Asian Pacic Journal of Cancer Prevention, Vol 15, 2014
10387
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2014.15.23.10387
Association between p73 Gene Polymorphism and Genetic Susceptibility to NSCLC in a Chinese Population
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 15 (23), 10387-10391
Introduction
NSCLC is the main type of lung cancer, one of the most
common malignant tumors of the world, especially in male
(Jemal et al., 2011), a serious threat to human lives and
health. The incidence of lung cancer is currently increasing
in China, a biological complex disease highly relevant
to factors such as environment, occupation, smoking ,
and the genetic factor also plays an important role, the
difference between individual cell cycle, DNA repair
and apoptosis control may decide to different individual
genetic susceptibility to tumor (Zhou et al., 2000; Hu et al.,
2005; Cheng et al., 2012).The research of the correlation
between gene polymorphism and lung cancer will help
to clarify the pathogenesis of lung cancer, including its
formation and development, and play an important part of
the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with lung cancer.
The p73 gene is a member of p53 family, located
at human chromosome 1p36.33, has structural and
functional homolog of p53 (Kaghad et al., 1997; Melino
et al., 2002). There is more and more evidence to suggest
that the p73 gene is vital in the pathogenesis of various
cancers, including lung cancer (Uramoto et al., 2006; Liu
1
Key Laboratory of Green Packaging and Application of Biological Nanotechnology, Hunan University of Technology, Zhuzhou,
2
Hunan Provincial Tumor Hospital, Changsha,
3
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Xi’an No.4 Hospital, Xi’an, China *For
correspondence: liwenjoha@yahoo.com
Abstract
Background: This study aimed to identify any association between the p73 gene G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphism
and risk of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the south of China. Materials and Methods: We genotyped
the p73 gene polymorphism of peripheral blood DNA from 168 patients with NSCLC and 195 normal controls
using HRM (high resolution melting) and PCR-CTPP (polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair
primers). Results: The results of genotyping by HRM and PCR-CTPP were consistent with direct sequencing,
the p73 genotype distribution in 168 lung cancer patients being as follows: GC/GC 101 cases (60.1%), GC/
AT 59 cases (35.1%), AT/AT 8 cases (4.8%). The carriers of AT/AT genotype had a signicantly reduced risk
of NSCLC (OR=0.370; 95%CI: 0.170-0.806; p=0.010) as compared with non-carriers. However, we found no
relations between p73 genotypes and histological type (p=0.798, x
2
=0.452), tumor stage (p=0.806, x
2
=0.806), or
lymph node metastasis (p=0.578, x
2
=1.098). Conclusions: Our ndings suggest that the p73 G4C14-to-A4T14
polymorphism may be a modier of NSCLC susceptibility in the Chinese population.
Keywords: NSCLC - p73 gene polymorphism - HRM and PCR-CTPP
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Association between a p73 Gene Polymorphism and Genetic
Susceptibility to Non-small Cell Lung Cancer in the South of
China
Shuang-Shuang Wang
1
, Hai-Yan Guo
3
, Lin-Li Dong
1
, Xiang-Qian Zhu
2
, Liang-
Ma
1
, Wen Li
1
* Jian-Xin Tang
1
*
et al., 2008; Lo et al., 2011). p73 gene encodes a protein,
significant similarity with p53 throughout its DNA-
binding, transactivation, and oligomerization domains
(Kaghad et al., 1997).
The G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphism lies upstream
of the initiating AUG in exon 2, can form a step-loop
structure and adjust susceptibility to cancer (Kaghad et al.,
1997, Peters et al., 2001; Li et al., 2004). Prior researches
on the correlation between the two polymorphisms and
other tumors were discussed, but the conclusion was
inconsistent (Ryan et al., 2001; Huang et al., 2003; Ni et
al., 2004; Li et al., 2004; Pfeifer et al., 2005; Lee et al.,
2010). This paper was based on the case-control study,
detecting the p73 gene polymorphism by using HRM and
PCR-CTPP, at last in combination with DNA sequencing
to verify, to explore the association between p73 gene
polymorphism and genetic susceptibility to lung cancer
in Chinese population.
Materials and Methods
Study subjects and samples
This case-control study consisted of 168 lung cancer