Polymorphism rs144848 in BRCA2 may Reduce Lung Cancer Risk in Women: A Case-Control Study in Southeast China

Whereas lung cancer incidence among men has declined in recent years, the incidence rate among women has increased rapidly. Sex could affect DNA repair capacity. Although BRCA2 is important in DNA repair, few data are available on the association between BRCA2 polymorphisms and lung cancer in women. Therefore, we investigated this in a case-control study among Chinese women.We enrolled 226 women with lung cancer and 269 age-matched healthy controls in our study. Polymorphisms studied were genotyped by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.Unconditional logistic regression showed no association between rs1799943 or rs1799944 and cancer risk. However, the AC and CC genotypes of rs144848 were significantly associated with reduced risk after adjustment for age and education, with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 0.66 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.45-0.97) and 0.37 (95% CI 0.16-0.78), respectively. The adjusted OR of carriers with the C allele was 0.62 (95% CI 0.44-0.81) compared with the A allele.The rs144848 mutation may have a protective effect against lung cancer among women.