title: U-shaped association between telomere length and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma risk: a case-control study in Chinese population.
abstract: Telomeres play a critical role in biological ageing by maintaining chromosomal integrity and preventing chromosome ends fusion. Epidemiological studies have suggested that inter-individual differences of telomere length could affect predisposition to multiple cancers, but evidence regarding esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) was still uncertain. Several telomere length-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (TLSNPs) in Caucasians have been reported in genome-wide association studies. However, the effects of telomere length and TL-SNPs on ESCC development are unclear. Therefore, we conducted a case-control study (1045 ESCC cases and 1433 controls) to evaluate the associations between telomere length, TL-SNPs, and ESCC risk in Chinese population. As a result, ESCC cases showed overall shorter relative telomere length (RTL) (median: 1.34) than controls (median: 1.50, P < 0.001). More interestingly, an evident nonlinear U-shaped association was observed between RTL and ESCC risk (P < 0.001), with odds ratios (95% confidence interval) equal to 2.40 (1.84-3.14), 1.36 (1.03-1.79), 1.01 (0.76-1.35), and 1.37 (1.03-1.82) for individuals in the 1st (the shortest), 2nd, 3rd, and 5th (the longest) quintile, respectively, compared with those in the 4th quintile as reference group. No significant associations were observed between the eight reported TL-SNPs and ESCC susceptibility. These findings suggest that either short or extremely long telomeres may be risk factors for ESCC in the Chinese population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.|Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Jiangbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Wenjie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, the Affiliated Wuxi Peoples Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, 214043, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.|Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Yayun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.|Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.|Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, the Affiliated Huai'an First Peoples Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, 223300, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.|Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Juncheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Hongxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.|Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Jiaping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.|Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Zhibin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.|Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Guangfu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.|Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
authors.forename: Hongbing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D043171:Chromosomal Instability; D004265:DNA Helicases / Q000235:genetics; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics*; D059505:Telomere Homeostasis; D059506:Telomere Shortening
chemical_list: C551999:NAF1 protein, human; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins; C422952:telomerase RNA; D012313:RNA; C509186:TERT protein, human; D019098:Telomerase; C532890:RTEL1 protein, human; D004265:DNA Helicases
keywords: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; genetic variants; genome-wide association study; susceptibility; telomere length