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Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 [S. J. L.]; University of Southern California/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033 [J-M. Y., G. A. C., R. K. R., M. C. Y.]; and Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 2000 32 China [Y-T. G.]
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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In Japan, where the valine allele is relatively common (frequency, 0.200.25), the valine allele has been associated with increased risk of lung cancer (4, 5, 6) . In some studies, this association is stronger among subjects with a homozygous deletion of the GSTM1 gene (6, 7, 8) , which is involved in the detoxification of benzo(a)pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-oxide, the ultimate carcinogen metabolite of benzo(a)pyrene (9) . Reports from Caucasian and African-American populations with lower allele frequencies have been less consistent [as reviewed recently by Bartsch et al. (10) ]. Although the frequency of the valine variant allele is higher in Chinese populations (11 , 12) than in Caucasian populations, there are few data on Chinese populations.
We therefore examined the relation between this CYP1A1 polymorphism and lung cancer risk among incident cases of lung cancer and controls from a cohort study of men in Shanghai, China using DNA extracted from serum. We also considered possible effect modification by null genotypes of GSTM1 and GSTT1 and cigarette smoking.
| Materials and Methods |
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Through follow-up ending March 15, 1997, we identified 259 incident cases of lung cancer. Of the 259 cases, 178 cases were confirmed histopathologically, and 81 cases were based on clinical diagnosis including radiography or computerassisted tomography. For each case of incident lung cancer, three controls were drawn with matching on neighborhood of residence, age at interview (within 2 years), and month of sample collection. For all laboratory assays, the matched sets were analyzed together in a blinded manner.
Laboratory Methods.
DNA was extracted from serum according to the following procedure: 1.5
ml of serum were spun at 14,000 x g for 5 min, and the
pellet was dissolved in 20 µl of 0.05 N NaOH
and heated to 98°C for 10 min. Then, 2.5 µl of 1
M Tris (pH 8) were added to neutralize the NaOH,
and the solutions were stored at -20°C until PCR analysis. One µl
of this crude DNA preparation was usually used per PCR reaction. DNA
extracted from spun serum has been shown to be a reliable and
representative source of constitutional DNA for genotyping of
polymorphisms including CYP1A1 I462V and GSTM1
(15)
.
A PCR-based RFLP assay for the I462V polymorphism of CYP1A1
was used (16)
. Briefly, this method used the following two
primers: (a ) CYP1A1F (forward),
5'-GAAAGGCTGGGTCCACCCTCT; and (b) CYP1A1R
(reverse), 5'-CCAGGAAGAGAAAGACCTCCCAGCGGGCCA. Due to the
small amounts of DNA in our serum samples, we used a double PCR
strategy with sequential PCR reactions using the same published
conditions and primers. Ten µl of the first PCR reaction were used in
a secondary PCR reaction that contained 2 µCi of
[
-32P]dCTP in addition to the other
components. Ten µl of this reaction were then subjected to
restriction enzyme analysis with NcoI (New England Biolabs,
Beverly, MA) according to the manufacturers instructions. Genotyping
was then scored after resolution on 5% acrylamide sequencing gels
containing 7 M urea, followed by exposure to
photographic film (Kodak XAR5). The wild-type allele (Ile) was
distinguished by the presence of a 232-bp fragment, whereas a 263-bp
fragment identified the variant allele (Val).
Heterozygous samples (Ile/Val) showed two bands: (a) one of 263 bp; and (b) one of 232 bp. The DNA samples were adequate for determination of CYP1A1 genotype for 214 cases and 669 controls.
A multiplex PCR protocol was used to simultaneously analyze samples for
the presence or absence of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes
as described by Arand et al. (17)
, with the
following modifications. All primers (GSTM1,
GSTT1, and albumin) were at final concentrations of 50
pmol/30 µl PCR reaction. The polymerase was rTaq (Pharmacia,
Piscataway, NJ), and 5% DMSO was included. The annealing temperature
was 55°C, and 36 cycles were used. This reaction was followed by two
independent secondary PCR reactions, each containing primers for
GSTM1 and GSTT1, respectively, and in each case,
10 µl of the first PCR reaction were used as a template. Each
secondary reaction also contained 2 µCi of
[
-32P]dCTP to allow for autoradiographic
detection of products that were resolved on 5% acrylamide sequencing
gels containing 7 M urea. The dried gels were
exposed to photographic film (Kodak XAR5) for 26 days. The presence
or absence of the particular PCR product was scored, and subjects were
classified according to whether or not they had a homozygous deletion
of each gene. No attempt was made to distinguish null/+ heterozygotes
from +/+ homozygotes. For samples scored as having a homozygous
deletion for both GSTM1 and GSTT1, a third
secondary PCR reaction using only primers for albumin was performed and
analyzed as described above. If an albumin PCR product could be
identified, subjects were finally scored as having a homozygous
deletion for both GSTM1 and GSTT1. We scored all
samples where none of the three products could be identified as
noninformative. Among subjects with CYP1A1 data, we were
able to determine GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes of
202 cases and 628 controls.
