Causal association total bilirubin and albumin levels with lung cancer risk: a mendelian randomization study

Abstract

AbstractOur study aim was to examine the causal effect between levels of Total Bilirubin and Albumin and the risk of developing lung cancer (LC). Previous observational studies have suggested that these two biomarkers may have anti-oxidative properties that could potentially inhibit cancer development. However, the existing evidence regarding the association between Total Bilirubin and Albumin levels and LC risk has been inconsistent. To address this, we conducted a two sample Mendelian randomization(TSMR) study to further investigate this association and assess causality. As the exposure, we utilized the publicly accessible summary statistics datasets of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for bilirubin and albumin. The outcome, in this case, was a GWAS for lung cancer.Our results indicate that bilirubin and albumin levels may be causally associated with an increased risk of LC.[bilirubin:odds ratio (OR) = 1.341%, confidence interval (CI): 1.076–1.672, P= 0.009;albumin: OR=1.582%, CI:1.077-2.323,P = 0.019].