Genetically inferred telomere length and testicular germ cell tumor risk.

Background Studies evaluating the association between peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length and testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) risk have produced conflicting results. Methods Using available genotype data from the Testicular Cancer Consortium (TECAC), polygenic risk score (PRS) and mendelian randomization (MR) analyses of genetic variants previously associated with leukocyte telomere length were used to assess potential etiologic associations between telomere length and TGCT risk. Results Genetically inferred telomere length was not associated with TGCT risk among 2,049 cases and 6,921 controls with individual-level genotype data (odds ratio (OR)=1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI)= 0.97-1.07). MR analyses using summary statistic data further indicated no evidence for an association between telomere length and TGCT risk among all available TECAC consortium participants (3,558 cases; 13,971 controls). Conclusions Our analyses in the largest molecular genetic testicular cancer study to date provide no evidence for an association between genetically inferred peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length and TGCT risk. Impact The lack of evidence for an overall association indicates that peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length is likely not a strong biomarker for TGCT risk.