Causality Inference of Obesity and Cancer Risk by Mendelian Randomization Analysis: Are We There yet?
Cette étude analyse l'intérêt des études menées par randomisation mendélienne en comparaison avec les études observationnelles pour fournir des informations sur l'association entre l'obésité et le risque de cancer
Strong epidemiological evidence supports an association of excessive body fatness with increased risk of thirteen cancer types. It is estimated that 6% of cancers in adults are attributed to overweight and obesity, placing it as one of the most important cancer risk factors, second only to smoking. However, association does not equate to causality. Body fatness, commonly assessed by body mass index (BMI), is determined by a myriad of genetic and environmental factors. Confounding effects by those factors are difficult to completely refute in observational studies. A randomized trial to experimentally test the causality between BMI and cancer risk is apparently also out of the question. However unsatisfying it may sound; we still are uncertain whether obesity causes cancer.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute , éditorial en libre accès, 2020