Blood molybdenum level as a marker of cancer risk on BRCA1 carriers

Milena Matuszczak; Adam Kiljańczyk; Wojciech Marciniak; Róża Derkacz; Klaudia Stempa; Piotr Baszuk; Marta Bryśkiewicz; Cezary Cybulski; Tadeusz Dębniak; Gronwald Jacek; Tomasz Huzarski; Marcin Lener; Anna Jakubowska; Sandra Pietrzak; Marek Szwiec; Małgorzata Stawicka-Niełacna; Dariusz Godlewski; Artur Prusaczyk; Andrzej Jasiewicz; Tomasz Kluz; Joanna Tomiczek-Szwiec; Ewa Kilar-Kobierzycka; Monika Siołek; Renata Posmyk; Joanna Jarkiewicz-Tretyn; Rodney Scott; Steven Narod; Jan Lubiński

doi:10.1186/s13053-024-00291-7

Blood molybdenum level as a marker of cancer risk on BRCA1 carriers

Hered Cancer Clin Pract. 2024 Sep 19;22(1):19. doi: 10.1186/s13053-024-00291-7.

Authors

Milena Matuszczak¹, Adam Kiljańczyk¹, Wojciech Marciniak², Róża Derkacz², Klaudia Stempa¹, Piotr Baszuk^{1

2}, Marta Bryśkiewicz^{1

2}, Cezary Cybulski^{1

2}, Tadeusz Dębniak^{1

2}, Gronwald Jacek^{1

2}, Tomasz Huzarski^{1

2

3}, Marcin Lener¹, Anna Jakubowska^{1

4}, Sandra Pietrzak¹, Marek Szwiec⁵, Małgorzata Stawicka-Niełacna⁴, Dariusz Godlewski⁶, Artur Prusaczyk⁷, Andrzej Jasiewicz⁸, Tomasz Kluz⁹, Joanna Tomiczek-Szwiec¹⁰, Ewa Kilar-Kobierzycka¹¹, Monika Siołek¹², Renata Posmyk¹³, Joanna Jarkiewicz-Tretyn¹⁴, Rodney Scott¹⁵, Steven Narod¹⁶, Jan Lubiński^{17

18}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Genetics and Pathology, International Hereditary Cancer Center, Pomeranian Medical University, ul. Unii Lubelskiej 1, Szczecin, 71-252, Poland.
² Read-Gene, Dobra (Szczecińska), ul. Alabastrowa 8, Grzepnica, 72-003, Poland.
³ Department of Clinical Genetics and Pathology, University of Zielona Góra, ul. Zyty 28, Zielona Góra, 65- 046, Poland.
⁴ Independent Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Genetic Diagnostics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, 70-204, Poland.
⁵ Department of Surgery and Oncology, University of Zielona Góra, Zyty 28, 65-046 Zielona, Góra, Poland.
⁶ OPEN, Kazimierza Wielkiego 24 St, Poznań, 61-863, Poland.
⁷ Medical and Diagnostic Center, Siedlce, 08-110, Poland.
⁸ Genetic Counseling Center, Subcarpatian Oncological Hospital, 18 Bielawskiego St, 36-200, Brzozów, Poland.
⁹ Department of Gynecology, Gynecology Oncology and Obstetrics, Institute of Medical Sciences, Medical College of Rzeszow University, Rejtana 16c, Rzeszow, 35-959, Poland.
¹⁰ Department of Histology, Department of Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Opole, Opole, 45-040, Poland.
¹¹ Department of Oncology, District Specialist Hospital, Leśna 27-29 St, 58-100, Świdnica, Poland.
¹² Holycross Cancer Center, Artwińskiego 3 St, 25-734, Kielce, Poland.
¹³ Department of Clinical Genetics, Medical University in Bialystok, Bialystok, 15-089, Poland.
¹⁴ Non-Public Health Care Centre, Cancer Genetics Laboratory, Toruń, 87-100, Poland.
¹⁵ Medical Genetics, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Priority Research Centre for Cancer Research, Innovation and Translation, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Pathology North, John Hunter Hospital, King and Auckland Streets, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, 2300, Australia.
¹⁶ Women's College Hospital, Women's College Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 1N8, Canada.
¹⁷ Department of Genetics and Pathology, International Hereditary Cancer Center, Pomeranian Medical University, ul. Unii Lubelskiej 1, Szczecin, 71-252, Poland. jan.lubinski@pum.edu.pl.
¹⁸ Read-Gene, Dobra (Szczecińska), ul. Alabastrowa 8, Grzepnica, 72-003, Poland. jan.lubinski@pum.edu.pl.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate whether Molybdenum blood level is a marker of cancer risk on BRCA1 carriers.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among 989 initially unaffected women with a BRCA1 mutation. Blood samples were collected to measure molybdenum levels, and participants were followed for an average of 7.5 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between blood molybdenum levels and cancer incidence, adjusting for potential confounders.

Results: High blood molybdenum levels (> 0.70 µg/L) were significantly associated with an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer (HR = 5.55; 95%CI: 1.59-19.4; p = 0.007) and any cancer (HR = 1.74; 95%CI: 1.17-2.61; p = 0.007) but not breast cancer (HR = 1.46, CI = 0.91-2.33; p = 0.12). The cumulative incidence of ovarian cancer at ten years was 1.2% for the lowest molybdenum tertile, 4.2% for the middle tertile, and 8.7% for the highest tertile.

Conclusion: Elevated blood molybdenum levels are associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer on BRCA1 mutation carriers. Lowering molybdenum levels may potentially reduce cancer risk in this population, and high molybdenum levels could serve as a marker for considering preventive oophorectomy in BRCA1 carriers. Further research is warranted to confirm these findings and explore interventions targeting molybdenum levels as a preventive measure for ovarian cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers.

Keywords: BRCA1 carriers; Cancer risk; Molybdenum, breast cancer; Ovarian cancer; Prospective cohor.

Abstract

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