Association between serum γ-Glutamyltransferase and the risk of cervical cancer: Evidence from the national health and nutrition examination survey

BACKGROUND: The principal cause of cervical cancer is sustained high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. However, some cases remain unrelated to HPV infections. Current HPV screening methods have difficulties identifying HPV-negative patients and implementing them in low-resource settings. Therefore, it is important to explore easily accessible and low-cost biomarkers to optimize the current cervical cancer screening strategies. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 6998 women from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), among whom 147 had self-reported cervical cancer. Serum γ - Glutamyltransferase (GGT) was employed as a continuous variable (naturally logarithmically transformed) and a categorical variable (≥50 U/L versus