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Generalizability of CTSB–EAC/BE associations beyond European ancestry

Ascertain whether the inverse association between cathepsin B (CTSB) levels and risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma/Barrett's esophagus observed in cohorts of European ancestry generalizes to non-European populations.

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Background

The paper’s Mendelian randomization, TWAS, and single-cell analyses were conducted using datasets primarily from individuals of European ancestry.

The authors explicitly highlight uncertainty regarding whether their observed CTSB–EAC/BE relationships hold in other populations, motivating follow-up analyses in diverse ancestries.

References

Second, the study primarily included individuals of European ancestry. As a result, the generalizability of the findings to other populations remains uncertain and requires further investigation.

— Defining the relationship between cathepsin B and esophageal adenocarcinoma: conjoint analysis of Mendelian randomization, transcriptome-wide association studies, and single-cell RNA sequencing data (2504.01270 - Li et al., 2 Apr 2025) in Discussion (Limitations)