Polymorphisms of decoy receptor 3 are associated with risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Chinese Han.

Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) is a soluble receptor without transmembrane and intracellular sequences in its peptide. It can bind to and inactivate the apoptosis-inducing ligand FasL, LIGHT, and TL1A. The aims of this study are to genotype the two polymorphisms in the promotor of DcR3 in esophageal squamous cell cancer patients and controls and analyze the association between individual genetic variation and susceptibility to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). A total of 444 Chinese ESCC patients and 468 matched cancer-free controls were evaluated for the two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DCR3. Polymorphisms were genotyped using the SNPShot technique. The expression of DCR3 in cancer tissues was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. There were significant differences in the allele's distribution of the two SNPs among ESCC cases and controls (P < 0.01). Compared with the 147TT genotype, the 147CC genotype was associated with significant elevated risk of ESCC (odds ratio, 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.30-2.96). The risk of 147CC genotype was more notable (odds ratio, 2.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.32-3.64) in the smokers than in the nonsmokers (odds ratio, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-2.69). In the stratification analyses, we also found there was a strong correlation between 147 CC and the clinical TNM stage (P < 0.01). Furthermore, significant difference in DCR3 expression in ESCC tissues was found between subgroups with different 147C/T variant. Our finding suggested that DcR3 promoter polymorphism 147C/T might influence the susceptibility to ESCC in the Chinese Han population, maybe by influencing DcR3 expression.