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. 2025 Jul 10;16(1):1300.
doi: 10.1007/s12672-025-03161-3.

Serum carnitine and cancer risk: a Mendelian randomization study identifying pancreatic cancer as a modifiable metabolic target

Xiaoqing Zhou #  1   2 , Yujie Zhou #  2 , Yingnan Xu  2 , Zhen Wang  3 , Xin Lv  4
Affiliations

Serum carnitine and cancer risk: a Mendelian randomization study identifying pancreatic cancer as a modifiable metabolic target

Xiaoqing Zhou et al. Discov Oncol. .

Abstract

Background: While nutritional factors have been suggested to influence cancer risk, the role of carnitine-a nutrient involved in fatty acid metabolism-remains controversial across cancer types. Emerging evidence indicates that carnitine's anti-inflammatory and metabolic properties might influence carcinogenesis, but its site-specific associations are yet to be fully elucidated.

Methods: We conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) study to assess the causal relationship between genetically predicted serum carnitine levels and 12 site-specific cancers. Genetic variants associated with serum carnitine were used as instrumental variables to minimize confounding factors. Causal estimates were derived using inverse-variance weighted regression as the primary method, complemented by four regression methods. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses were applied to ensure the robustness and reliability of results.

Results: The MR analysis showed no significant causal associations between carnitine levels and 11 types of cancer. However, a modest positive causal relationship was identified between carnitine and pancreatic cancer (OR = 1.085, 95% CI = 1.027-1.14, P-value = 0.003).

Conclusion: This study provides evidence for a causal association between elevated serum carnitine levels and pancreatic cancer risk, while no significant links were observed with 11 other cancers. Future research is needed to further explore carnitine's role in pancreatic carcinogenesis and its potential for cancer prevention.

Keywords: Cancer; Carnitine; Causal relationship; Mendelian randomization; Pancreatic cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The general design flow of the survey. MR, Mendelian randomization, LD, linkage disequilibrium, IVW, inverse variance weighted
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Three critical assumptions of Mendelian randomization analysis. IVs, instrumental variables
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The main results of the Mendelian randomization analysis examining the relationship between carnitine and 12 types of cancers. IVW, inverse variance weighted, NSNPs, number of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, OR, Odds Ratio, CI, Confidence Interval
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
A, B Scatter and forest plots of the two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis results examining the relationship between carnitine and pancreatic cancer
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
A, B Funnel and leave-one-out plots of the two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis results examining the relationship between carnitine and pancreatic cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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