SynthesisBreast cancer research : BCR2022
Methylation-based markers of aging and lifestyle-related factors and risk of breast cancer: a pooled analysis of four prospective studies.
Synthesis in Breast cancer research : BCR, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Epigenetic Ageing and Breast Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review.Cancer medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Epigenetic indicators of body mass predict survival outcomes in colorectal cancer patients: patient cohort analysis.Genome medicine · 2026Article
- Associations of accelerated epigenetic aging with cancer and mortality risk in the USA.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Early detection of multiple cancers: the era of methylation-based liquid biopsy.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Association of smoking behaviors with GOLD biological age acceleration and potential mediation: Evidence from NHANES 1999-2023.Tobacco induced diseases · 2026Article
- Methylation-based alcohol consumption scores as prognostic biomarkers in colorectal cancer: Insights from a population-based cohort.International journal of cancer · 2025Article
- Association Between Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and Accelerated Biological Aging Estimated by PhenoAge.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Social relationships and epigenetic markers of aging in middle-aged and older adults: cross-sectional and prospective analyses.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
- Methylation-based smoking signatures in blood and tissue samples for the prediction of self-reported smoking status and mortality in patients with colorectal cancer.Clinical epigenetics · 2025Article
- Association of Epigenetic Markers of Aging With Prevalent and Incident Type 2 Diabetes.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Article
- Next-generation biomarkers for alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment: A critical review.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Review
- Identifying biological markers and sociodemographic factors that influence the gap between phenotypic and chronological ages.Informatics for health & social care · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
25 authors at 18 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDNA methylation in blood may reflect adverse exposures accumulated over the lifetime and could therefore provide potential improvements in the prediction of cancer risk. A substantial body of research has shown associations between epigenetic aging and risk of disease, including cancer. Here we aimed to study epigenetic measures of aging and lifestyle-related factors in association with risk of breast cancer.
methodsUsing data from four prospective case-control studies nested in three cohorts of European ancestry participants, including a total of 1,655 breast cancer cases, we calculated three methylation-based measures of lifestyle factors (body mass index [BMI], tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption) and seven measures of epigenetic aging (Horvath-based, Hannum-based, PhenoAge and GrimAge). All measures were regression-adjusted for their respective risk factors and expressed per standard deviation (SD). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using conditional or unconditional logistic regression and pooled using fixed-effects meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses were conducted by age at blood draw, time from blood sample to diagnosis, oestrogen receptor-positivity status and tumour stage.
resultsNone of the measures of epigenetic aging were associated with risk of breast cancer in the pooled analysis: Horvath 'age acceleration' (AA): OR per SD = 1.02, 95%CI: 0.95-1.10; AA-Hannum: OR = 1.03, 95%CI:0.95-1.12; PhenoAge: OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 0.94-1.09 and GrimAge: OR = 1.03, 95%CI: 0.94-1.12, in models adjusting for white blood cell proportions, body mass index, smoking and alcohol consumption. The BMI-adjusted predictor of BMI was associated with breast cancer risk, OR per SD = 1.09, 95%CI: 1.01-1.17. The results for the alcohol and smoking methylation-based predictors were consistent with a null association. Risk did not appear to substantially vary by age at blood draw, time to diagnosis or tumour characteristics.
conclusionWe found no evidence that methylation-based measures of aging, smoking or alcohol consumption were associated with risk of breast cancer. A methylation-based marker of BMI was associated with risk and may provide insights into the underlying associations between BMI and breast cancer.
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