A Prospective Analysis of Circulating Plasma Metabolites Associated with Ovarian Cancer Risk.

Cancer research
Authors
Abstract

Ovarian cancer has few known risk factors, hampering identification of high-risk women. We assessed the association of prediagnostic plasma metabolites ( = 420) with risk of epithelial ovarian cancer, including both borderline and invasive tumors. A total of 252 cases and 252 matched controls from the Nurses' Health Studies were included. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI), comparing the 90th-10th percentile in metabolite levels, using the permutation-based Westfall and Young approach to account for testing multiple correlated hypotheses. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA; = 10 metabolite modules) and metabolite set enrichment analysis ( = 23 metabolite classes) were also evaluated. An increase in pseudouridine levels from the 10th to the 90th percentile was associated with a 2.5-fold increased risk of overall ovarian cancer (OR = 2.56; 95% CI, 1.48-4.45; = 0.001/adjusted = 0.15); a similar risk estimate was observed for serous/poorly differentiated tumors ( = 176 cases; comparable OR = 2.38; 95% CI, 1.33-4.32; = 0.004/adjusted = 0.55). For nonserous tumors ( = 34 cases), pseudouridine and C36:2 phosphatidylcholine plasmalogen had the strongest statistical associations (OR = 9.84; 95% CI, 2.89-37.82; < 0.001/adjusted = 0.07; and OR = 0.11; 95% CI, 0.03-0.35; < 0.001/adjusted = 0.06, respectively). Five WGCNA modules and 9 classes were associated with risk overall at FDR ≤ 0.20. Triacylglycerols (TAG) showed heterogeneity by tumor aggressiveness (case-only heterogeneity < 0.0001). The TAG association with risk overall and serous tumors differed by acyl carbon content and saturation. In summary, this study suggests that pseudouridine may be a novel risk factor for ovarian cancer and that TAGs may also be important, particularly for rapidly fatal tumors, with associations differing by structural features. SIGNIFICANCE: Pseudouridine represents a potential novel risk factor for ovarian cancer and triglycerides may be important particularly in rapidly fatal ovarian tumors.

Year of Publication
2020
Journal
Cancer research
Volume
80
Issue
6
Pages
1357-1367
Date Published
03/2020
ISSN
1538-7445
DOI
10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-19-2567
PubMed ID
31969373
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