The causal association between neutrophil counts and the risk of lung cancer: a Mendelian randomization study
2025

Neutrophil Counts and Lung Cancer Risk

Sample size: 178726 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Ren Yunzhao, Lu Zhaojun, Liu Xiaoxue

Primary Institution: Zhejiang University School of Medicine

Hypothesis

Is there a causal relationship between neutrophil counts and the risk of lung cancer?

Conclusion

The study found a significant causal relationship between neutrophil counts and lung cancer risk in the European population, but not in the East Asian population.

Supporting Evidence

  • A significant causal relationship was found between neutrophil counts and lung cancer in the European population.
  • No significant causal association was observed in the East Asian population.
  • The results were confirmed through sensitivity analyses.
  • Adjusting for smoking did not change the significant association in the European population.

Takeaway

This study looked at whether having more neutrophils in your blood can lead to lung cancer. It found that this is true for people in Europe but not for those in East Asia.

Methodology

The study used two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis to evaluate the causal effect of neutrophil counts on lung cancer risk in different populations.

Potential Biases

Potential genetic pleiotropy and unknown pathway deviations could impact the stability of the results.

Limitations

The study could not perform stratified analyses based on age and sex due to lack of individual data, and it relied on genetic data which may not capture all real-world factors.

Participant Demographics

The study included participants from European and East Asian populations.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.017

Confidence Interval

1.005-1.050

Statistical Significance

p=0.017

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.7150/jca.100884

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