Statistical Analysis.
Data were analyzed using SAS (Cary, NC) software version 6.12.
For analyses involving all subjects, we compared relative risks
(estimated from ORs) based on conditional logistic regression methods
(Proc Phreg) with relative risks based on unconditional logistic
regression methods (Proc Logistic). In unconditional logistic
regression runs, age (as a continuous term) was included as a
covariate. The addition of terms for neighborhood, month and year of
enrollment (matching factors), and education (as a surrogate for
neighborhood social factors) did not appreciably alter the
unconditional results and thus were not retained. Conditional logistic
regression analysis gave ORs of 0.91 (95% CI, 0.601.37) for the
Ile/Val genotype and 1.09 (95% CI, 0.482.48) for the Val/Val
genotype relative to the Ile/Ile genotype. Corresponding ORs from
unconditional logistic regression were 0.93 (95% CI, 0.621.38) and
0.91 (95% CI, 0.412.05). Because results were comparable in matched
and unmatched analyses, we present the results from unconditional
logistic regression runs to maximize the number of subjects included in
the various analyses, particularly for stratified analyses. We adjusted
for smoking by including terms for smoking status (never, current, or
past smoker), age at starting to smoke, and the average number of
cigarettes smoked per day. As seen in Table 1
, adjustment for smoking did not substantially alter the age-adjusted
associations, and only smoking-adjusted ORs are presented in Table 2
. These terms have previously been determined to best capture the
smoking-lung cancer association in this cohort (14)
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| Results |
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Among all 669 controls, the frequency of the valine allele was 0.138 (95% CI, 0.1190.156). Among controls, the presence of the valine allele was not related to smoking behavior or age. The frequency of the valine allele among our cases was 0.129 (95% CI, 0.0960.162).
The I462V polymorphism was not related to lung cancer risk in subjects
overall (Table 1)
. Histologically confirmed cases (n =
152) were similar to those without histological confirmation
(n = 62) based on age at diagnosis, smoking status, and
education (data not shown). There was no association between CYP1A1 and
lung cancer overall within either of these two subgroups (data not
shown). When we stratified by cell type, risk estimates become rather
unstable because of the small sample sizes. Nevertheless, we did not
find associations within the group with squamous cell or small cell
carcinoma (74 cases), within the group with adenocarcinoma (64 cases),
or within the group with other and unknown cell types (76 cases; Table 1
).
Results were not appreciably altered when analyses were restricted to
smokers. This is as expected, given the lack of appreciable association
between smoking and CYP1A1 genotype and the small number of
nonsmoking cases (Table 2)
. Among subjects who smoked less than the
median amount of 20 cigarettes/day, there was a nonstatistically
significant elevation in the risk of lung cancer for carrying at least
one valine allele (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 0.823.62). Stratification by
total lifetime cigarette consumption (years smoked times the number of
cigarettes/day) divided at the 60th percentile of
the overall distribution to give stable numbers did not produce any
appreciable difference in risk for the two categories of smokers (data
not shown). However, in this cohort, the number of cigarettes smoked
per day was more strongly related to lung cancer risk than cumulative
smoking (14)
.
GSTM1 is involved in detoxification of the activated metabolites of tobacco carcinogens, including benzo(a)pyrene, produced by the action of CYP1A1 (9) . Previous data from Japan suggest that the valine allele is most strongly associated with lung cancer risk when the GSTM1-null genotype is present (6, 7, 8 , 18) . In our study, among smokers with the GSTM1-null genotype, those with at least one valine allele were at slightly increased risk of lung cancer, but the association was not statistically significant (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 0.862.71). The number of subjects with the Val/Val genotype is small, and no increased risk was observed in this category. When we considered GSTM1 genotype and the number of cigarettes/day simultaneously, an increased risk of lung cancer in relation to carrying a valine allele was most notable among lighter smokers who were also GSTM1 null (OR, 2.80; 95% CI, 1.077.33). The association between the I462V polymorphisms and lung cancer did not vary appreciably by GSTT1 genotype (data not shown).
