamed; Luu, Hung N.; Beckman, Kenneth B.; Jin, Aizhen; Wang, Renwei; Koh, Woon‐Puay; Yuan, Jian‐Min
- Abstract
Telomeres play a key role in chromosomal maintenance and stability. To date, few studies have investigated the association of leukocyte telomere length with risk of cancer incidence and all‐cause mortality in a large prospective cohort, particularly of the Asian population. Relative telomere lengths in genomic DNA from peripheral blood samples were quantified using a validated quantitative real‐time PCR among 26 540 middle‐aged or older Chinese adults. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of cancer and deaths by quintiles of telomere length were calculated using the Cox proportional hazards regression method with adjustment for age, sex and other potential confounders. After baseline blood collection, 4353 persons developed cancer and 7609 died. Participants with the longest decile of telomeres had a 26% (95% CI: 11%‐44%) higher risk of total cancer incidence compared to the shortest decile after controlling for age, sex and other potential founders (Ptrend <.0001). In contrast, longer telomeres were associated with lower risk of all‐cause mortality (HR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.84‐1.03), noncancer death (HR = 0.81; 95% CI: 0.71‐0.92), specifically, death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia (HR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.70‐0.89) and digestive diseases (HR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.42‐0.88). Our findings demonstrated that longer telomeres are associated with increased risk of cancer development overall and several common cancer types including breast, rectal, prostate, pancreatic cancer and lung adenocarcinoma. Our study also confirmed that longer telomeres are associated with a reduced risk of noncancer related death. What's new? Telomere length is a promising biomarker for cancer risk, with longer‐ and shorter‐than‐expected telomeres variously linked to increased risk of malignancy. Among Asian populations, however, relationships between telomere length, cancer incidence, and cancer mortality remain understudied. Here, investigation of more than 26 500 Chinese adults with greater than 12 years of health follow‐up shows that longer telomere length is associated with significantly elevated risk of total and cancer‐specific incidence and mortality and with reduced risk of all‐cause and non‐cancer‐related mortality. The data highlight the relevance of longer telomere length in the development and outcome of specific cancer types and non‐cancerous diseases.
- Subjects
OBSTRUCTIVE lung diseases; ASIANS; CANCER-related mortality; BLOOD collection
- Publication
International Journal of Cancer, 2021, Vol 148, Issue 2, p352
- ISSN
0020-7136
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/ijc.33211