Frontiers in Nutrition (Sep 2024)

Causal relationship between genetic-predicted uric acid and cervical cancer risk: evidence for nutritional intervention on cervical cancer prevention

  • Chunge Cao,
  • Dajun Cai,
  • Hao Liu,
  • Xia Zhang,
  • Lina Cai,
  • Caiping Sun,
  • Huifang Wang,
  • Hu Zhao,
  • Chaoyan Yue

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1464046
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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IntroductionThe relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and cervical cancer is inconclusive. This study aims to investigate the causal relationship between SUA levels and cervical cancer incidence, and to evaluate the potential role of nutritional interventions in cervical cancer prevention.MethodsWe conducted a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using genetic instruments from publicly available genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of individuals of predominantly European ancestry. Methods such as inversevariance weighted, weighted-median, weighted model, and MR-Egger were applied. Sensitivity tests, including leave-one-out, MR-PRESSO, and Cochran’s Q test, assessed heterogeneity and pleiotropy.ResultsOur findings revealed that a high SUA concentration significantly increased the risk of malignant cervical cancer: a 1 mg/mL increase in SUA was associated with a 71% higher risk (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.10–2.67; p = 0.018). Stratification by histological type showed a significant causal effect on cervical adenocarcinoma risk (OR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.14–5.73; p = 0.023). However, no clear evidence was found for a causal effect of cervical cancer on SUA levels.ConclusionThis study identified a causal relationship between elevated SUA levels and the risk of malignant cervical cancer, particularly cervical adenocarcinoma. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms of cervical carcinogenesis and suggest that managing SUA levels could be a potential strategy for cervical cancer prevention through dietary management.

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