Polymorphisms of DNA repair gene XRCC1 and risk of glioma: a case-control study in Southern China.

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine associations between polymorphisms in the X-ray cross- complementing group 1 (XRCC 1) gene and risk of glioma in a Chinese population. METHODS We performed a hospital-based case-control study with 271 cases and 289 controls in Guangdong province, China. Cases were patients newly diagnosed with pathologically confirmed glioma in two hospitals between June 2006 and May 2010. Controls were hospitalized individuals without cancer, frequency matched by sex and age. Three SNPs in XRCC1 gene, Arg399Gln (rs25487), Arg194Trp (rs1799782) and Arg280His (rs25489), were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) based method. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) of polymorphisms in XRCC1 gene for glioma. RESULTS The Arg399Gln polymorphism was significantly associated with risk of glioma. Individuals with the Gln/Gln genotype had a significantly increased likelihood of developing glioma compared with those with the Arg/Arg genotype (adjusted OR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.04 - 3.58), especially among males and individuals aged 50 years or older. CONCLUSION The XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphism may be a useful susceptibility biomarker for glioma. Further studies in Chinese populations with larger sample sizes are now warranted.