Role of obesity, weight gain, physical activity, and polymorphisms in the mTOR pathway and the risk of renal cell carcinoma

Xiang Shu, The University of Texas School of Public Health

Abstract

The interplay between obesity, physical activity, weight gain and genetic variants in mTOR pathway have not been studied in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We examined the associations between obesity, weight gain, physical activity and RCC risk. We also analyzed whether genetic variants in the mTOR pathway could modify the association. Incident renal cell carcinoma cases and healthy controls were recruited from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Cases and controls were frequency-matched by age (±5 years), ethnicity, sex, and county of residence. Epidemiologic data were collected via in-person interview. A total of 577 cases and 593 healthy controls (all white) were included. One hundred ninety-two (192) SNPs from 22 genes were available and their genotyping data were extracted from previous genome-wide association studies. Logistic regression and regression spline were performed to obtain odds ratios. Obesity at age 20, 40, and 3 years prior to diagnosis/recruitment, and moderate and large weight gain from age 20 to 40 were each significantly associated with increased RCC risk. Low physical activity was associated with a 4.08-fold (95% CI: 2.92-5.70) increased risk. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were significantly associated with RCC risk and their cumulative effect increased the risk by up to 72% (95% CI: 1.20-2.46). Strata specific effects for weight change and genotyping cumulative groups were observed. However, no interaction was suggested by our study. In conclusion, energy balance related risk factors and genetic variants in the mTOR pathway may jointly influence susceptibility to RCC.

Subject Area

Epidemiology|Oncology

Recommended Citation

Shu, Xiang, "Role of obesity, weight gain, physical activity, and polymorphisms in the mTOR pathway and the risk of renal cell carcinoma" (2012). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI1520204.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI1520204

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