Arachidonic acid (AA) is metabolized by cyclooxygenases and lipoxygenases to pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, which according to experimental research modulate tumor cell proliferation, differentiation, Show more
Arachidonic acid (AA) is metabolized by cyclooxygenases and lipoxygenases to pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, which according to experimental research modulate tumor cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. We employed the Mendelian randomization design to test the hypothesis that higher plasma phospholipid AA concentrations are associated with increased risk of 10 site-specific cancers. Two genetic variants associated with plasma phospholipid concentrations of AA (rs174547 in FADS1 [P = 3.0 × 10 Higher genetically predicted plasma phospholipid AA concentrations were associated with increased risk of colorectal and lung cancer. Results were consistent across data sources and variants. The combined odds ratios per standard deviation increase of AA concentrations were 1.08 (95% CI 1.05-1.11; P = 6.3 × 10 These results indicate that AA may be implicated in the development of colorectal and lung cancer and possibly esophageal cancer. Treatments with plasma AA-lowering properties should be evaluated for clinical benefit. Show less
Laboratory studies have suggested oncogenic roles of lipids, as well as anticarcinogenic effects of statins. Here we assess the potential effect of statin therapy on cancer risk using evidence from hu Show more
Laboratory studies have suggested oncogenic roles of lipids, as well as anticarcinogenic effects of statins. Here we assess the potential effect of statin therapy on cancer risk using evidence from human genetics. We obtained associations of lipid-related genetic variants with the risk of overall and 22 site-specific cancers for 367,703 individuals in the UK Biobank. In total, 75,037 individuals had a cancer event. Variants in the Show less