Elucidating the relationship between metabolites and breast cancer: A Mendelian randomization study

The evidence about the causal roles of metabolites in breast cancer is lacking. This study conducted a systematic evaluation of the potential causal relationship between 1091 human blood metabolites, 309 metabolite ratios, and the likelihood of developing breast cancer and its subtype by employing a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) approach Four metabolites, including tryptophan betaine (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.07, 95%CI = 1.04–1.10, Bonferroni-corrected P = 0.007), X-21312 (OR = 0.90, 95%CI = 0.86–0.94, Bonferroni-corrected P = 0.02), 3-bromo-5-chloro-2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid (OR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.91–0.96, Bonferroni-corrected P = 0.03) and X-18921 (OR = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.94–0.98, Bonferroni-corrected P = 0.04) were significantly associated with overall breast cancer using inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method. Tryptophan betaine was also significantly associated with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer (OR = 1.08, 95%CI = 1.04–1.11, Bonferroni-corrected P = 0.03). X-23680 (OR = 1.10, 95%CI = 1.05–1.15, Bonferroni-corrected P = 0.04) and glycine to phosphate ratio (OR = 1.07, 95%CI = 1.04–1.10, Bonferroni-corrected P = 0.04) were associated with ER-negative breast cancer. Reverse MR analysis showed no significant associations between breast cancer and metabolites. This MR study indicated compelling evidence of a causal association between metabolites and the risk of breast cancer and its subtypes, underscoring the potential impact of metabolic interference on breast cancer risk and indicating the drug targets for breast cancer.