ArticlePloS one2018
Leucocytes telomere length and breast cancer risk/ susceptibility: A case-control study.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Early menarche and breast cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 74 case-control studies.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2026Pooled it
- Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Shortens the cfDNA Telomere Length in Breast Cancer Patients.International journal of breast cancer · 2024Article
- Role of telomere length in human carcinogenesis (Review).International journal of oncology · 2023Review
- Molecular and epigenetic markers as promising tools to quantify the effect of occupational exposures and the risk of developing non-communicable diseases.La Medicina del lavoro · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTelomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL-TL) was proposed as a biomarker of cancer risk. Recent scientific evidence suggested PBL-TL plays a diverse role in different cancers. Inconsistent results were obtained on PBL-TL in relation to breast cancer risk and specifically to the presence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. The aim of the present case-control study was to analyse the correlation between family history of breast cancer or presence of a BRCA mutation and PBL-TL in the hypothesis that TL is a modifier of cancer risk.
methodsPBL-TL was measured using the real-time quantitative PCR method in DNA for 142 cases and 239 controls. All the women enrolled were characterized for cancer family history. A subgroup of 48 women were classified for the presence of a BRCA mutation. PBL-TL were summarized as means and standard deviations, and compared by standard analysis of variance. A multivariable Generalised Linear Model was fitted to the data with PBL-TL as the dependent variable, case/control status and presence of a BRCA/VUS mutation as factors, and age in 4 strata as a covariate.
resultsAge was significantly associated with decreasing PBL-TL in controls (p = 0.01), but not in BC cases. The telomere length is shorter in cases than in controls after adjusting for age. No effect on PBL-TL of BMI, smoke nor of the most common risk factors for breast cancer was observed. No association between PBL-TL and family history was detected both in BC cases and controls. In the multivariate model, no association was observed between BRCA mutation and decreased PBL-TL. A statistically significant interaction (p = 0.031) between case-control status and a BRCA-mutation/VUS was observed, but no effect was detected for the interaction of cancer status and BRCA or VUS.
conclusionOur study fails to provide support to the hypothesis that PBL-TL is associated with the risk of hereditary BC, or that is a marker of inherited mutations in BRCA genes.
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