Skip Navigation


Carcinogenesis Advance Access originally published online on August 31, 2006
Carcinogenesis 2007 28(2):390-397; doi:10.1093/carcin/bgl156
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
28/2/390    most recent
bgl156v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (4)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Han, J.
Right arrow Articles by Hunter, D. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Han, J.
Right arrow Articles by Hunter, D. J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Polymorphisms in the MTHFR and VDR genes and skin cancer risk

Jiali Han1,3,*, Graham A. Colditz1,2 and David J. Hunter1,2,3

1 Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. USA
2 Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. USA
3 Program in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. USA

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: jiali.han{at}channing.harvard.edu

Folate and vitamin D have been shown to be influenced by ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UVA radiation can break down plasma folate, whereas vitamin D can be synthesized in UVB-exposed skin. Folate metabolism is involved in DNA synthesis and repair, and vitamin D processes anti-proliferative effects. The functions of both nutrients are implicated in skin carcinogenesis. We evaluated genetic polymorphisms in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene (C677T and A1298C) and the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene (Fok1, Bsm1 and Cdx2) with skin cancer risk in a nested case–control study within the Nurses' Health Study [219 melanoma, 286 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 300 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and 873 controls]. No significant associations were observed for the two MTHFR polymorphisms on skin cancer risk. We observed an interaction between the C677T polymorphism and total folate intake on SCC risk (P, interaction = 0.04); the highest risk was observed among women with TT genotype and low folate intake (OR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.01–4.50). The VDR Bsm1 BB genotype was significantly associated with an increased SCC risk (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.00–2.28). An interaction between the Bsm1 polymorphism and total vitamin D intake on SCC was observed, with the highest risk seen in women with the BB genotype and high vitamin D intake (OR = 2.38; 95% CI = 1.22–4.62) (P, interaction = 0.08). This study suggests a possible role of the polymorphisms in MTHFR and VDR interacting with dietary intakes of folate and vitamin D in skin cancer development, especially for SCC. Due to a large number of comparisons and tests, the possible associations should be interpreted with caution and confirmed by other studies.

Abbreviations: BCC, basal cell carcinoma; MTHFR, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase; SCC, squamous cell carcinoma; UV, ultraviolet; VDR, vitamin D receptor

Received June 25, 2006; revised August 10, 2006; accepted August 18, 2006.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am J EpidemiolHome page
A.-L. Ponsonby, A. Pezic, J. Ellis, R. Morley, F. Cameron, J. Carlin, and T. Dwyer
Variation in Associations between Allelic Variants of the Vitamin D Receptor Gene and Onset of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus by Ambient Winter Ultraviolet Radiation Levels: A Meta-Regression Analysis
Am. J. Epidemiol., June 13, 2008; (2008) kwn142v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.