Melanoma Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Melanoma, including details on identification, causes, prevention, treatment.

Genetic variants of the vitamin D receptor gene alter risk of cutaneous melanoma.

Li C, Liu Z, Zhang Z, Strom SS, Gershenwald JE, Prieto VG, Lee JE, Ross MI, Mansfield PF, Cormier JN, Duvic M, Grimm EA, Wei Q

Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.

Sunlight causes DNA damage but also induces production of vitamin D whose metabolite 1,25-(OH)2D3 has antiproliferative and pro-differentiative effects in both melanocytes and cutaneous melanoma (CM) cells mediated through the vitamin D receptor (VDR). We hypothesized that genetic polymorphisms of VDR are associated with risk of CM. In a hospital-based case-control study of 602 non-Hispanic white CM patients and 603 cancer-free control subjects frequency matched by age and sex, we genotyped two VDR polymorphisms (TaqI and FokI) and assessed their association with CM risk. We found that a significantly decreased risk was associated with VDR-TaqI Tt (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.70; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.54-0.90) and Tt+tt (OR=0.70; 95% CI, 0.55-0.89) genotypes, compared with the VDR-TaqI TT genotype, whereas an increased risk was associated with VDR-FokI Ff genotype (OR=1.32; 95% CI, 1.03-1.68), and a borderline significantly increased risk was associated with Ff+ff (OR=1.26; 95% CI, 1.00-1.59) genotypes, compared with the VDR-FokI FF genotype. In conclusion, genetic variants (i.e., TaqI t protective allele and FokI f risk allele) in VDR may alter risk of CM.

Published 17 January 2007 in J Invest Dermatol, 127(2): 276-80.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Melanoma Research Today. All Rights Reserved.