Telomere Length and Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Nested Case-control Study in Taiwan Cancer Screening Program Cohort.
Telomere length (TL) measured in peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) might be a useful biomarker to identify elevated cancer risk.



A case-control study which included 268 newly-diagnosed HCC cases and 536 matched controls, was conducted. Absolute TL in PBL was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR.



The overall median length of TL was not statistically shorter in HCC cases compared to healthy controls. However, we found a significant synergistic effect of longer TL and HCV infection to increase HCC risk with a relative excess risk of 6.86 (95% CI: 2.14-11.58). Among HCC cases, significant shorter TLs were observed for <5 years (OR=3.93, 95% CI: 2.00-7.72); 5-10 years (OR=2.16, 95% CI: 1.10-4.24) compared to >10 years prior to diagnosis.



Shorter PBL TL alone was not significantly associated with increased HCC risk. Among HCC cases, significant shorter TLs were observed for <5 years prior to diagnosis.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, NY, U.S.A.|Department of Environmental Hygiene, College of Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China.
Hui
H
Zeng
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, NY, U.S.A.
Hui-Chen
HC
Wu
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, NY, U.S.A.
Qiao
Q
Wang
Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C.|Molecular and Genomic Epidemiology Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C.|Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Hwai-I
HI
Yang
Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.|Graduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Chien-Jen
CJ
Chen
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, NY, U.S.A.
Regina M
RM
Santella
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, NY, U.S.A. js2182@cumc.columbia.edu.
Jing
J
Shen
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics*; D059505:Telomere Homeostasis; D059506:Telomere Shortening
HCC; nested case-control study; quantitative PCR; telomere length