Telomere length measured in leukocyte (LTL) has been found to be associated with the
risk of developing several cancer types, including myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
LTL is genetically determined by, at least, 11 SNPs previously shown to influence
LTL. Their combination in a score has been used as a genetic instrument to measure
LTL and evaluate the causative association between LTL and the risk of several cancer
types. We tested, for the first time, the "teloscore" in 480 MPN patients and 909
healthy controls in a European multi-center case-control study. We found an increased
risk to develop MPNs with longer genetically determined telomeres (OR = 1.82, 95%
CI 1.24-2.68,P = 2.21 x 10(-3), comparing the highest with the lowest quintile of
the teloscore distribution). Analyzing the SNPs individually we confirm the association
betweenTERT-rs2736100-C allele and increased risk of developing MPNs and we report
a novel association of theOBFC1-rs9420907-C variant with higher MPN risk (ORallelic
= 1.43; 95% CI 1.15-1.77;P = 1.35 x 10(-3)). Consistently with the results obtained
with the teloscore, both risk alleles are also associated with longer LTL. In conclusion,
our results suggest that genetically determined longer telomeres could be a risk marker
for MPN development.
