Observational studyCancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology2021
Circulating Levels of Testosterone, Sex Hormone Binding Globulin and Colorectal Cancer Risk: Observational and Mendelian Randomization Analyses.
Observational study in Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adiposity and cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis.Nature metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- Circulating Sex Hormone Levels and Colon Cancer Risk in Men: A Nested Case-Control Study and Meta-Analysis.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Endogenous Circulating Sex Hormone Concentrations and Colon Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal Women: A Prospective Study and Meta-Analysis.JNCI cancer spectrum · 2021Pooled it
- Exploring the Role of HSD17B2 in Colorectal Cancer Through Bioinformatic Analysis: Preliminary Insights for Prognostic Evaluation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Sexual dimorphism in colon is mediated by an androgen-IL33Cell & bioscience · 2025Article
- Effect Modification by Levels of Sex Hormones in the Association between Adiposity and Cancer Incidence in the UK Biobank.Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2025Article
- The application of mendelian randomization in cancer research: a bibliometric analysis.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Article
- Identifying causal relationships between 35 blood and urine biomarkers and urologic cancers: MR-meta combined with Bayesian colocalization Mendelian randomization analysis.Discover oncology · 2024Article
- Article
- Sex hormones and risk of lung and colorectal cancers in women: a Mendelian randomization study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Sex hormones and risk of lung and colorectal cancers in women: a Mendelian randomization study.Research square · 2024Article
- Sex differences in colorectal cancer: with a focus on sex hormone-gut microbiome axis.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2024Review
- Role of sex steroids in colorectal cancer: pathomechanisms and medical applications.American journal of cancer research · 2024Review
- Proteome-wide analysis reveals potential therapeutic targets for Colorectal cancer: a two-sample mendelian randomization study.BMC cancer · 2023Article
- Effect of statins and testosterone replacement therapy on incident cardiovascular disease among male hormone-related cancer survivors.Research square · 2023Article
- Risk of colorectal adenocarcinoma in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer; a nationwide cohort study.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2023Article
- Association between physical activity and cancer risk among Chinese adults: a 10-year prospective study.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Article
- Metformin and testosterone replacement therapy inversely associated with hormone-associated cancers (prostate, colorectal and male breast cancers) among older White and Black men.Clinical endocrinology · 2022Article
- Article
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Abstract
backgroundEpidemiologic studies evaluating associations between sex steroid hormones and colorectal cancer risk have yielded inconsistent results. To elucidate the role of circulating levels of testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in colorectal cancer risk, we conducted observational and Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses.
methodsThe observational analyses included 333,530 participants enrolled in the UK Biobank with testosterone and SHBG measured. HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. For MR analyses, genetic variants robustly associated with hormone levels were identified and their association with colorectal cancer (42,866 cases/42,752 controls) was examined using two-sample MR.
resultsIn the observational analysis, there was little evidence that circulating levels of total testosterone were associated with colorectal cancer risk; the MR analyses showed a greater risk for women (OR per 1-SD = 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01-1.17), although pleiotropy may have biased this result. Higher SHBG concentrations were associated with greater colorectal cancer risk for women (HR per 1-SD = 1.16; 95% CI, 1.05-1.29), but was unsupported by the MR analysis. There was little evidence of associations between free testosterone and colorectal cancer in observational and MR analyses.
conclusionsCirculating concentrations of sex hormones are unlikely to be causally associated with colorectal cancer. Additional experimental studies are required to better understand the possible role of androgens in colorectal cancer development. IMPACT: Our results from large-scale analyses provide little evidence for sex hormone pathways playing a causal role in colorectal cancer development.
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