Breast cancer risk-associated variants at 6q25.1 influence risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in a Chinese population

Discovering master regulators in hepatocellular carcinoma: one novel MR, SEC14L2 inhibits cancer cells

Identification of master regulator (MR) genes offers a relatively rapid and efficient way to characterize disease-specific molecular programs. Since strong consensus regarding commonly altered MRs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is lacking, we generated a compendium of HCC datasets from 21 studies and identified a comprehensive signature consisting of 483 genes commonly deregulated in HCC. We then used reverse engineering of transcriptional networks to identify the MRs that underpin the development and progression of HCC. After cross-validation in different HCC datasets, systematic assessment using patient-derived data confirmed prognostic predictive capacities for most HCC MRs and their corresponding regulons. Our HCC signature covered well-established liver cancer hallmarks, and network analyses revealed coordinated interaction between several MRs. One novel MR, SEC14L2, exerted an anti-proliferative effect in HCC cells and strongly suppressed tumor growth in a mouse model. This study advances our knowledge of transcriptional MRs potentially involved in HCC development and progression that may be targeted by specific interventions.

Associations between TAB2 Gene Polymorphisms and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer in a Chinese Population

Background

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is highly lethal worldwide. Factors involved in the inflammation and hormone-associated signaling pathway play vital roles in EOC carcinogenesis. The transforming growth factor-β- (TGF-β-) activated kinase 1 (MAP3K7) binding protein 2 (TAB2), mediating convergence of inflammatory and estrogen, may be implicated in EOC. The present study is aimed at exploring the association between the TAB2 gene polymorphisms and EOC.

Methods

Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs237028, rs521845, and rs652921) of TAB2 were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in 221 patients and 252 healthy controls. Associations between SNPs and clinical characteristics were performed either with the χ ² test or with Fisher's exact test. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard models were used to detect associations between genotypes and overall survival.

Results

The rs237028 polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of EOC with an allelic genetic model (A vs. G; OR = 1.45; 95%CI = 1.07-1.96; P = 0.016), dominant genetic model (AA vs. AG-GG; OR = 1.66; CI 1.14-2.41; P = 0.008), and overdominant genetic model (AA-GG vs. AG; OR = 1.60; CI 1.08-2.36; P = 0.017). However, no significant association was observed between rs237028 polymorphism and overall survival.

Conclusions

Our study indicated that the rs237028 polymorphism in the TAB2 gene was associated with EOC susceptibility and the TAB2 gene might contribute to the initiation of EOC.

Subtype-specific associations between breast cancer risk polymorphisms and the survival of early-stage breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Limited evidence suggests that inherited predisposing risk variants might affect the disease outcome. In this study, we analyzed the effect of genome-wide association studies-identified breast cancer-risk single nucleotide polymorphisms on survival of early-stage breast cancer patients in a Chinese population.

METHODS

This retrospective study investigated the relationship between 21 GWAS-identified breast cancer-risk single nucleotide polymorphisms and the outcome of 1177 early stage breast cancer patients with a long median follow-up time of 174 months. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios and their 95% confidence intervals. Primary endpoints were breast cancer special survival and overall survival while secondary endpoints were invasive disease free survival and distant disease free survival.

RESULTS

Multivariate survival analysis showed only the rs2046210 GA genotype significantly decreased the risk of recurrence and death for early stage breast cancer. After grouping breast cancer subtypes, significantly reduced survival was associated with the variant alleles of rs9485372 for luminal A and rs4415084 for triple negative breast cancer. Importantly, all three single-nucleotide polymorphisms, rs889312, rs4951011 and rs9485372 had remarkable effects on survival of luminal B EBC, either individually or synergistically. Furthermore, statistically significant multiplicative interactions were found between rs4415084 and age at diagnosis and between rs3803662 and tumor grade.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrate that breast cancer risk susceptibility loci identified by GWAS may influence the outcome of early stage breast cancer patients' depending on intrinsic tumor subtypes in Chinese women.

LMO1 super-enhancer polymorphism rs2168101 G>T correlates with decreased neuroblastoma risk in Chinese children

Neuroblastoma is one of the most frequently occurring childhood cancers. The rs2168101 G>T polymorphism observed in the LMO1 gene is located at a conserved GATA transcription factor binding motif. This polymorphism was reported to be significantly associated with neuroblastoma susceptibility. However, whether this and other functional polymorphisms can affect neuroblastoma risk of Chinese children remains unknown. We conducted a two-center hospital-based case-control study with a total of 374 cases and 812 controls to assess the role of five LMO1 gene polymorphisms in the neuroblastoma risk. We confirmed that rs2168101 G>T was significantly associated with decreased neuroblastoma risk for both northern and southern Chinese children and the combined subjects [GT vs. GG: adjusted odds ratio (OR)=0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.44-0.74, P<0.0001; TT vs. GG: adjusted OR=0.29, 95% CI=0.15-0.56, P=0.0002; GT/TT vs. GG: adjusted OR=0.53, 95% CI=0.41-0.68, P<0.0001; and TT vs. GT/GG: adjusted OR=0.36, 95% CI=0.19-0.69, P=0.002] after adjustment for age and gender. This association was further confirmed by performing a stratifying analysis and a false-positive report probability analysis. Similar results were observed for the rs3750952 G>C polymorphism. In summary, the current study confirmed that the potentially functional LMO1 rs2168101 G>T and rs3750952 G>C polymorphisms were associated with neuroblastoma susceptibility. This research requires further validation with larger sample sizes and inclusion of different ethnicities.