Short Communication

BJC Open article

British Journal of Cancer advance online publication 10 November 2009; doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605414

Vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and prognosis of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

S Tamez1,4, C Norizoe1,4, K Ochiai2, D Takahashi1, A Shimojima1, Y Tsutsumi1, N Yanaihara2, T Tanaka2, A Okamoto2 and M Urashima1,3

  1. 1Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
  2. 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
  3. 3Department of Pediatrics, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

Correspondence: Dr M Urashima, Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan. E-mail: urashima@jikei.ac.jp

4These authors contributed equally to this work.

Received 6 August 2009; Revised 23 September 2009; Accepted 12 October 2009; Published online 10 November 2009.

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Abstract

Background:

  

Recently, the vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphism FokI was shown to be associated with susceptibility to ovarian cancer. We aimed to examine whether VDR FokI polymorphisms influence the survivals of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Methods:

  

VDR polymorphisms from FokI in 101 patients with EOC were genotyped by sequencing. Overall survival was compared between FokI single nucleotide polymorphism using Kaplan–Meier survival curves with log-rank tests and the Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for ages, stages, histology, and existence of residual tumour.

Results:

  

The FokI C/C genotypes were associated with better prognosis compared with the C/T and T/T genotypes (log-rank test: P=0.008; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.18; 95%CI 0.05–0.61; P=0.006).

Conclusions:

  

These results suggest that the VDR polymorphisms from the FokI genotype may be associated with improved prognosis of patients with EOC.

Keywords:

prognosis, single nuclear polymorphisms, SNPs, biomarker