Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide associatio Show more
Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (P Show less
Vitamin E (α-tocopherol) plays a key role in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation and has been studied as a potential chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer. The association of serum v Show more
Vitamin E (α-tocopherol) plays a key role in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation and has been studied as a potential chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer. The association of serum vitamin E concentrations with cancer risk may be modified by genetic variations in vitamin E-related genes. We examined whether variants in vitamin E-related genes were associated with risk of prostate cancer in a nested case-control study using 483 prostate cancer cases and 542 matched controls of European ancestry from a large U.S. multicenter trial that had available measurements of serum vitamin E concentrations and genotyping of 3 genome-wide association study meta-analysis-identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with circulating vitamin E. ORs and 95% CIs were calculated using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age, family history of prostate cancer, and serum total cholesterol. Findings suggest lower prostate cancer risk for men whose genotypes reflect higher vitamin E (i.e., α-tocopherol) status. An SNP (rs964184) near budding-site selection protein 13 (yeast) (BUD13), zinc finger protein 259 (ZNF259), and apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) on 11q23.3 was significantly associated with prostate cancer risk (per-allele OR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.98; P-trend = 0.03). The association between rs964184 and prostate cancer risk was stronger among homozygous carriers of the minor allele (OR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.83). Another variant, rs11057830 in scavenger receptor class-B member 1 (SCARB1) on 12p24.31, approached statistical significance (OR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.10, 1.01, P = 0.05; 2 minor allele copies). This study suggests that polymorphisms near BUD13/ZNF259/APOA5, involved in vitamin E transport and metabolism, may be associated with lower risk of prostate cancer. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00002540. Show less
Low plasma levels of carotenoids and tocopherols are associated with increased risk of chronic disease and disability. Because dietary intake of these lipid-soluble antioxidant vitamins is only poorly Show more
Low plasma levels of carotenoids and tocopherols are associated with increased risk of chronic disease and disability. Because dietary intake of these lipid-soluble antioxidant vitamins is only poorly correlated with plasma levels, we hypothesized that circulating carotenoids (vitamin A-related compounds) and tocopherols (vitamin E-related compounds) are affected by common genetic variation. By conducting a genome-wide association study in a sample of Italians (n = 1190), we identified novel common variants associated with circulating carotenoid levels and known lipid variants associated with alpha-tocopherol levels. Effects were replicated in the Women's Health and Aging Study (n = 615) and in the alpha-Tocopherol, beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) study (n = 2136). In meta-analyses including all three studies, the G allele at rs6564851, near the beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase 1 (BCMO1) gene, was associated with higher beta-carotene (p = 1.6 x 10(-24)) and alpha-carotene (p = 0.0001) levels and lower lycopene (0.003), zeaxanthin (p = 1.3 x 10(-5)), and lutein (p = 7.3 x 10(-15)) levels, with effect sizes ranging from 0.10-0.28 SDs per allele. Interestingly, this genetic variant had no significant effect on plasma retinol (p > 0.05). The SNP rs12272004, in linkage disequilibrium with the S19W variant in the APOA5 gene, was associated with alpha-tocopherol (meta-analysis p = 7.8 x 10(-10)) levels, and this association was substantially weaker when we adjusted for triglyceride levels (p = 0.002). Our findings might shed light on the controversial relationship between lipid-soluble anti-oxidant nutrients and human health. Show less