Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33048943›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2020

Relationship between serum gamma-glutamyl transferase level and colorectal adenoma.

Tzu-Chan Hong, Hung-Chih Yang, Chi-Ling Chen, Jia-Horng Kao, Chun-Jen Liu, Ming-Jen Chen, Horng-Yuan Wang, Yang-Che Kuo, Lo-Yip Yu, Kuang-Chun Hu

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 39% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Comprehensing the role of serum GGT in colorectal carcinoma: cancer risk, prognostic and diagnostic significance.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tzu-Chan HongDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Hung-Chih YangDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chi-Ling ChenGraduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Jia-Horng KaoDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chun-Jen LiuDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ming-Jen ChenDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Horng-Yuan WangDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yang-Che KuoDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Lo-Yip YuDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Kuang-Chun HuDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.ORCID 0000-0001-7127-4015
Mackay Memorial Hospital · TWNational Taiwan University · TW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsCost-effective serology tests may increase the predictive accuracy of colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening. Reportedly, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) is associated with oxidative stress and carcinogenesis and has been found to be elevated in the serum of cancer patients and colorectal adenoma tissue. We aimed to investigate the association between serum GGT levels and colorectal adenoma.

methodsThis single-center, health examination-based cohort enrolled 2475 subjects from 2006 to 2015. Baseline characteristics, laboratory data, bidirectional gastrointestinal endoscopy, and transabdominal ultrasonography were used to evaluate the severity of fatty liver.

resultsWe found an elevated median GGT level in subjects with tubular adenoma compared with those without (23 IU/L and 20 IU/L, p<0.001). A GGT cutoff of ≥20 IU/L reached a maximal Youden index in receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses. Subsequent regression analyses showed an odds ratio of 1.46 (95% CI 1.17-1.82, p<0.001) for age, body mass index, diabetes diagnosis, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and positive Helicobacter pylori urease test, all being associated with an increased incidence of colon adenoma. Subgroup analysis showed that the odds ratio (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.15-1.68, p<0.001) is only significant and highest in patients with a negative or mild fatty liver and an ALT level of ≤40 IU/L.

conclusionsThe results suggested a positive correlation of GGT with colon adenoma incidence and a predictive value with a cutoff point of >20 IU/L, which is within the normal range. The effect may be most prominent for those without steatohepatitis.

Indexed as

AdenomaBiomarkers, TumorCase-Control StudiesColorectal NeoplasmsFemaleFollow-Up Studiesgamma-GlutamyltransferaseHumansIncidenceMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsROC CurveBiomarkers, Tumorgamma-Glutamyltransferasegamma-glutamyltransferase, human

Identifiers

PMID33048943
PMCPMC7553303
OpenAlexW3091880717

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Registered trials

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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.