Deoxy-ribonucleic acid repair genes XRCC1 and XPD polymorphisms and brain tumor risk

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether polymorphisms in the deoxy-ribonucleic acid (DNA) repair genes XRCC1 and XPD, have efficacy in the development of brain tumors.

METHODS: This is a case-population based study, including 135 cases of brain tumors, and 87 population based age- and gender-matched healthy controls. We examined the role of XRCC1 Arg 399Gln gene and XPD Lys751Gln gene polymorphisms, in the context of brain tumor risk for the Turkish population between 2004 and 2007 at Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey. Patients with brain tumors were subdivided into glial tumors (n=71), meningiomas (n=35), pituitary adenomas (n=21), and metastases to the brain (n=8). The diagnoses of brain tumors in all patients were analyzed by histopathological examination. Genomic DNA of leukocytes for polymerase chain reaction analysis was isolated.

RESULTS: Association of genotype of both XRCC1 Arg399Gln and XPD Lys751Gln genotypes with tumor types, tumors according to brain subtypes were, 71 (52.6%) meningiomas, 35 glial (25.9%), 21 (15.55%) pituitary adenomas, and 8 (5.9%) metastases to the brain. Between subtypes of tumors, there was a significant difference in XRCC1 Arg399Gln genotypes, and not in XPD Lys751Gln genotypes.

CONCLUSION: The results indicated no elevated risk for brain tumors in individuals with the XRCC1 Arg399Gln and XPD Lys751Gln polymorphism risk.