ArticleNutrition & metabolism2018
Trimethylamine N-oxide, a gut microbiota-dependent metabolite of choline, is positively associated with the risk of primary liver cancer: a case-control study.
Article in Nutrition & metabolism, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 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.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gut microbiota-derived metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review and updated meta-analysis.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Gut Microbiome-Dependent Metabolic Pathways and Risk of Lethal Prostate Cancer: Prospective Analysis of a PLCO Cancer Screening Trial Cohort.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2022Trial
- Gut Microbiota Biomarkers in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the Era of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Dual Role of Gut Microbiota and Their Metabolites in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Context-Dependent Framework.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Analyzing the gut liver axis: a dual role of the microbiome in the genesis, progression, and treatment of liver cell carcinoma.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
- Microbiome interplays in the gut-liver axis: implications for liver cancer pathogenesis and therapeutic insights.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Review
- Microbial metabolite-driven immune reprogramming in tumor immunotherapy: mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Circulating Gut Microbe-Derived Metabolites Are Associated with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Trimethylamine N-oxide: a meta-organismal axis linking the gut and fibrosis.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Review
- Trimethylamine N-oxide promotes the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cell through the MAPK pathway.Discover oncology · 2024Article
- Review
- The Interplay Between Dietary Choline and Cardiometabolic Disorders: A Review of Current Evidence.Current nutrition reports · 2024Review
- Contributions of the Microbiome-Derived Metabolome for Risk Assessment and Prognostication of Pancreatic Cancer.Clinical chemistry · 2024Review
- Investigating the Influence of Gut Microbiota-related Metabolites in Gastrointestinal Cancer.Current cancer drug targets · 2024Review
- The Association of Circulating L-Carnitine, γ-Butyrobetaine and Trimethylamine N-Oxide Levels with Gastric Cancer.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Choline supplementation regulates gut microbiome diversity, gut epithelial activity, and the cytokine gene expression in gilts.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Multi-Omics Analyses Identify Signatures in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Cancers · 2022Article
- The Gut Microbiome and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Implications for Early Diagnostic Biomarkers and Novel Therapies.Liver cancer · 2022Review
- Trimethylamine N-Oxide Promotes Cell Proliferation and Angiogenesis in Colorectal Cancer.Journal of immunology research · 2022Article
- Integrated Analysis Reveals the Gut Microbial Metabolite TMAO Promotes Inflammatory Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Upregulating POSTN.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence has suggested a potential link exists between trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a choline-derived metabolite produced by gut microbiota, and some cancers, but little is known for primary liver cancer (PLC).
methodsA case-control study was designed including 671 newly diagnosed PLC patients and 671 control subjects frequency-matched by age (±5 years) and sex, in Guangdong province, China. High-performance liquid chromatography with online electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was used to measure serum TMAO and choline. The associations between these biomarkers and PLC risk were evaluated using logistic regression models.
resultsSerum TMAO concentrations were greater in the PLC group than the control group (
conclusionHigher serum levels of TMAO were associated with increased PLC risk. The association was stronger in those with lower serum levels of choline. Additional large prospective studies are required to confirm these findings.
trial registrationThis study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT 03297255.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.