ArticlePLoS genetics2022
Do sex hormones confound or mediate the effect of chronotype on breast and prostate cancer? A Mendelian randomization study.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Risk factors for prostate cancer: An umbrella review of prospective observational studies and mendelian randomization analyses.PLoS medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Pan-cancer and cross-population genome-wide association studies dissect shared genetic backgrounds underlying carcinogenesis.Nature communications · 2023Pooled it
- Morning chronotype and digestive tract cancers: Mendelian randomization study.International journal of cancer · 2023Pooled it
- Identifying druggable proteins of the association of chronotype on breast cancer using Mendelian randomization.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Chronotype score is associated with testosterone levels and estradiol-to-testosterone ratio in young adult Saudi women: a cross-sectional study.BMC women's health · 2026Article
- Causal Effects of Breast Cancer Risk Factors across Hormone Receptor Breast Cancer Subtypes: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2025Article
- Mendelian randomization study of sleep traits and risk of colorectal cancer.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Sex hormones and risk of lung and colorectal cancers in women: a Mendelian randomization study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Sleep patterns, genetic susceptibility, and risk of cirrhosis among individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.Hepatology international · 2024Article
- Sex hormones and risk of lung and colorectal cancers in women: a Mendelian randomization study.Research square · 2024Article
- Actigraphy-derived measures of sleep and risk of prostate cancer in the UK Biobank.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2024Article
- Do Obesity-Related Traits Affect Prostate Cancer Risk through Serum Testosterone? A Mendelian Randomization Study.Cancers · 2023Article
- Genetic analyses implicate complex links between adult testosterone levels and health and disease.Communications medicine · 2023Article
- Causal associations of sleep traits with cancer incidence and mortality.Frontiers in genetics · 2023Article
- Genetically predicted testosterone and cancers risk in men: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.Journal of translational medicine · 2022Article
- Transfer RNAs-derived small RNAs and their application potential in multiple diseases.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Morning-preference chronotype has been found to be protective against breast and prostate cancer. Sex hormones have been implicated in relation to chronotype and the development of both cancers. This study aimed to assess whether sex hormones confound or mediate the effect of chronotype on breast and prostate cancer using a Mendelian Randomization (MR) framework. Genetic variants associated with chronotype and sex hormones (total testosterone, bioavailable testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, and oestradiol) (p<5×10-8) were obtained from published genome-wide association studies (n≤244,207 females and n≤205,527 males). These variants were used to investigate causal relationships with breast (nCases/nControls = 133,384/113,789) and prostate (nCases/nControls = 79,148/61,106) cancer using univariable, bidirectional and multivariable MR. In females, we found evidence for: I) Reduced risk of breast cancer per category increase in morning-preference (OR = 0.93, 95% CI:0. 88, 1.00); II) Increased risk of breast cancer per SD increase in bioavailable testosterone (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.19) and total testosterone (OR = 1.15, 95% CI:1.07, 1.23); III) Bidirectional effects between morning-preference and both bioavailable and total testosterone (e.g. mean SD difference in bioavailable testosterone = -0.08, 95% CI:-0.12, -0.05 per category increase in morning-preference vs difference in morning-preference category = -0.04, 95% CI: -0.08, 0.00 per SD increase in bioavailable testosterone). In males, we found evidence for: I) Reduced risk of prostate cancer per category increase in morning-preference (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.83, 0.97) and II) Increased risk of prostate cancer per SD increase in bioavailable testosterone (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.37). No bidirectional effects were found between morning-preference and testosterone in males. While testosterone levels were causally implicated with both chronotype and cancer, there was inconsistent evidence for testosterone as a mediator of the relationship. The protective effect of morning-preference on both breast and prostate cancer is clinically interesting, although it may be difficult to effectively modify chronotype. Further studies are needed to investigate other potentially modifiable intermediates.
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