Fas and FasL polymorphisms are not associated with acute myeloid leukemia risk in Koreans

Apoptosis and genes involved in oral cancer - a comprehensive review

Oral cancers needs relentless research due to high mortality and morbidity associated with it. Despite of the comparable ease in accessibility to these sites, more than 2/3^rd cases are diagnosed in advanced stages. Molecular/genetic studies augment clinical assessment, classification and prediction of malignant potential of oral lesions, thereby reducing its incidence and increasing the scope for early diagnosis and treatment of oral cancers. Herein we aim to review the role of apoptosis and genes associated with it in oral cancer development in order to aid in early diagnosis, prediction of malignant potential and evaluation of possible treatment targets in oral cancer. An internet-based search was done with key words apoptosis, genes, mutations, targets and analysis to extract 72 articles after considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. The knowledge of genetics and genomics of oral cancer is of utmost need in order to stop the rising prevalence of oral cancer. Translational approach and interventions at the early stage of oral cancer, targeted destruction of cancerous cells by silencing or promoting involved genes should be the ideal intervention.

CD markers polymorphisms as prognostic biomarkers in hematological malignancies

The clusters of differentiation (CD) are surface molecules used for immunophenotyping of cells. The expression of CD markers is widely used to classify hematological malignancies, including leukemia and lymphoma. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are crucial genetic changes that can be associated with abnormal expression and function of CD markers. In this paper, we assess the prognostic effect of CD markers’ SNPs in hematological malignancies. Materials and methods and relevant literature was identified by a PubMed search (2001-2019) of English language papers using the following terms: ‘polymorphism’, ‘CD marker’, ‘leukemia’, ‘lymphoma’, ‘prognosis’, ‘CD marker’, and ‘polymorphism’. Many studies have demonstrated the effects of CD markers’ polymorphisms on risk of hematological malignancies. Also, SNPs of CD markers can be related with clinicopathological features, invasiveness, and response to therapy of these disorders. Considering the importance of SNPs in the expressions of CD markers, these genetic changes could be used as potential prognostic biomarkers in hematological malignancies. It is hoped that the evaluation of SNPs in CD markers will enable early diagnosis, prognosis, and detection of response to treatment. However, better understanding of SNPs in CD markers that are involved in hematological malignancies requires further studies on different populations of the worldwide.

Quantitative assessment of the association between Fas/FasL gene polymorphism and susceptibility to esophageal carcinoma in a north Chinese population

The case–control study aims to investigate the association of Fas and FasL genetic polymorphisms (Fas‐670A/G (rs1800682), Fas‐1377G/A (rs2234767) and FasL‐844T/C (rs763110)) with esophageal carcinoma susceptibility in a north Chinese population. A total of 204 patients with esophageal carcinoma and 248 healthy controls were enrolled from Henan, China and genotyped by the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism method. There were no significant differences in distributions of their genotypes frequencies between patients and controls in Fas‐670A/G, Fas‐1377G/A and FasL‐844T/C polymorphisms (P > 0.05). Stratified analysis showed that no significant association was found between esophageal carcinoma and gene polymorphisms of Fas‐670 A/G, Fas‐1377G/A, and FasL‐844T/C (P > 0.05). Genetic polymorphisms in the death pathway genes Fas and FasL were not associated with risk of developing esophageal carcinoma in a north Chinese population.

Fas-670A>G polymorphism is not associated with an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia development

The association between the increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and Fas promoter polymorphisms has been reported previously; however, the results are inconclusive. The present study performed one case-control study to investigate the association, and a total of 98 AML patients and 2,014 healthy controls were genotyped. The data showed that the distribution of Fas-670AA, GA and GG genotypes among the AML patients were not significantly different from those of the healthy controls, all P>0.05. Following this a sub-study was conducted to analyze individuals who neither smoked nor drank. The results demonstrated that there was still no significant association between the Fas-670 polymorphism and risk of AML development, all P>0.05. Furthermore, in order to address a more accurate estimation of the association, a meta-analysis was conducted. Data were systematically collected from the Pubmed, EMBASE and the Wanfang Library. A total of 3 studies were included in this meta-analysis, which contained 1,144 AML cases and 3,806 controls. No significant association was detected between the Fas-670A>G polymorphism and AML risk [GA+GG vs. AA: odds ratio (OR) 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.79–1.09; GG vs. AA: OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.82–1.24; GA vs. AA: OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.94–1.32; GG vs. AA+GA: OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.79–1.12; G vs. A: OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.91–1.12; all P>0.05). The analysis clearly indicated that there was no significant connection between the Fas-670A>G polymorphism and the increased risk of AML.

CD95 rs1800682A/G variant and tumor risk in Asians: evidence from a meta-analysis of 36 case-control studies containing 22,438 samples

Background

The CD95 gene plays a key role in regulating cell growth and tumor genesis. To date, several publications have focused on the CD95 rs1800682A/G site polymorphism and various types of tumors in Asians; however, this association is still controversial and obscure. Therefore, a meta-analysis combined with all publications to clarify this association is necessary.

