Physical activity and risks of breast and colorectal cancer: a Mendelian randomisation analysis
Nikos Papadimitriou, Niki Dimou, Konstantinos K. Tsilidis, Barbara L. Banbury, Richard M. Martin, Sarah J. Lewis, Nabila Kazmi, Tim Robinson, Demetrius Albanes, Krasimira Aleksandrova, Sonja I. Berndt, D. Timothy Bishop, Hermann Brenner, Daniel D. Buchanan, Bas Bueno‐de‐Mesquita, Peter T. Campbell, Sergi Castellvı́-Bel, Andrew T. Chan, Jenny Chang‐Claude, Merete Ellingjord‐Dale, Jane C. Figueiredo, Steven Gallinger, Graham G. Giles, Edward L. Giovannucci, Stephen B. Gruber, Andrea Gsur, Jochen Hampe, Heather Hampel, Sophia Harlid, Tabitha A. Harrison, Michael Hoffmeister, John L. Hopper, Li Hsu, José María Huerta, Jeroen R. Huyghe, Mark A. Jenkins, Temitope O. Keku, Tilman Kühn, Carlo La Vecchia, Loı̈c Le Marchand, Christopher I. Li, Li Li, Annika Lindblom, Noralane M. Lindor, Brigid M. Lynch, Sanford D. Markowitz, Giovanna Masala, Anne M. May, Roger L. Milne, Evelyn M. Monninkhof, Lorena Moreno, Vı́ctor Moreno, Polly A. Newcomb, Kenneth Offit, Vittorio Perduca, Paul D.P. Pharoah, Elizabeth A. Platz, John D. Potter, Gad Rennert, Elio Ríboli, María‐José Sánchez, Stephanie L. Schmit, Robert E. Schoen, Gianluca Severi, Sabina Sieri, Martha L. Slattery, Mingyang Song, Catherine M. Tangen, Stephen N. Thibodeau, Ruth C. Travis, Antonia Trichopoulou, Cornelia M. Ulrich, Franzel J. B. van Duijnhoven, Bethany Van Guelpen, Pavel Vodička, Emily White, Alicja Wolk, Michael O. Woods, Anna H. Wu, Ulrike Peters, Marc J. Gunter, Neil Murphy
Abstract
Abstract Physical activity has been associated with lower risks of breast and colorectal cancer in epidemiological studies; however, it is unknown if these associations are causal or confounded. In two-sample Mendelian randomisation analyses, using summary genetic data from the UK Biobank and GWA consortia, we found that a one standard deviation increment in average acceleration was associated with lower risks of breast cancer (odds ratio [OR]: 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.27 to 0.98, P-value = 0.04) and colorectal cancer (OR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.48 to 0.90, P-value = 0.01). We found similar magnitude inverse associations for estrogen positive (ER +ve ) breast cancer and for colon cancer. Our results support a potentially causal relationship between higher physical activity levels and lower risks of breast cancer and colorectal cancer. Based on these data, the promotion of physical activity is probably an effective strategy in the primary prevention of these commonly diagnosed cancers.