Hui Zeng1,2, Hui-Chen Wu1, Qiao Wang1, Hwai-I Yang3,4,5, Chien-Jen Chen5,6, Regina M Santella1, Jing Shen7. 1. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, NY, U.S.A. 2. Department of Environmental Hygiene, College of Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China. 3. Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C. 4. Molecular and Genomic Epidemiology Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C. 5. Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. 6. Graduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. 7. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, NY, U.S.A. js2182@cumc.columbia.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Telomere length (TL) measured in peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) might be a useful biomarker to identify elevated cancer risk. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A case-control study which included 268 newly-diagnosed HCC cases and 536 matched controls, was conducted. Absolute TL in PBL was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: The overall median length of TL was not statistically shorter in HCC cases compared to healthy controls. However, we found a significant synergistic effect of longer TL and HCV infection to increase HCC risk with a relative excess risk of 6.86 (95% CI: 2.14-11.58). Among HCC cases, significant shorter TLs were observed for <5 years (OR=3.93, 95% CI: 2.00-7.72); 5-10 years (OR=2.16, 95% CI: 1.10-4.24) compared to >10 years prior to diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Shorter PBL TL alone was not significantly associated with increased HCC risk. Among HCC cases, significant shorter TLs were observed for <5 years prior to diagnosis. Copyright
BACKGROUND: Telomere length (TL) measured in peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) might be a useful biomarker to identify elevated cancer risk. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A case-control study which included 268 newly-diagnosed HCC cases and 536 matched controls, was conducted. Absolute TL in PBL was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: The overall median length of TL was not statistically shorter in HCC cases compared to healthy controls. However, we found a significant synergistic effect of longer TL and HCV infection to increase HCC risk with a relative excess risk of 6.86 (95% CI: 2.14-11.58). Among HCC cases, significant shorter TLs were observed for <5 years (OR=3.93, 95% CI: 2.00-7.72); 5-10 years (OR=2.16, 95% CI: 1.10-4.24) compared to >10 years prior to diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Shorter PBL TL alone was not significantly associated with increased HCC risk. Among HCC cases, significant shorter TLs were observed for <5 years prior to diagnosis. Copyright