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

Hub Gene Screening and Prognostic Modeling of Lung Cancer: An Integrated Bioinformatics Study

Background

One of the most frequent malignancies is lung carcinoma which poses heavy burden on the global health. The link among differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and lung cancer patients' clinical outcomes was still missing. In this study, we integrated transcriptome data with clinical data to investigate the relationship between them in lung carcinoma patients.

Methods

To begin, DEGs were identified using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) gene expression pattern (GSE180347). Then, these DEGs are being searched in the TCGA database using the DEGs collected in the preceding phase. The Kaplan-Meier plotter was then used to assess the predictive value of these DEGs in patients with lung cancer.

Results

Our study revealed a total of 45 DEGs, 15 of which were up-regulated and 30 of which were down-regulated. These DEGs were mostly enriched in cytokine receptor binding and cytokine activity, according to GO enrichment analysis. These DEGs were mostly enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, according to KEGG enrichment analysis. Based on the PPI network, which comprises of 12 DEGs, a major module was discovered. They are mostly interested in cytotoxicity mediated by natural killer cells. Among all 45 DEGs, the mutations of NCAM1 account for the most cases in TCGA database with a percentage above 15%. Among the 12 DEGs in the significant module, higher expression of FAS, GPR29, HAVCR2, and NCAM1 exhibits longer survival time with hazard ratio and 95% confident interval of 0.79 (0.69-0.89), 0.80 (0.70-0.90), 0.71 (0.60-0.84), and 0.73 (0.62-0.86), respectively. However, higher expression of FCGR3A and IFNG exhibits shorter survival time with hazard ratio and 95% confident interval of 1.50 (1.32-1.71) and 1.15 (1.02-1.31), respectively.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate significant correlation between some DEGs and the survival outcome in lung adenocarcinomas patients, providing a comprehensive bioinformatics study in anticipation of future molecular mechanisms and biomarker studies.

ALPS, FAS, and beyond: from inborn errors of immunity to acquired immunodeficiencies

Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) is a primary immune regulatory disorder characterized by benign or malignant lymphoproliferation and autoimmunity. Classically, ALPS is due to mutations in FAS and other related genes; however, recent research revealed that other genes could be responsible for similar clinical features. Therefore, ALPS classification and diagnostic criteria have changed over time, and several ALPS-like disorders have been recently identified. Moreover, mutations in FAS often show an incomplete penetrance, and certain genotypes have been associated to a dominant or recessive inheritance pattern. FAS mutations may also be acquired or could become pathogenic when associated to variants in other genes, delineating a possible digenic type of inheritance. Intriguingly, variants in FAS and increased TCR αβ double-negative T cells (DNTs, a hallmark of ALPS) have been identified in multifactorial autoimmune diseases, while FAS itself could play a potential role in carcinogenesis. These findings suggest that alterations of FAS-mediated apoptosis could trespass the universe of inborn errors of immunity and that somatic mutations leading to ALPS could only be the tip of the iceberg of acquired immunodeficiencies.

Fas -670 A/G polymorphism predicts prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma after curative resection in Chinese Han population

BACKGROUND

Apoptosis, also called programmed cell death, is a genetically controlled process against hyperproliferation and malignancy. The Fas-Fas ligand (FasL) system is considered a major pathway for apoptosis in cells and tissues. Thus, this study aimed to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Fas and FasL gene may have effects on the recurrence and survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative hepatectomy.

METHODS

We investigated the relationship between Fas rs1800682, rs2234767 and FasL rs763110 polymorphisms and recurrence-free survival (RFS) as well as overall survival (OS) in 117 Chinese Han patients with HCC who underwent hepatectomy.

