Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34771701›Full record

ArticleCancers2021

Serum Total Bilirubin and Risk of Cancer: A Swedish Cohort Study and Meta-Analysis.

Maria J Monroy-Iglesias, Charlotte Moss, Kerri Beckmann, Niklas Hammar, Goran Walldius, Cecilia Bosco, Mieke Van Hemelrijck, Aida Santaolalla

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancers, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Observational
  3. Serum Bilirubin as a Prognostic Factor in Lung Cancer.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Factors linked to lung cancer in MIMIC-IV database.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025
    Article
  6. Observational
  7. Bilirubin metabolism in relation to cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2025
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Observational
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

8 authors.

Maria J Monroy-IglesiasTranslational Oncology & Urology Research (TOUR), King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-2417-3275
Charlotte MossTranslational Oncology & Urology Research (TOUR), King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK.
Kerri BeckmannTranslational Oncology & Urology Research (TOUR), King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK.
Niklas HammarEpidemiology Unit, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
Goran WalldiusEpidemiology Unit, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
Cecilia BoscoTranslational Oncology & Urology Research (TOUR), King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK.
Mieke Van HemelrijckTranslational Oncology & Urology Research (TOUR), King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK.
Aida SantaolallaTranslational Oncology & Urology Research (TOUR), King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-2748-3252

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bilirubin has strong antioxidant properties that have been hypothesized to be preventive against the development of cancer. Thus, we aimed to investigate the association between serum total bilirubin (STB) and risk of overall and site-specific cancers in the large Swedish Apolipoprotein Mortality Risk (AMORIS) cohort. We also performed a systematic review and meta-analysis for specific cancer types (colorectal, breast and lung). We found no association between high levels of STB and risk of overall cancer. Regarding site-specific cancer, there was an inverse association between increased STB and lung cancer (Hazard Ratio (HR) for the 4th quartile (Q4) vs. Q1: 0.50; 95%CI: 0.44-0.59) and gynecological cancer (HR for Q4 vs. Q1: 0.86; 95%CI: 0.76-0.99). A positive association was found with melanoma (HR for Q4 vs. Q1: 1.25; 95%CI: 1.06-1.47) and breast cancer (HR for Q4 vs. Q1: 1.13; 95%CI: 1.01-1.25) risk. The meta-analysis showed an inverse association between high levels of STB and risk of lung cancer (Relative risk (RR): 0.69; 95%CI: 0.55-0.86). No associations were seen for colorectal and breast cancer risk. Further studies are required to establish if bilirubin can be used as a biomarker for risk assessment and/or as a novel therapeutic target.

Indexed as

bilirubinbreast cancercancer riskcohort studycolorectal cancergynecological cancerhyperbilirubinemialung cancermelanoma

Identifiers

PMID34771701
PMCPMC8582941

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.