Association of CHRNA5-A3-B4 variation with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma risk and smoking behaviors in a Chinese population.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

CHRNA5-A3-B4, the gene cluster encoding nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits, is associated with lung cancer risk and smoking behaviors in people of European descent. Because cigarette smoking is also a major risk factor for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), we investigated the associations between variants in CHRNA5-A3-B4 and ESCC risk, as well as smoking behaviors, in a Chinese population.

METHODS:

A case-control study of 866 ESCC patients and 952 healthy controls was performed to study the association of polymorphisms (rs667282 and rs3743073) in CHRNA5-A3-B4 with cancer risk using logistic regression models. The relationships between CHRNA5-A3-B4 polymorphisms and smoking behaviors that can be quantified by cigarettes smoked per day (CPD) and pack-years of smoking were separately estimated with Kruskal-Wallis tests among all 840 smokers.

RESULTS:

CHRNA5-A3-B4 rs667282 TT/TG genotypes were associated with significantly increased risk of ESCC [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03 - 1.69, P = 0.029]. The increased ESCC risk was even higher among younger subjects (≤60 years) (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.04 - 1.98, P = 0.024). These effects were not found in another polymorphism rs3743073. No evident association between the two polymorphisms and smoking behaviors was observed.

CONCLUSIONS:

These results support the hypothesis that CHRNA5-A3-B4 is a susceptibility gene cluster for ESCC. The relationship between CHRNA5-A3-B4 and smoking behaviors in a Chinese population needs further investigation.

• Authors: Yang Wang, Haijian Wu, Qiji Liu, Cuihong Wang, Lei Fu, Han Wang, Wenjie Zhu, Weijiang Fu, Yajuan Lv, Shikun Wang, Likuan Hu
• Journal: PloS one (PLoS One) Vol. 8 Issue 7 Pg. e67664 ( 2013) ISSN: 1932-6203 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23844051 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• CHRNA5 protein, human
• CHRNB4 protein, human
• Nerve Tissue Proteins
• Receptors, Nicotinic
• nicotinic receptor subunit alpha3

Topics

• Aged
• Asian People
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell (ethnology, etiology, genetics)
• Case-Control Studies
• Esophageal Neoplasms (ethnology, etiology, genetics)
• Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
• Female
• Gene Frequency
• Haplotypes
• Humans
• Linkage Disequilibrium
• Logistic Models
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Multigene Family
• Nerve Tissue Proteins (genetics)
• Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
• Receptors, Nicotinic (genetics)
• Risk
• Smoking (adverse effects)