Genome-Wide Meta-analysis of Gene-Environmental Interaction for Insulin Resistance Phenotypes and Breast Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal Women.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to investigate how insulin resistance-related genetic variants interact with lifestyle factors like high-fat diet to influence breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women.
Results Summary
The study identified 58 loci associated with insulin resistance phenotypes, with 29 of these also linked to postmenopausal breast cancer, suggesting that genetic susceptibility interacts with high-fat diet and other lifestyle factors to influence breast cancer risk.
Population
Postmenopausal women, a population highly susceptible to obesity, insulin resistance, and increased breast cancer risk.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
obesity | increase | breast cancer | postmenopausal women | - | possibly associated with | #1 |
physical inactivity | increase | breast cancer | postmenopausal women | - | possibly associated with | #2 |
high-fat diet | increase | breast cancer | postmenopausal women | - | possibly associated with | #3 |
obesity | increase | IR phenotypes | women stratified by obesity | - | associated with | #4 |
physical activity | increase | IR phenotypes | women stratified by physical activity | - | associated with | #5 |
high-fat diet | increase | IR phenotypes | women stratified by high-fat diet | - | associated with | #6 |
newly identified SNPs | increase | glucose intolerance | - | - | may have their effects on | #7 |
newly identified SNPs | increase | breast cancer risk | women carrying genetic risk | - | interact with | #8 |
obesity | increase | glucose intolerance | - | - | interplay with | #9 |
other lifestyle factors | increase | glucose intolerance | - | - | interplay with | #10 |
lifestyle factors | increase | breast cancer risk | women carrying genetic risk | - | interact with | #11 |
Insulin resistance (IR)-related genetic variants are possibly associated with breast cancer, and the gene-phenotype-cancer association could be modified by lifestyle factors including obesity, physical inactivity, and high-fat diet. Using data from postmenopausal women, a population highly susceptible to obesity, IR, and increased risk of breast cancer, we implemented a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in two steps: (1) GWAS meta-analysis of gene-environmental (i.e., behavioral) interaction (G*E) for IR phenotypes (hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance) and (2) after the G*E GWAS meta-analysis, the identified SNPs were tested for their associations with breast cancer risk in overall or subgroup population, where the SNPs were identified at genome-wide significance. We found 58 loci (55 novel SNPs; 5 index SNPs and 6 SNPs, independent of each other) that are associated with IR phenotypes in women overall or women stratified by obesity, physical activity, and high-fat diet; among those 58 loci, 29 (26 new loci; 2 index SNPs and 2 SNPs, independently) were associated with postmenopausal breast cancer. Our study suggests that a number of newly identified SNPs may have their effects on glucose intolerance by interplaying with obesity and other lifestyle factors, and a substantial proportion of these SNPs' susceptibility can also interact with the lifestyle factors to ultimately influence breast cancer risk. These findings may contribute to improved prediction accuracy for cancer and suggest potential intervention strategies for those women carrying genetic risk that will reduce their breast cancer risk.