The Use of Principle of Mendelian Randomization for Demonstration of Protective Effects of Isothiocyanates in Cruciferous Vegetables Against Malignant Tumors
Abstract
The observed associations between a disease and suspected exposure is generally prone to the confounding factors, which can skew the interpretation of the results of conventional observational studies.The principle of Mendelian randomization (the random distribution of the parental genes in meiose during gametes formation and in the concept), represents one of the chances of methodology of assessment of the causal nature of certain external causes of disease. Using this approach, the observed association between the disease and examined genetic polymorphism, that reflects the biological link between suspected exposure and disease, is generally less prone to the confounding factors, which can skew the interpretation of the results of conventional observational studies.The authors illustrate the possibilities of Mendelian randomization on the example of the relation isothiocyanates in cruciferous vegetables versus lung cancer.
Although the use of the principle of Mendelian randomization has its limitations, it provides new options to test the causal link of events and shows how the resources embedded in the human genome project can contribute to the understanding and prevention of adverse or potential options protective effects of modifiable exposures on human health.