ArticleJournal of the National Cancer Institute2022
Associations Between Glycemic Traits and Colorectal Cancer: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis.
Article in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 98 citations in OpenAlex.
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus and cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of Mendelian randomization studies.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Pooled it
- Dietary patterns and colorectal cancer risk: Global Cancer Update Programme (CUP Global) systematic literature review.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Morning chronotype and digestive tract cancers: Mendelian randomization study.International journal of cancer · 2023Pooled it
- Polygenic risk scores, adiposity, and disease transition in type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer comorbidity: a population-based Chinese cohort study.BMC cancer · 2026Observational
- Adiposity and cancer: epidemiology, mechanisms and future perspectives.Nature metabolism · 2026Review
- Glucose‑driven TRIB3 enhances the tumorigenic potential of colon cancer via the PI3K/AKT pathway.Molecular medicine reports · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Impact of Putative Metformin Targets on Cancer Outcomes: A Drug-Target Mendelian Randomization Study.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Diabetes and socioeconomic status as key risk factors for colorectal cancer in the pashtun population: a case-control study.BMC gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Risk factors and prediction model for post-polypectomy metachronous colorectal adenoma.International journal of colorectal disease · 2026Article
- Diabetogenic processes for insulin resistance-linked hyperinsulinaemia are associated with colorectal cancer.Diabetologia · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular health assessed by Life's Essential 8 score, genetic risk, colonoscopy status, and risk of colorectal cancer: an analysis of UK Biobank.BMJ open gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Obesity, Bariatric Surgery, and Cancer Risk: Nutritional Perspectives and Long-Term Clinical Implications.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Metabolic Syndrome Components and Cancer Risk in Normal-Weight Subjects: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis in over 18 Million Individuals.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Metabolic dynamic score and machine learning: a novel approach to predicting pathological complete response in rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Prognostic value of brown adipocyte-related genes in colorectal cancer: a multi-omics and Mendelian randomization study.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Effects of tailored exercise on glycemic and nutritional outcomes in diabetic patients with colorectal cancer and on chemotherapy.World journal of diabetes · 2025Article
- FAM3B overexpression correlates with poor prognosis and immune dysregulation in colorectal cancer: insights from bioinformatics and Mendelian randomization analyses.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Evolution of the burden of disease for high BMI-associated colorectal cancer, 1990-2021: Global trends, regional heterogeneity, and population risk stratification.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
- The Impact of Cholecystectomy on Colorectal Cancer Risk: A Comprehensive Review on Risk Factors and the Association.Current gastroenterology reports · 2025Review
- A Mendelian randomization study of type 2 diabetes and cancer risk in East Asians.Cancer cell international · 2025Article
4 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
25 authors at 19 institutions in 10 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGlycemic traits-such as hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, and type 2 diabetes-have been associated with higher colorectal cancer risk in observational studies; however, causality of these associations is uncertain. We used Mendelian randomization (MR) to estimate the causal effects of fasting insulin, 2-hour glucose, fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and type 2 diabetes with colorectal cancer.
methodsGenome-wide association study summary data were used to identify genetic variants associated with circulating levels of fasting insulin (n = 34), 2-hour glucose (n = 13), fasting glucose (n = 70), HbA1c (n = 221), and type 2 diabetes (n = 268). Using 2-sample MR, we examined these variants in relation to colorectal cancer risk (48 214 case patient and 64 159 control patients).
resultsIn inverse-variance models, higher fasting insulin levels increased colorectal cancer risk (odds ratio [OR] per 1-SD = 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.15 to 2.36). We found no evidence of any effect of 2-hour glucose (OR per 1-SD = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.86 to 1.21) or fasting glucose (OR per 1-SD = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.88 to 1.23) concentrations on colorectal cancer risk. Genetic liability to type 2 diabetes (OR per 1-unit increase in log odds = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.07) and higher HbA1c levels (OR per 1-SD = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.00 to 1.19) increased colorectal cancer risk, although these findings may have been biased by pleiotropy. Higher HbA1c concentrations increased rectal cancer risk in men (OR per 1-SD = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.05 to 1.40), but not in women.
conclusionsOur results support a causal effect of higher fasting insulin, but not glucose traits or type 2 diabetes, on increased colorectal cancer risk. This suggests that pharmacological or lifestyle interventions that lower circulating insulin levels may be beneficial in preventing colorectal tumorigenesis.
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