Genetic predisposition to longer telomere length and risk of childhood, adolescent and adult-onset ependymoma.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

Ependymoma is the third most common brain tumor in children, with well-described molecular characterization but poorly understood underlying germline risk factors. To investigate whether genetic predisposition to longer telomere length influences ependymoma risk, we utilized case-control data from three studies: a population-based pediatric and adolescent ependymoma case-control sample from California (153 cases, 696 controls), a hospital-based pediatric posterior fossa type A (EPN-PF-A) ependymoma case-control study from Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (83 cases, 332 controls), and a multicenter adult-onset ependymoma case-control dataset nested within the Glioma International Case-Control Consortium (GICC) (103 cases, 3287 controls). In the California case-control sample, a polygenic score for longer telomere length was significantly associated with increased risk of ependymoma diagnosed at ages 12-19 (P = 4.0 × 10-3), but not with ependymoma in children under 12 years of age (P = 0.94). Mendelian randomization supported this observation, identifying a significant association between genetic predisposition to longer telomere length and increased risk of adolescent-onset ependymoma (ORPRS = 1.67; 95% CI 1.18-2.37; P = 3.97 × 10-3) and adult-onset ependymoma (PMR-Egger = 0.042), but not with risk of ependymoma diagnosed before age 12 (OR = 1.12; 95% CI 0.94-1.34; P = 0.21), nor with EPN-PF-A (PMR-Egger = 0.59). These findings complement emerging literature suggesting that augmented telomere maintenance is important in ependymoma pathogenesis and progression, and that longer telomere length is a risk factor for diverse nervous system malignancies.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Zhang, C; Ostrom, QT; Semmes, EC; Ramaswamy, V; Hansen, HM; Morimoto, L; de Smith, AJ; Pekmezci, M; Vaksman, Z; Hakonarson, H; Diskin, SJ; Metayer, C; Glioma International Case-Control Study (GICC), ; Taylor, MD; Wiemels, JL; Bondy, ML; Walsh, KM

Published Date

  • October 28, 2020

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 8 / 1

Start / End Page

  • 173 -

PubMed ID

  • 33115534

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC7592366

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 2051-5960

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1186/s40478-020-01038-w

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • England