CASC15 Gene Polymorphisms and Glioma Susceptibility in Chinese Children

OBJECTIVE:Gliomas are the most common tumors in the central nervous system. The cancer susceptibility candidate 15 (CASC15) gene has been reported to be a susceptibility gene for several types of cancer. No studies have been carried out on the predisposing effect of CASC15 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on glioma risk.METHODS:In order to determine whether CASC15 gene SNPs are involved in glioma susceptibility, the first association study in a relatively large sample, which consisted of 171 patients and 228 healthy controls recruited from China, was performed. The contribution of SNPs (rs6939340 A>G, rs4712653 T>C and rs9295536 C>A) to the risk of glioma was evaluated by multinomial logistic regression, based on the calculation of the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).RESULTS:In the single locus and combined analysis, it was revealed that the genetic risk score had no significant associations between CASC15 gene SNPs and glioma risk. However, in the stratified analysis, a significant decrease in risk of glioma was observed in subjects of <60 months old with the rs4712653 TT genotype, when compared to those with the CC/CT genotype (OR=0.12, 95% CI=0.02-0.91, P=0.041).CONCLUSION:The present study provides referential evidence on the association between the genetic predisposition of the CASC15 gene and glioma risk in Chinese children. However, more well-designed case-control studies and functional experiments are needed to further explore the role of CASC15 gene SNPs.