Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies multiple lung cancer susceptibility loci in never-smoking Asian women.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of lung cancer in Asian never-smoking women have previously identified six susceptibility loci associated with lung cancer risk. To further discover new susceptibility loci, we imputed data from four GWAS of Asian non-smoking female lung cancer (6877 cases and 6277 controls) using the 1000 Genomes Project (Phase 1 Release 3) data as the reference and genotyped additional samples (5878 cases and 7046 controls) for possible replication. In our meta-analysis, three new loci achieved genome-wide significance, marked by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs7741164 at 6p21.1 (per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 1.17; P = 5.8 × 10(-13)), rs72658409 at 9p21.3 (per-allele OR = 0.77; P = 1.41 × 10(-10)) and rs11610143 at 12q13.13 (per-allele OR = 0.89; P = 4.96 × 10(-9)). These findings identified new genetic susceptibility alleles for lung cancer in never-smoking women in Asia and merit follow-up to understand their biological underpinnings.

LTA + 252A > G polymorphism is associated with risk of nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma in a Chinese population: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma is a rare type of lymphoma in Caucasian individuals, but is relatively common in Asian populations. Genetic variants in immune and inflammatory response genes may thus be associated with the risk of developing lymphoma. Here, we investigated the association between immuno-modulatory gene polymorphisms and risk for nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma in a Chinese population. METHODS: Analysis of 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-10, TNF-α, lymphotoxin-α (LTA), and CTLA-4 genes was performed for 125 patients with NK/T-cell lymphoma and 300 healthy controls by PCR-ligase detection reactions. RESULTS: The LTA +252 GA + AA genotypes were associated with increased risk for NK/T-cell lymphoma (OR = 2.96, 95 % CI = 1.42-6.19, P = 0.004 for GA + AA genotype). Haplotype C-G-G-A (TNF-α -857, -308, -238 and LTA +252) also conferred an increased risk (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.14-2.06, P = 0.005). Additionally, the LTA +252 GA + AA genotype was associated with an even higher risk in populations positive for Epstein-Barr virus (OR = 5.20, 95% CI = 1.22-23.41, P = 0.03 for the GA + AA genotype). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the LTA +252 A > G polymorphism is associated with the risk of developing NK/T-cell lymphoma, especially for Epstein-Barr virus-positive NK/T-cell lymphoma in the Chinese population.

Phase II clinical trial of palonosetron combined with tropisetron in preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of palonosetron combined with tropisetron in preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. A total of 82 non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing Docetaxel combined with Cisplatin were randomly divided into group A and group B. The patients were received palonosetron combined with tropisetron (group A, n = 42) or tropisetron alone (group B, n = 40) before initiation of chemotherapy. The nausea degree, antiemetic efficacy and safety after chemotherapy were evaluated. Patients were administered for rescue therapy if needed. Results showed no significant difference in complete remission rate (CRR) during acute phase (0-24 h post chemotherapy) between group A and group B (90.48% versus 75%, P > 0.05). The CRR of group A during delayed (24-120 h post chemotherapy) and overall phases (0-120 h post chemotherapy) were 83.33% and 78.57%, higher than group B (50% and 42.50%, P < 0.05). AS for the improvement rate of nausea during delayed phase, group A is better than group B (57.14% versus 35%, P < 0.05). The adverse drug reactions of two groups were mild and generally well tolerated, including headache, constipation and abdominal distension, and no statistically significant differences were observed. In conclusions, compared to tropisetron alone, the therapy of palonosetron plus tropisetron is more effective and safer in controlling of nausea and vomiting induced by high emetic risk chemotherapy.

Interleukin 17A polymorphism elevates gene expression and is associated with increased risk of nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Interleukin 17 (IL-17), also known as IL-17A, is a proinflammatory cytokine and plays critical roles in tumor immunity. Nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between IL-17A genetic polymorphisms and susceptibility to NSCLC. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-17A gene, rs3819024A/G and rs8193037G/A, were detected in 322 NSCLC patients and 366 healthy donors. Data revealed that prevalence of IL-17A rs8193037GA and AA genotypes were significantly higher in the patients than in controls (odds ratio [OR]: 2.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.53-3.16, p<0.001; and OR: 3.19, 95% CI: 1.42-7.15, p=0.003). Stratification analyses showed that rs8193037A allele had significantly higher percentage in adenocarcinoma than in squamous cell carcinoma (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.12-2.64, p=0.013). When examining the possible function of the SNPs, we found that in vitro stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from subjects possessing rs8193037A allele produced significantly more IL-17 than those with the GG genotype, and this phenomenon could be observed in both controls and the NSCLC patients. These data indicate IL-17A polymorphism is associated with increased risk of NSCLC probably by elevating gene expression.

Polymorphisms of co-inhibitory molecules (CTLA-4/PD-1/PD-L1) and the risk of non-small cell lung cancer in a Chinese population.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death in China, with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprises the most common form. Co-inhibitory molecules, such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), programmed death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1, play a key roles in the physiopathological process of tumorigenesis. To investigate whether genetic variations of co-inhibitory molecules are associated with the risk of NSCLC, we analyzed polymorphisms of CTLA-4 (-318, +49), PD-1 (PD-1.1, PD-1.3, PD-1.5, PD-1.9) and PD-L1 (+8293) in a cohort of 528 NSCLC subjects and 600 healthy controls. By restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method, we found that the distributions of the CTLA-4 and PD-1 gene polymorphisms were similar between NSCLC patients and healthy controls. However, for the PD-L1 8923 A/C polymorphism, frequencies of the AC genotype and C-allele were significantly higher in NSCLC patients than in healthy controls (odds ratio [OR] =1.55; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-2.13; P=0.006; OR=1.52; 95% CI 1.14-2.04; P=0.004, respectively). Stratification analysis revealed that prevalence of the 8923C allele was significantly increased in NSCLC patients who smoke compared to those non-smoking patients (OR=1.51; 95% CI 1.00-2.28; P<0.05). Moreover, NSCLC patients carrying the C-allele had higher risk of regional lymph node metastasis than those carrying the A-allele (OR=5.65; 95% CI 2.45~13.03; P<0.001). These data suggest that PD-L1+8293A>C polymorphism may play a role in the development and progression of NSCLC.

PD-L1 gene polymorphism and high level of plasma soluble PD-L1 protein may be associated with non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: PD-1 and its ligand PD-L1 belong to the co-inhibition molecules, which can downregulate immune responses. The PD-L1 polymorphism and the level of soluble PD-L1 (sPD-L1) were investigated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: A total of 288 NSCLC patients and 300 controls were enrolled. An A/C polymorphism at position 8923 in the PD-L1 gene was genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS: The prevalence of the 8923C allele was significantly higher in NSCLC patients than controls (10.2% versus 5.3%, p = 0.002, odds ratio 2.03, 95% confidence interval 1.30-3.17; data were adjusted for age and sex). NSCLC patients also showed increased plasma levels of sPD-L1 compared to controls (1.92 ng/mL versus 0.91 ng/mL, p<0.001). Furthermore, lung adenocarcinoma patients had higher sPD-L1 levels than patients with squamous cell carcinoma (p<0.01). However, no association was observed between the different genetic variants and plasma concentrations of sPD-L1. CONCLUSIONS: The PD-L1 8923A/C polymorphism could be associated with increased susceptibility to NSCLC. Plasma levels of sPD-L1 are significantly increased in NSCLC patients, especially those with adenocarcinoma.