Relationship between the microbiome and obesity-associated cancer risk using Mendelian randomisation

The mechanisms underlying obesity-related cancer risk are incompletely understood. We investigated whether the gut microbiome causally mediates this relationship.

We performed two-sample Mendelian randomisation, with mediation analysis, to assess causal links between genetically predicted body mass index (BMI)/waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI), 211 gut microbial taxa, and eight cancers (384,738 cases) of European ancestry. Significant associations were replicated in the FinnGen cohort.

Genetically predicted BMI was associated with risk of colorectal (CRC; odds ratio per standard deviation (OR_SD): 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI): [1.06-1.17]; P = 4.95 × 10^-6), kidney (RCC) (OR_SD: 1.48; 95% CI: [1.34-1.63]; P = 1.61 × 10^-15), endometrial (OR_SD: 1.70; 95% CI: [1.55-1.87]; P = 2.09 × 10^-27), lung (OR_SD: 1.20; 95% CI: [1.12-1.29]; P = 1.40 × 10^-7), and oesophageal cancer (OR_SD: 1.25; 95% CI: [1.13-1.39]; P = 3.09 × 10^-5). Seven microbial taxa were associated with CRC risk. Phylum and class Actinobacteria showed the strongest effects (OR_SD: 1.48; 95% CI: [1.29-1.70]; P = 1.78 × 10^-8) and (OR_SD: 1.36; 95% CI: [1.22-1.51]; P = 2.57 × 10^-8), respectively, and replicated in FinnGen, mediating 29% (95% CI: [8-50]) and 21% (95% CI: [4-37]) of the BMI to CRC risk-collectively accounting for 50% of the relationship. No consistent microbiome mediation was observed for other cancers.

Gut Actinobacteria may contribute to obesity-driven CRC risk, supporting the rationale of microbiome-targeted interventions to reduce CRC risk.