Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42361404›Full record

ArticleEBioMedicine2026

Genomic structural equation modelling of 12 cancers identifies a latent pan-cancer susceptibility factor and shared determinants of carcinogenesis.

Qian Xu, Lu Niu, Zian Cao, Jiwen Geng, Huazhen Yang, Yu Zeng, Yanan Zhang, Qian Li, Chen Suo, Gang Yuan and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in EBioMedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

12 authors.

Qian XuDepartment of Thoracic Surgery and Institute of Thoracic Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Lu NiuDepartment of Thoracic Surgery and Institute of Thoracic Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Zian CaoWest China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Jiwen GengWest China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Huazhen YangWest China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Yu ZengWest China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Yanan ZhangWest China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Qian LiDepartment of Anesthesiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Laboratory of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, National-Local Joint Engineering Research, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Chen SuoDepartment of Epidemiology & Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Fudan University Taizhou Institute of Health Sciences, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: suochen@fudan.edu.cn.
Gang YuanDepartment of Thoracic Surgery and Institute of Thoracic Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: gangy2021@wchscu.cn.
Huan SongWest China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: songhuan@wchscu.cn.
Can HouWest China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: houcan@wchscu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCommon cancers share germline susceptibility, yet the genetic architecture of a truly pan-cancer component of carcinogenesis remains incompletely resolved.

methodsWe applied genomic structural equation modelling (gSEM) to genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary statistics for 12 cancers (>600,000 European-ancestry cases) to separate a latent pan-cancer genetic factor from cancer-specific components, and then performed a multivariate GWAS of that factor. We conducted comprehensive downstream genetic, predictive, and functional analyses to characterise the resulting pan-cancer factor.

findingsWe identified 133 LD-independent loci associated with the pan-cancer factor, including eight loci not previously associated with any cancer phenotype. Pan-cancer genetic risk was concentrated in evolutionarily conserved regulatory DNA, with enrichment in promoter and enhancer annotations and tissue-relevant signals in mammary and uterine contexts. A pan-cancer polygenic risk score (PRS) derived from the latent-factor GWAS improved prediction of overall cancer in UK Biobank (Royston-Sauerbrei R

interpretationTogether, these results delineate a gSEM-derived pan-cancer genetic architecture, provide a cross-site PRS for overall cancer susceptibility, and nominate genes and circulating proteins for functional follow-up and prevention-oriented target discovery.

fundingNoncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and National Key Research and Development Program of China.

Indexed as

CarcinogenesisGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenomicsModels, GeneticNeoplasmsGenetic Risk ScoreGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMultifactorial InheritancePhenotypePolymorphism, Single NucleotideCancer susceptibilityGenome-wide association studyGenomic structural equation modellingPan-cancerPolygenic risk score

Identifiers

PMID42361404
PMCPMC13325449

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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.