Blood molybdenum level as a marker of cancer risk on BRCA1 carriers

To investigate whether Molybdenum blood level is a marker of cancer risk on BRCA1 carriers.

A prospective cohort study was conducted among 989 initially unaffected women with a BRCA1 mutation. Blood samples were collected to measure molybdenum levels, and participants were followed for an average of 7.5 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between blood molybdenum levels and cancer incidence, adjusting for potential confounders.

High blood molybdenum levels (> 0.70 µg/L) were significantly associated with an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer (HR = 5.55; 95%CI: 1.59-19.4; p = 0.007) and any cancer (HR = 1.74; 95%CI: 1.17-2.61; p = 0.007) but not breast cancer (HR = 1.46, CI = 0.91-2.33; p = 0.12). The cumulative incidence of ovarian cancer at ten years was 1.2% for the lowest molybdenum tertile, 4.2% for the middle tertile, and 8.7% for the highest tertile.

Elevated blood molybdenum levels are associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer on BRCA1 mutation carriers. Lowering molybdenum levels may potentially reduce cancer risk in this population, and high molybdenum levels could serve as a marker for considering preventive oophorectomy in BRCA1 carriers. Further research is warranted to confirm these findings and explore interventions targeting molybdenum levels as a preventive measure for ovarian cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers.