Leukocyte Telomere Length, Cancer Incidence and All-cause Mortality among Chinese Adults: Singapore Chinese Health Study
Menée en Chine à l'aide d'échantillons sanguins collectés auprès de 26 540 adultes, cette étude analyse l'association entre la longueur des télomères leucocytaires et le risque de cancer (4 353 cas) ou la mortalité toutes causes confondues (7 609 décès)
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 allcause 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, 4,353 persons developed cancer and 7,609 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< 0.0001). In contrast, longer telomeres were associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR=0.93; 95% CI: 0.84–1.03), non-cancer 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 non-cancer related death. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.