- Cancer-specific PRS show stronger associations in European ancestry individuals than African ancestry, with ORs per SD 1.05-1.70 (EUR) versus 1.01-1.48 (AFR).
- Among African ancestry participants, only five of 13 cancer PRS were significantly associated with their cancers: bladder, female breast, colorectal, prostate, thyroid.
- Pleiotropy was uncommon; notable links: renal PRS to skin cancer, thyroid PRS to goitre, oral PRS to diabetes and hypothyroidism, negative links to coronary disease.
JCO Precis Oncol. 2026 Sep;10(9):e2500957. doi: 10.1200/PO-25-00957. Epub 2026 Sep 17.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Genome-wide association studies have identified many common variants associated at low effect sizes with various cancers. Summing the effects of these variants into polygenic risk scores (PRS) can improve cancer risk prediction. However, cross-cancer and cross-phenotype pleiotropic associations of cancer-specific PRS are limited.
METHODS: Using logistic regression models, we tested the association of 13 cancer-specific PRS with curated phenotypes representing the same 13 cancers and 340 cancer and cardiometabolic phecodes in 560,287 individuals (114,255 African ancestry [AFR] and 446,032 European ancestry [EUR]) from the Million Veteran Program. Models were stratified by ancestry and used age, principal components, and cancer-specific PRS per standard deviation as independent variables, and correction was applied for multiple comparisons.
RESULTS: All 13 cancer-specific PRS were significantly associated with their respective cancers among EUR individuals with odds ratios per standard deviation of PRS (odds ratio [OR]) 1.05-1.70. Among AFR individuals, the effect sizes of the cancer PRS were lower, with OR 1.01-1.48, and cancer-specific PRS were significantly associated with their respective cancers for five of 13 cancers (bladder, breast in female patients, colorectal, prostate, and thyroid). In cancer-cancer pleiotropy studies, only the renal cancer-specific PRS was significantly associated with skin cancer (OR = 1.04, P = 4.5 × 10-06) among EUR individuals. PheWAS demonstrated five positive pleotropic associations with cardiometabolic conditions (thyroid cancer PRS with thyroid goiter, oral cancer PRS with diabetes phenotypes, and hypothyroidism) and two negative associations (oral and lung cancer PRS separately with coronary artery disease).
CONCLUSION: Cancer PRS have stronger associations per cancer among EUR versus AFR individuals. In contrast to PRS of other chronic diseases, the majority of cancer-related PRS are highly specific and pleiotropic associations with other cancers and cardiometabolic traits are uncommon.
PMID:42753222 | DOI:10.1200/PO-25-00957
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