Polygenic risk scores and plasma proteomics identify cancer-related proteins and trans-regulated protein networks.

Polygenic risk scores combined with plasma proteomics reveal 90 cancer-associated proteins and 19 trans-regulated networks across 21 cancers.

• Why it matters: Understanding how genetic susceptibility translates into protein mechanisms is crucial for identifying early biomarkers and therapeutic targets in cancer prevention and treatment.
• What they did: The study integrated polygenic risk scores for 21 cancers with nearly 5,000 plasma proteins in cancer-free individuals, using protein quantitative trait scores and sparse canonical correlation analysis to identify protein associations and networks.
• The result: Findings connect prioritized proteins to cancer driver genes, immune responses, and pathways, demonstrating that integrating genetic risk with proteomics uncovers circulating protein networks linked to inherited cancer susceptibility.