Material/Methods

A search in the PubMed and SinoMed databases was performed to detect all relevant included publications. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) revealed association strengths.

Results

Overall, 36 case-control studies were chosen based on the search criteria. There was no association of the CD95 rs1800682A/G site polymorphism with tumor risk in total and ethnicity subgroup analysis. However, further stratified analysis in the cancer subgroup revealed weakly significant associations in hepatocellular carcinoma (AA+AG vs. GG: OR=0.93, 95% CI=0.87–0.99, P=0.035; AG vs. GG: OR=0.89, 95% CI=0.80–0.99, P=0.036).

Conclusions

The CD95 rs1800682A/G site polymorphism may be associated with hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility. Further large-scale and well-designed studies regarding tumor types and ethnicities are still required to confirm our results.

Death receptor (DR4) haplotypes are associated with increased susceptibility of gallbladder carcinoma in north Indian population

Background and Aim

Defective apoptosis is a hallmark of cancer development and progression. Death receptors (DR4, FAS) and their ligands (TRAIL, FASL) are thought to mediate the major extrinsic apoptotic pathway in the cell. SNPs in these genes may lead to defective apoptosis. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the association of functional SNPs of DR4 (rs20575, rs20576 and rs6557634), FAS (rs2234767) and FASL (rs763110) with gallbladder cancer (GBC) risk.

Methods

This case-control study included 400 GBC and 246 healthy controls (HC). Genotyping was carried out by Taqman genotyping assays. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS ver16. Meta-analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-analysis software (Version 2.0, BIOSTAT, Englewood, NJ) to systematically summarize the possible association of SNP with cancer risk. Functional prediction of these variants was carried out using Bioinformatics tools (FAST-SNP, F-SNP). False discovery rate (FDR test) was used in multiple comparisons.

Results

The DR4 C_rs20575A_rs20576A_rs6557634, G_rs20575A_rs20576G_rs6557634 and G_rs20575C_rs20576G_rs6557634 haplotypes conferred two-fold increased risk for GBC. Among these, the DR4 C_rs20575A_rs20576A_rs6557634 haplotype emerged as main factor influencing GBC susceptibility as the risk was not modulated by gender or gallstone stratification. Our meta-analysis results showed significant association of DR4 rs6557634 with overall cancer risk, GI cancers as well as in Caucasians. We didn't find any association of FAS and FASL SNPs with GBC susceptibility.

Conclusions

The DR4 haplotype C_rs20575A_rs20576A_rs6557634 represents an important factor accounting the patients susceptibility to GBC probably due to decreased apoptosis. However, additional well-designed studies with larger sample size focusing on different ethnicities are required to further validate the results.

Association between the FAS rs2234767G/A polymorphism and cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abnormal regulation of apoptosis can lead to carcinogenesis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in apoptotic genes have been associated with cancer risk, such as the FAS rs2234767G/A polymorphism, which alters transcription of the FAS promoter. Downregulation of FAS, with resultant cellular resistance to death signals, has been found in many cancers. However, the association between the FAS rs2234767G/A polymorphism and cancer risk is still controversial. Here, we performed a meta-analysis including 41 articles (44 case-control studies, 17,814 cases and 24,307 controls) identified from PubMed and Chinese language (CNKI and WanFang) databases related to cancer susceptibility and the FAS rs2234767G/A polymorphism. We used odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the strength of the associations. We found that the rs2234767 G-allele was a protective factor for cancer risk (GG vs. AA: OR=0.88, 95% CI=0.79-0.98; GG+GA vs. AA: OR=0.87, 95% CI=0.79-0.96). Similar associations were detected in the "source of control", ethnicity, and cancer type subgroups. Further studies on a larger sample size and considering gene-environment interactions should be conducted to confirm the role of FAS polymorphisms, especially rs2234767G/A, in cancer risk.

Association of Fas -1377 G/A polymorphism with susceptibility to cancer

BACKGROUND

The relationship between Fas -1377 G/A polymorphism and cancer susceptibility has been implicated in accumulating data. However, the data presented inconsistent results. This study was devised to investigate the association of Fas -1377 G/A polymorphism and cancer susceptibility in a large number of participants.

METHODS

The databases of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched and a total of 27 case-control studies including 13,355 cases and 16,078 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the fixed-effects model. Statistical analyses were performed by using Stata software.

RESULTS

The results suggested that Fas -1377 G/A polymorphism was overall associated with cancer susceptibility (additive model: OR, 1.16, 95%CI = 1.06-1.27, Pheterogeneity = 0.381; recessive model: OR, 1.19, 95%CI = 1.10-1.29, Pheterogeneity= 0.137). In the subgroup analysis by cancer type, significantly increased risk was observed in breast cancer (additive model: OR, 1.24, 95%CI = 1.04-1.58, Pheterogeneity = 0.614; recessive model: OR, 1.24, 95%CI = 1.02-1.51, Pheterogeneity = 0.349) and lung cancer (recessive model: OR, 1.25, 95%CI = 1.04-1.49, Pheterogeneity = 0.090). Similarly, elevated cancer risk associated with Fas -1377 G/A polymorphism was revealed in Asians.

