ArticleEBioMedicine2020
Effects of tumour necrosis factor on cardiovascular disease and cancer: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study.
Article in EBioMedicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
70 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 150 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the stability of peripheral immune markers in healthy adults.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2023Pooled it
- Rheumatoid arthritis and risk of site-specific cancers: Mendelian randomization study in European and East Asian populations.Arthritis research & therapy · 2022Pooled it
- Psoriasis and cardiovascular disease risk in European and East Asian populations: evidence from meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization analysis.BMC medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Genetic Liability to Rheumatoid Arthritis in Relation to Coronary Artery Disease and Stroke Risk.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2022Pooled it
- Body Mass Index and the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: A Mendelian Randomization Study.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Systematic review of Mendelian randomization studies on risk of cancer.BMC medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Inflammatory and Cardiovascular Responses to Active and Passive Acute Psychological Stress.Biopsychosocial science and medicineTrial
- Inflammatory biomarkers and risk of postmenopausal oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer: a case-cohort analysis.British journal of cancer · 2026Article
- Proteomic Mediators Linking Autoimmune Diseases to Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events: Insights from the UK Biobank.Proteomes · 2026Article
- Blood-based obesity biomarkers and their relevance for disease risk.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Leveraging Mendelian randomization to inform drug discovery and development for ischemic stroke.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2026Review
- Article
- Diverticular disease increases the risk of acute myocardial infarction.Przeglad gastroenterologiczny · 2026Review
- Proteasomal inhibition compromises microvascular integrity via distinct effects on non-immune endothelial cells and immune cells.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- The impact of β-glucan yeast extract treatment on melanoma development, tumor-cell deposit infiltration, and immune response.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Interventional effects of Tsantan Sumtang in ischemic heart disease: an integrated network pharmacology and metabolomics approach.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Article
- Emotion regulation as a protective factor in the association between stress and inflammation in older adults.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2025Article
- Causal association between rheumatoid arthritis and pancreatic cancer: a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- The Association Between Short-Term Blood Pressure Variability and Inflammation in Healthy Young Adults.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2025Article
- Systemic Inflammation at the Crossroad of Major Depressive Disorder and Comorbidities: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors are used in the treatment of certain autoimmune diseases but given the role of TNF in tumour biology and atherosclerosis, such therapies may influence the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. We conducted a Mendelian randomization study to explore whether TNF levels are causally related to cardiovascular disease and cancer.
methodsSingle-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with TNF levels at genome-wide significance were identified from a genome-wide association study of 30 912 European-ancestry individuals. Three TNF-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with higher risk of autoimmune diseases were used as instrumental variables. Summary-level data for 14 cardiovascular diseases, overall cancer and 14 site-specific cancers were obtained from UK Biobank and consortia.
findingsGenetically-predicted TNF levels were positively associated with coronary artery disease (odds ratio (OR) 2.25; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.50, 3.37) and ischaemic stroke (OR 2.27; 95% CI 1.50, 3.43), and inversely associated with overall cancer (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.42, 0.69), breast cancer (OR 0.51; 95% CI 0.39, 0.67), and colorectal cancer (OR 0.20; 95% CI 0.09, 0.45). There were suggestive associations of TNF with venous thromboembolism (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.32, 3.59), endometrial cancer (OR 0.25; 95% CI 0.07, 0.94), and lung cancer (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.21, 0.94).
interpretationThis study found evidence of causal associations of increased TNF levels with higher risk of common cardiovascular diseases and lower risk of overall and certain cancers.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.