Genome-wide association study on meningioma risk in Japan: a multicenter prospective study

Area of Science:

• Neuro-oncology
• Genetics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Meningiomas are the most common primary intracranial tumors.
• Genetic factors influencing meningioma risk are not fully understood.
• Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have primarily focused on European populations, overlooking ethnic variations in incidence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To perform the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Japanese patients with meningioma.
• To identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with meningioma susceptibility in an East Asian cohort.
• To address the gap in GWAS research for meningiomas across diverse ethnic groups.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter prospective case-control study involving 401 Japanese meningioma patients.
• Utilized 50,876 control participants of Japanese ancestry from Biobank Japan.
• Performed rigorous quality control and imputation of genetic variants.

Main Results:

• Analysis yielded over 8 million autosomal and 200,000 X chromosome variants.
• No genetic variants reached genome-wide significance (P < 5x10^-8).
• Previously reported risk variants showed no significant association due to low minor allele frequency in the Japanese population.

Conclusions:

• This represents the first GWAS of meningiomas in an East Asian population.
• The findings highlight the need for population-specific genetic studies.
• This research is expected to advance future GWAS endeavors in meningioma genetics.