Correlation between lung cancer and the HHIP polymorphisms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the Chinese Han population.

To further investigate the relationship between lung cancer and hedgehog interacting protein (HHIP) polymorphisms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, we conducted a case-control study in a Chinese Han population. Six HHIP SNPs with minor allele frequencies >5% (rs1489758, rs1489759, rs10519717, rs13131837, rs1492820, and rs7689420) were analyzed in 1,017 COPD patients (767 males and 246 females) and 430 non-COPD patients. Using logistic regression analysis, we found that rs7689420 was significantly associated with lung cancer in COPD patients in the Chinese Han population (P < 0.001). The recessive allele of rs7689420 was associated with the occurrence of lung cancer in all COPD patients (odds ratios [OR] of 0.609 and 0.424 for the CT and TT genotypes, respectively) as well as in serious COPD patients (OR of 0.403 and 0.305 for CT and TT, respectively). Additionally, rs1489759 and rs3131837 were associated with lung cancer in various genetic models. rs1489758, rs1489759, and rs10519717 were also associated with lung cancer in serious COPD patients. However, none of the SNPs were significantly associated with lung cancer in mild COPD patients or healthy subjects. Therefore, the HHIP SNPs of COPD patients likely play a role in lung cancer pathology in the Chinese Han population.