• Yi-Xuan Huang, Jun-Hua Wu, Yu-Qiang Zhao, Wan-Nian Sui, Tian Tian, Wen-Xiu Han, and Jing Ni.
• Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
• Prev Med. 2024 Oct 3; 189: 108147108147.

ObjectiveGastrointestinal cancers are one of the most frequent cancer types and seriously threaten human life and health. Recent studies attribute the occurrence of gastrointestinal cancers to both genetic and environmental factors, yet the intrinsic etiology remains unclear. Mendelian randomization is a powerful well-established statistical method that is based on genome-wide association study (GWAS) to evaluate the causal relationship between exposures and outcomes. In the present study, we aimed to conduct a systematic review of Mendelian randomization studies investigating any causal risk factors for gastrointestinal cancers.MethodsWe systematically searched Mendelian randomization studies that addressed the associations of genetically predicted exposures with five main gastrointestinal cancers from September 2014 to March 2024, as well as testing the research quality and validity.ResultsOur findings suggested robust and consistent causal effects of body mass index (BMI), basal metabolic rate, fatty acids, total cholesterol, total bilirubin, insulin like growth factor-1, eosinophil counts, interleukin 2, alcohol consumption, coffee consumption, apolipoprotein B on colorectal cancer risks, BMI, waist circumference, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), total testosterone, smoking on gastric cancer risks, BMI, fasting insulin, LDL, waist circumference, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), immune cells, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on pancreatic cancer risks, waist circumference, smoking, T2DM on esophageal adenocarcinoma risks, and VAT, ferritin, transferrin, alcohol consumption, hepatitis B virus infection, rheumatoid arthritis on liver cancer risks, respectively.ConclusionLarger, well-designed Mendelian randomization studies are practical in determining the causal status of risk factors for diseases.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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