RESULTS

In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, only Fas rs1800682 (-670 A/G) was associated with RFS and OS. Compared with AA genotype, the AG/GG genotype was significantly associated with better RFS (P = 0.008) and OS (P = 0.020). Moreover, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Fas rs1800682 remained as a significant independent predictor of RFS for HCC patients with hepatectomy [AG/GG vs. AA: adjusted hazard ratio = 0.464, 95% confidence interval: 0.275-0.782, P = 0.004], but was not an independent predictor of OS (P = 0.395).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that Fas -670 G allele may play a protective role in the recurrence and survival of HCC patients with hepatectomy. Furthermore, Fas rs1800682 polymorphism might be a promising biomarker for HCC patients after hepatectomy.

Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte signature is associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms and predicts survival in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients

Purpose: Esophageal cancer is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and is associated with a poor prognosis. Stromal tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (sTIL) and certain single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been found to be predictive of patient survival. In this study, we explored the association between SNPs and sTIL regarding the predictability of disease-free survival in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Materials and methods: We collected 969 pathologically confirmed ESCC patients from 2010 to 2013 and genotyped 101 SNPs from 59 genes. The number of sTIL for each patient was determined using an automatic algorithm. A Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine the association between genotype and sTIL. The genotypes and clinical factors related to survival were analyzed using a Kaplan-Meier curve, Cox proportional hazards model, and log-rank test.

Results: The median age of the patients was 67 (42-85 years), there was a median follow-up of 851.5 days and 586 patients died. The univariable analysis showed that 10 of the 101 SNPs were associated with sTIL. Six SNPs were also associated with disease-free survival. A multivariable analysis revealed that sTIL, rs1801131, rs25487, and rs8030672 were independent prognostic markers for ESCC patients. The model combining SNPs, clinical characteristics and sTIL outperformed the model with clinical characteristics alone for predicting outcomes in ESCC patients.

Conclusion: We discovered 10 SNPs associated with sTIL in ESCC and we built a model of sTIL, SNPs and clinical characteristics with improved prediction of survival in ESCC patients.

Genetic susceptibility to cervical cancer: role of common polymorphisms in apoptosis-related genes

Cervical cancer is a common malignancy which poses a significant health burden among women, especially those living in the developing countries. Although human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been unequivocally implicated in the etiopathogenesis of the cancer, it alone is not adequate to contribute to the malignant transformation of cervical cells. Most HPV infections regress spontaneously, and only a small proportion of women have persistent infections which eventually lead to malignancy. This suggests that interplays between HPV infection and other cofactors certainly exist during the process of cervical carcinogenesis, which synergistically contribute to the differential susceptibility of an individual to the malignancy. Undoubtedly, host genetic factors represent a major element involved in such a synergistic interaction, and accumulating evidence suggests that polymorphisms in apoptosis-related genes play an important role in the genetic susceptibility to cervical cancer. This review consolidates the recent literatures on the role of common polymorphisms in apoptosis-related genes in genetic susceptibility to cervical cancer.

Susceptibility to oral cancers with CD95 and CD95L promoter SNPs may vary with the site and gender

We investigated risk association of oral cancers (tongue and buccal mucosa cancers) with FAS (-1377G > A and FAS -670 A > G) and FASL (-844 T > C) SNPs, in males and females. A case-control study of 535 oral cancer and 525 control subjects was performed. SNPs were detected in the genomic DNA isolated from peripheral blood using PCR-RFLP. We report FASL -844 T > C SNPs increased risk for buccal mucosa cancer in females but not in males. On the other hand, FAS genotypes did not alter the risk of the cancers in both females and males. However, co-occurrence of FAS -1377 GA and -670 GG, FAS -1377 AA and -670 GG genotypes, and combined genotypes of FAS and FASL (FAS -1377 AA + FAS -670 GG + FASL -844 CC) alter male susceptibility towards tongue cancer. In females, combined genotypes of FAS (-1377GA and -670 AA) were found to be a risk factor of buccal mucosa cancer (OR = 3.27, CI = 1.28-8.36; P ≤ 0.01). FASL variants (GA and AA) increased tongue cancer risk in females who were tobacco users compared to non-tobacco users. In conclusion, SNPs of the FAS and FASL might alter risk of tongue and buccal mucosa cancers differentially, in a gender-dependent manner.