Causal relationships between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and laryngeal cancer risk: A two-sample Mendelian...

The relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and the risk of laryngeal cancer (LC) is unclear. This study aimed to explore the causal association between 25(OH)D levels and LC risk using the two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms for 25(OH)D levels and LC were extracted from published genome-wide association studies (GWAS) or the Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit (MRC-IEU) Open GWAS project. Univariable MR and multivariable MR analyses were performed. Five MR methods including MR-Egger, weighted-median, inverse-variance weighted (IVW), simple mode, and weighted mode were applied.

Univariable MR analysis identified the fact that genetically predicted higher levels of 25(OH)D were associated with lower odds of LC [IVW: (odds ratio (OR) = 0.9993, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.9987-0.9999; P = 0.019)]. Multivariable MR analyses suggested that genetically predicted higher levels of 25(OH)D were correlated with lower risk of LC after adjusting for pack-years of cigarette smoking (CS) [IVW: (OR = 0.9993, 95% CI, 0.9987-0.9998; P = 0.006)] or both pack-years of CS and weekly alcoholic drinks [IVW: (OR = 0.9993, 95% CI, 0.9988-0.9998; P = 0.011)], but this was not significant after adjusting only for weekly alcoholic drinks [IVW: (OR = 0.9995, 95% CI, 0.9989-1.0001; P = 0.077)].

This MR analyses supported a slight protective effect of higher levels of 25(OH)D on the risk of LC.