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Impact of insomnia on ovarian cancer risk and survival: a Mendelian randomization study
Heming Wang1, Brett M Reid2, Rebecca C Richmond3
1Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Ebiomedicine
|June 1, 2024
Summary
Genetically predicted insomnia impacts epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) risk and survival. Targeting insomnia may be key for EOC prevention and improving patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Oncology
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Insomnia is a prevalent sleep disorder among epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients.
- Investigating the causal link between insomnia and EOC is crucial for understanding disease etiology and progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the causal association between genetically predicted insomnia and the risk of developing EOC.
- To evaluate the impact of genetically predicted insomnia on EOC patient survival and response to treatment.
Main Methods:
- A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study utilizing genetic variants associated with insomnia from large genome-wide association studies (GWAS).
- Analysis of EOC risk and survival data from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (OCAC) GWAS.
- Further investigation using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) for survival and treatment response in ovarian cancer patients.
Main Results:
- Genetically predicted insomnia showed a significant association with increased risk for endometrioid EOC and decreased risk for high-grade serous EOC (HGSOC) and clear cell EOC.
- Insomnia was linked to shorter survival in invasive EOC and HGSOC, though this association was attenuated after adjusting for BMI and reproductive age.
- In TCGA data, insomnia was associated with reduced survival in HGSOC patients receiving chemotherapy, an effect diminished after clinical factor adjustments.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a significant impact of insomnia on both EOC risk and patient survival.
- Targeted interventions for insomnia may represent a novel strategy for EOC prevention and enhancing patient survival rates.
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