CONCLUSIONS

The combined results suggest that Fas -1377 G/A polymorphism might modulate cancer susceptibility in an Asian-specific manner.

Fas gene variants in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and association with prognosis

Fas molecule is one of the main important molecules involved in apoptotic cell death. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter of Fas gene at positions -1377G/A and -670 A/G may affect its expression and play an important role in the pathology of leukemia. In the present study the association between these polymorphisms and risk of the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children with ALL compared to cancer-free control subjects was examined by polymerase chain reaction- based restriction fragment length polymorphism. The relationship between the polymorphisms and clinical and laboratory features of the patients and response to therapy were determined. No significant differences in genotype and allele frequencies between the patients and the control subjects at positions -670 and -1377 were detected. Evaluation of the prognostic factors revealed an association between the GG genotype at position -670 and liver involvement in ALL patients (p < 0.04). Although patients with -1377 AA genotype showed shorter mean complete remission duration, the result of survival analysis did not reach to be significant. In conclusion, results of this study showed no contribution of Fas genotypes at positions -670 and -1377 to risk of ALL in children. The association of Fas GG genotype at position -670 with liver involvement in the patients may show its important role in prognosis of ALL.

FASL rs763110 polymorphism contributes to cancer risk: an updated meta-analysis involving 43,295 subjects

Background

Published studies investigating the association between genetic polymorphism -884C/T (rs763110) of the FAS ligand (FASL) promoter and cancer risk reported inconclusive results. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, we performed an updated meta-analysis of all eligible studies.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We carried out a meta-analysis, including 47 studies with 19,810 cases and 23,485 controls, to confirm a more conclusive association between the FASL rs763110 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility. Overall, significantly reduced cancer risk was associated with the variant -884T when all studies were pooled (TC vs. CC: OR = 0.83, 95%CI = 0.75–0.92; P_{heterogeneity}<0.001; TT+TC vs. CC: OR = 0.85, 95%CI = 0.77–0.94; P_{heterogeneity}<0.001). Stratified analysis revealed that there was a statistically reduced cancer risk in Asians (TC vs. CC: OR = 0.76, 95%CI = 0.67–0.87; P_{heterogeneity}<0.001; TT+TC vs. CC: OR = 0.79, 95%CI = 0.70–0.90; P_{heterogeneity}<0.001) and in patients with cancers of head and neck (TC vs. CC: OR = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.77–0.99; P_{heterogeneity} = 0.118; TT+TC vs. CC: OR = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.78–0.99; P_{heterogeneity} = 0.168) and ovarian cancer (TC vs. CC: OR = 0.67, 95%CI = 0.49–0.90; P_{heterogeneity} = 0.187; TT+TC vs. CC: OR = 0.64, 95%CI = 0.48–0.86; P_{heterogeneity} = 0.199). Meta-regression showed that ethnicity (p = 0.029) and genotyping method (p = 0.043) but not cancer types (p = 0.772), sample size (p = 0.518), or source of controls (p = 0.826) were the source of heterogeneity in heterozygote comparison.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that the FASL polymorphism rs763110 is associated with a significantly reduced risk of cancer, especially in Asian populations.

FAS-1377 G/A (rs2234767) polymorphism and cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis of 17,858 cases and 24,311 controls

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Disruption of apoptosis has been implicated in carcinogenesis. Specifically, various single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in apoptotic genes, such as FAS-1377 G/A SNP, have been associated with cancer risk. FAS-1377 G/A SNP has been shown to alter FAS gene promoter transcriptional activity. Down-regulation of FAS and cell death resistance is key to many cancers, but an association between FAS-1377 G/A SNP and cancer risk is uncertain. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of the current literature to clarify this relationship.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

From PubMed and Chinese language (CNKI and WanFang) databases, we located articles published up to March 5, 2013, obtaining 44 case-control studies from 41 different articles containing 17,858 cases and 24,311 controls based on search criteria for cancer susceptibility related to the FAS gene -1377 G/A SNP. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) revealed association strengths. Data show that the -1377 G allele was protective against cancer risk. Similar associations were detected in "source of control," ethnicity and cancer type subgroups. Lower cancer risk was found in both smokers with a GG+GA genotype and in non-smokers with the GG+GA genotype, when compared to smokers and nonsmokers with the AA genotype. Males carrying the -1377G allele (GG+GA) had lower cancer incidence than those with the AA genotype. Individuals who carried both FAS-1377(GG+GA)/FASL-844(TT+TC) genotypes appeared to have lower risk of cancer than those who carried both FAS-1377 AA/FASL-844 CC genotypes.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

The FAS-1377 G/A SNP may decrease cancer risk. Studies with larger samples to study gene-environment interactions are warranted to understand the role of FAS gene polymorphisms, especially -1377 G/A SNP, in cancer risk.