Lymphotoxin-α polymorphisms and the risk of endometrial cancer in Japanese subjects

Prognostic significance of the genetic variant of lymphotoxin alpha (p.Thr60Asn) in egyptian patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide in terms of mortality, and susceptibility is attributed to genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Lymphotoxin alpha (LTA) has a crucial role in communicating the lymphocytes with stromal cells and provoking cytotoxic effects on the cancer cells. There are no reports on the contribution of the LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) gene polymorphism to HCC susceptibility. The main aim of this study is to investigate the association of LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) variant with the HCC risk in the Egyptian population.

METHODS

This case-control study included 317 participants (111 HCC patients, and 206 healthy controls). The LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) polymorphism was assessed by tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS-PCR) technique.

RESULTS

The frequencies of the dominant and recessive models (CA + AA; AA) of the LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) variant were statistically significant among HCC patients in comparison to controls (p = 0.01; p = 0.007; respectively). The A-allele of LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) variant was statistically significant in HCC patients in comparison to controls (p ˂ 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The LTA (c.179 C>A; p.Thr60Asn; rs1041981) polymorphism was independently associated with an increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma in the Egyptian population.

A novel risk score system of immune genes associated with prognosis in endometrial cancer

Background

Endometrial cancer was the commonest gynecological malignancy in developed countries. Despite striking advances in multimodality management, however, for patients in advanced stage, targeted therapy still remained a challenge. Our study aimed to investigate new biomarkers for endometrial cancer and establish a novel risk score system of immune genes in endometrial cancer.

Methods

The clinicopathological characteristics and gene expression data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of immune genes between tumors and normal tissues were identified. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of immune genes and transcriptional factors was integrated and visualized in Cytoscape. Univariate and multivariate analysis were employed for key genes to establish a new risk score system. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and survival analysis were performed to investigate the prognostic value of the model. Association between clinical characteristics and the model was analyzed by logistic regression. For validation, we identified 34 patients with endometrial cancer from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC). We detected 14-genes mRNA expression and calculated the risk scores of each patients and we performed survival analysis between the high-risk group and the low-risk group.

Results

23 normal tissues and 552 tumor tissues were obtained from TCGA database. 410 immune-related DEGs was identified by difference analysis and correlation analysis. KEGG and GO analysis revealed these DEGs were enriched in cell adhesion, chemotaxis, MAPK pathways and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, which might regulate tumor progression and migration. All genes were screened for risk model construction and 14 hub immune-related genes (HTR3E, CBLC, TNF, PSMC4, TRAV30, PDIA3, FGF8, PDGFRA, ESRRA, SBDS, CRHR1, LTA, NR2F1, TNFRSF18) were prognostic in endometrial cancer. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.787 and the high-risk group estimated by the model possessed worse outcome (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis suggested that the model was indeed an independent prognostic factor (high-risk vs. low-risk, HR = 1.14, P < 0.001). Meanwhile, the high-risk group was prone to have higher grade (P = 0.002) and advanced clinical stage (P = 0.018). In FUSCC validation set, the high-risk group had worse survival than the low-risk group (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

In conclusion, the novel risk model of immune genes had some merits in predicting the prognosis of endometrial cancer and had strong correlation with clinical outcomes. Furthermore, it might provide new biomarkers for targeted therapy in endometrial cancer.

The effect of LTA gene polymorphisms on cancer risk: an updated systematic review and meta- analysis

Purpose: To provide a comprehensive account of the association of five Lymphotoxin-α (LTA) gene polymorphisms (rs1041981, rs2229094, rs2239704, rs746868, rs909253) with susceptibility to cancer.

Methods: A literature search for eligible candidate gene studies published before 28 February 2020 was conducted in the PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar and Web of Science. The following combinations of main keywords were used: (LTA OR Lymphotoxin alpha OR TNF-β OR tumor necrosis factor-beta) AND (polymorphism OR mutation OR variation OR SNP OR genotype) AND (cancer OR tumor OR neoplasm OR malignancy OR carcinoma OR adenocarcinoma). Potential sources of heterogeneity were sought out via subgroup and sensitivity analysis, and publication bias were estimated.

Results: Overall, a total of 24 articles with 24577 cases and 33351 controls for five polymorphisms of LTA gene were enrolled. We identified that rs2239704 was associated with a reduced risk of cancer. While for other polymorphisms, the results showed no significant association with cancer risk. In the stratified analysis of rs1041981, we found that Asians might have less susceptibility to cancer. At the same time, we found that rs2239704 was negatively correlated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). While, for rs909253, an increased risk of cancer for Caucasians and HCC susceptibility were uncovered in the stratified analysis of by ethnicity and cancer type.

Conclusion:LTA rs2239704 polymorphism is inversely associated with the risk of cancer. LTA rs1041981 polymorphism is negatively associated with cancer risk in Asia. While, LTA rs909253 polymorphism is a risk factor for HCC in Caucasian population.