We have reported recently in this cohort that detectable levels of isothiocyanates in the urine are associated with reduced risk of lung cancer, particularly among GSTM1-null individuals (19) . Although estimates become unstable on further stratification, we did not find evidence that the urinary levels of isothiocyanates modify the relation between the CYP1A1 I462V polymorphism and lung cancer risk either overall or according to GSTM1 genotype (data not shown).
| Discussion |
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An association between the I462V polymorphism and lung cancer has been most consistently seen in studies in Japan (4, 5, 6) , where the frequency of the valine allele is substantially higher than that in the Caucasian or African-American populations. The association between the I462V polymorphism and lung cancer overall has been less consistently reported in Caucasian and/or African-American populations (10) . The frequency of the valine allele in Chinese is intermediate between the frequencies in Japanese and non-Asian populations. In the English literature, we have found only one other study of the I462V polymorphism in relation to lung cancer from a Chinese population (12) . In that study of only 76 cases, no statistically significant associations were seen (12) .
The allele frequency in our controls (0.138; 95% CI, 0.1190.156) was consistent with that of three smaller control series from other areas of the Peoples Republic of China: (a) 0.141 (95% CI, 0.057- 0.225; Ref. 4 ), (b) 0.197 (95% CI, 0.1440.250; Ref. 12 ); and (c) 0.207 (95% CI, 0.1490.267; Ref. 11 ). We observed a deviation from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium that was similar in cases and controls: a deficit of Ile/Val and an excess of Val/Val genotypes. Given the large size of our control group (the largest study of CYP1A1 and any cancer included in a recent comprehensive review; Ref. 10 ), this deviation was statistically significant. In most previous studies, the ability to detect a deviation from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium would be low because the test for deviation has low power in small samples (20) and even more so when the allele is rare, as in studies of Caucasians. We repeated all genotypes to rule out laboratory error. We are thus left with the usual explanations for deviation from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium: (a) drift; (b) population admixture; (c) nonrandom mating; and (d) selection (20) . Although there are few data on Chinese populations, in two studies, the same pattern that we observed (a deficit of Ile/Val and an excess of Val/Val) was seen (11 , 21) . Were these same proportions were to hold if these two control groups were as large as ours, these deviations would be statistically significant. In a study in a Korean population, Hardy Weinberg equilibrium was not observed (22) .
In this study, the same pattern of deviation from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium was observed for cases and controls. Thus, it is unlikely that control selection bias occurred based on genetic factors. Hardy Weinberg equilibrium, while required for tests based on alleles, is not required for the calculation of ORs by genotype, the standard epidemiological analysis (23) . An advantage of our nested case-control study design is that the controls were sampled from the population at risk and are thus representative of the population that gave rise to the cases. This reduces the possibility of selection bias compared with case-control studies, where hospital controls or convenience samples were used because of the difficulty of achieving high response rates among general population controls when phlebotomy is required.
We measured the CYP1A1 I462V polymorphism but not the MspI polymorphism. The MspI polymorphism, which has a higher variant allele frequency, has been reported to be more strongly associated with lung cancer risk than the I462V polymorphism in some studies, and significant associations have sometimes been found only when the two polymorphisms were considered simultaneously (10) . Given the challenges of genotyping the small quantity of DNA found in serum, we focused on the I462V polymorphism because it results in a nonconservative amino acid change in the heme-binding region of the protein, whereas the MspI polymorphism occurs in an intron. The I462V polymorphism has been shown to correlate with aspects of enzyme function including constitutive aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity (3) , CYP1A1 enzyme activity, and CYP1A1 mRNA induction (24) . However, neither the I462V nor the MspI polymorphism has been shown to actually alter the metabolic activation of benzo(a)yrene or other tobacco-related carcinogens.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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1 Supported by National Cancer Institute Grants
R01 CA43092 and R35 CA53890 and by National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences Grant 5P30 ES07048 and Intramural Award Z01 ES49017. ![]()
2 To whom requests for reprints should be
addressed, at National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
P. O. Box 12233, MD A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. ![]()
3 The abbreviations used are: CYP, cytochrome
P450; GST, glutathione S-transferase; OR, odds ratio;
CI, confidence interval. ![]()
Received 2/14/00; revised 6/ 6/00; accepted 6/26/00.
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