Mendelian randomization analyses support causal relationships between unswitched memory B cells and lung squamous...

The interaction between immune cells and cancer has been extensively researched. However, little is known about the relationship between B Cells and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC).

This study performed a comprehensive two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis of GWAS summary data to determine the causal relationship between the immune phenotypes of 199 subtypes of B cells and the risk of LUSC. Heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy were assessed using several methods, including MR-Egger regression and inverse variance weighting.

MR analysis showed that an increase in the absolute count number of unswitched memory B cells (UMBC) was causally associated with the risk of LUSC at FDR < 0.05. Reverse MR analysis indicated that LUSC was causally associated with the increased expression of CD27 on IgD⁺ CD38^- UMBCs and CD27 on UMBCs at p < 0.05.

There is a strong association between the number of UMBCs and the risk of LUSC. These results provide a basis for developing new cancer immunotherapies.