Functional XPF polymorphisms associated with lung cancer susceptibility in a Chinese population

Abstract

Variation of individuals’ DNA repair capacity has been linked to cancer susceptibility. The xeroderma pigmentsum group F (XPF) plays a pivotal role in nucleotide-excision repair (NER) pathway. This study was to examine the functional significance of XPF promoter polymorphisms and their association with lung cancer risk. The function of XPF promoter polymorphisms was tested by a set of biochemical assays, and their effects on lung cancer risk were determined by a case-control analysis of 988 patients with lung cancer and 986 controls. The XPF−673T allele showed a significantly higher transcriptional activity as compared with the −673C allele. The −673TT genotype was associated with a decreased risk of lung cancer compared with the CC genotype (adjusted OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.42–0.91; P=0.015) and this effect was more significant among males (adjusted OR=0.55, 95% CI=0.35–0.86; P=0.009), elder subjects (adjusted OR=0.51, 95% CI=0.30–0.86; P=0.012), and light smokers (adjusted OR=0.35, 95% CI=0.14–0.88; P=0.026). These findings suggest that functional polymorphisms influencing DNA repair capacity may confer susceptibility to lung cancer.

Keywords

XPF / polymorphism / lung cancer