Four genetic polymorphisms of lymphotoxin-alpha gene and cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in the inflammatory and immunologic response. Numerous studies have shown LTA polymorphisms as risk factors for cancers, but the results remain inconclusive. The goal of the present meta-analyses is to establish the associations between cancers and four LTA variants (rs1041981, rs2239704, rs2229094 and rs746868). A total of 30 case-control studies involving 58,649 participants were included in the current meta-analyses. Our results showed significant associations with increased cancer risk for rs1041981 (odd ratio (OR) = 1.15, 99% confidential interval (CI) = 1.07-1.25, P < 0.0001, I² = 12.2%), rs2239704 (OR = 1.08, 99% CI = 1.01-1.16, P = 0.021, I² = 0.0%) and rs2229094 (OR = 1.28, 99% CI = 1.09-1.50, P = 0.003, I² = 0.0%). No evidence was found for the association between rs746868 and cancer risk (OR = 1.01, 99% CI = 0.93-1.10, P = 0.771, I² = 0.0%). Subgroup meta-analysis suggested that rs2239704 was likely to increase the risk of hematological malignancy (OR = 1.10, 99% CI = 1.01–1.20, P = 0.023, I² = 0.0%), and rs2229094 was specific for the increased risk of adenocarcinoma (OR = 1.33, 99% CI = 1.11-1.59, P = 0.002, I² = 0.0%). In conclusion, our meta-analyses suggested that the LTA rs1041981, rs2239704 and rs2229094 polymorphisms contributed to the increased risk of cancers. Future functional studies were needed to clarify the mechanistic roles of the three variants in the cancer risk.

Lymphotoxin-alpha polymorphisms and presence of cancer in 1,536 consecutive autopsy cases

BACKGROUND

Lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine with anti-tumor activity. The objective of this study was to determine whether LTA polymorphisms influence the presence of cancer.

METHODS

LTA polymorphisms C804A (rs1041981, T60N) and T495C (rs2229094, C13R) were determined in 1,536 consecutive autopsy cases and were registered in the Japanese single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for geriatric research (JG-SNP) Internet database. Tumors were systematically reviewed, pathologically confirmed, and assessed in relation to LTA genotype.

RESULTS

The study population consisted of 827 males and 709 females, with a mean age of 80 years. Altogether, we studied 606 subjects without cancer and 930 subjects with cancer of the stomach (n = 183), lung (n = 164), colon or rectum (n = 143), or other sites. The presence of cancer was higher in males than in females. The C804A and T495C polymorphisms were associated with cancer in males (CA + AA: CC, adjusted OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.53 - 0.99; TC + CC: TT, adjusted OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.04 - 2.02; respectively) but not in females. In males, the C804A polymorphism was associated with lung cancer (CA + AA: CC, adjusted OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.37 - 0.97), whereas the T495C polymorphism was associated with gastric cancer (TC + CC: TT, adjusted OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.06 - 2.65).

CONCLUSION

We found some evidence of an association between LTA polymorphisms and cancer risk in elderly Japanese men. Further studies in larger populations should examine this hypothesis.

Genetic polymorphisms and endometrial cancer risk

For most sporadic cancers, genetic susceptibility results from the additive effect of multiple genetic variants, each of which contributes a modest risk individually. The study of genetic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may help explain the differences in individual cancer susceptibility and may assist in identifying novel markers of risk that can be utilized to create more effective and tailored cancer prevention strategies. Genetic polymorphisms in functionally critical genes have been suggested as risk factors for the development of a variety of cancers, including endometrial cancer. Candidate SNPs may be involved in DNA damage repair, steroid metabolism, carcinogen metabolism, cell-cycle control, apoptosis and steroid receptor activation pathways. In this review, recent findings of genetic association studies exploring genetic polymorphisms and their association with endometrial cancer are reported. In addition, the challenges of genetic association studies, such as power and bias, and the need for validation of promising findings are explored.

Cigarette smoking and the risk of endometrial cancer: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Epidemiologic findings are inconsistent concerning the association of endometrial cancer risk with cigarette smoking. We conducted a meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies to examine this relation.

METHODS

A systematic literature search up to June of 2007 was performed in MEDLINE and EMBASE. Study-specific risk estimates were pooled using a random-effects model.

RESULTS

Ten prospective and 24 case-control studies were included in the analysis of the effect of ever smoking. Ever smoking was statistically significantly associated with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer among prospective studies (relative risk 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74-0.88) and case-control studies (odds ratio 0.72; 95% CI, 0.66-0.79). The inverse association was significant among current and former smokers. Six prospective and 6 case-control studies were included in the quantitative analysis. We noted that an increase in smoking of 20 cigarettes per day was statistically significantly associated with 16% and 27% reduced risks of endometrial cancer in prospective and case-control studies, respectively. We also found that cigarette smoking was significantly associated with a decreased risk of endometrial cancer among postmenopausal women (relative risk 0.71; 95% CI, 0.65-0.78) but not among premenopausal women. In addition, the risk reduction seemed to be stronger among hormone replacement therapy users than nonusers.

CONCLUSION

Cigarette smoking was found to be significantly associated with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer, especially among postmenopausal women.