Association between erythritol and lung cancer: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Genetic Epidemiology
• Oncology

Background:

• Sweeteners are common food additives, but their impact on cancer risk is debated.
• Erythritol is a widely used natural sweetener with low-calorie properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential causal relationship between erythritol consumption and lung cancer (LC) risk.
• Utilize Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess genetic associations.

Main Methods:

• Employed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design.
• Utilized publicly available genome-wide association study (GWAS) data for erythritol and lung cancer.
• Analyzed summary data from large consortia for lung cancer and its subtypes.

Main Results:

• No evidence of a causal association between genetically predicted erythritol levels and lung cancer risk was found.
• Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the primary findings.
• No association was observed for lung cancer subtypes.

Conclusions:

• The study does not support a genetic link between erythritol and lung cancer.
• Findings suggest erythritol is unlikely to be a causal factor for lung cancer based on genetic evidence.