| 1. |
- Campa, Daniele, et al.
(author)
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Genetic variability of the forkhead box O3 and prostate cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation on Cancer
- 2011
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In: Oncology Reports. - Athen : National Hellenic Research Foundation. - 1021-335X .- 1791-2431. ; 26:4, s. 979-986
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Forkhead box O3 (FOXO3) has a wide range of functions: it promotes tumor suppression, cell cycle arrest, repair of damaged DNA, detoxification of reactive oxygen species, apoptosis and plays a pivotal role in promoting longevity. FOXO3 is a key downstream target of the PI3K-Akt pathway in response to cellular stimulation by growth factors or insulin and has been proposed as a bridge between ageing and tumor suppression. Three SNPs in the FOXO3 gene (rs3800231, rs9400239 and rs479744) that have been shown to be strongly and consistently associated with longevity, were examined in relation to PC risk in a case control study of 1571 incident PC cases and 1840 controls nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). There was no statistically significant association between the SNPs and PC risk regardless of the model of inheritance (dominant, codominant and recessive). The associations were not modified by disease aggressiveness, circulating levels of steroid sex hormones, or IGFs or BMI. We conclude that polymorphisms in the FOXO3 gene that are associated with longevity are not major risk factors for PC risk, in this population of Caucasian men.
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| 2. |
- Campa, Daniele, et al.
(author)
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Genetic variability of the mTOR pathway and prostate cancer risk in the European prospective investigation on cancer (EPIC)
- 2011
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 6:2, s. e16914-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) signal transduction pathway integrates various signals, regulating ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis as a function of available energy and amino acids, and assuring an appropriate coupling of cellular proliferation with increases in cell size. In addition, recent evidence has pointed to an interplay between the mTOR and p53 pathways. We investigated the genetic variability of 67 key genes in the mTOR pathway and in genes of the p53 pathway which interact with mTOR. We tested the association of 1,084 tagging SNPs with prostate cancer risk in a study of 815 prostate cancer cases and 1,266 controls nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We chose the SNPs (n = 11) with the strongest association with risk (p<0.01) and sought to replicate their association in an additional series of 838 prostate cancer cases and 943 controls from EPIC. In the joint analysis of first and second phase two SNPs of the PRKCI gene showed an association with risk of prostate cancer (OR(allele) = 0.85, 95% CI 0.78-0.94, p = 1.3×10(-3) for rs546950 and OR(allele) = 0.84, 95% CI 0.76-0.93, p = 5.6×10(-4) for rs4955720). We confirmed this in a meta-analysis using as replication set the data from the second phase of our study jointly with the first phase of the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) project. In conclusion, we found an association with prostate cancer risk for two SNPs belonging to PRKCI, a gene which is frequently overexpressed in various neoplasms, including prostate cancer.
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| 3. |
- Campa, Daniele, et al.
(author)
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Variation in genes coding for AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and breast cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation on Cancer (EPIC).
- 2011
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In: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. - : Springer. - 0167-6806 .- 1573-7217. ; 127:3, s. 761-767
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an energy sensing/signalling intracellular protein which is activated by an increase in the cellular AMP:ATP ratio after ATP depletion. Once activated, AMPK inhibits fatty acid synthesis and the Akt-mTOR pathway, and activates the p53-p21 axis. All these molecular mechanisms are thought to play a key role in breast carcinogenesis. We investigated the genetic variability of four genes encoding AMPK (PRKAA1, PRKAA2, PRKAB1 and PRKAB2). Using a tagging approach and selecting SNPs we covered all the common genetic variation of these genes. We tested association of tagging SNPs in our four candidate genes with breast cancer (BC) risk in a study of 1340 BC cases and 2536 controls nested into the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Given the relevance of AMPK on fatty acid synthesis and the importance of body fatness as a BC risk factor, we tested association of SNPs and body-mass index as well. We observed no statistically significant association between the SNPs in the PRKAs genes and BC risk and BMI after correction for multiple testing.
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| 4. |
- Carrai, Maura, et al.
(author)
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Association Between TAS2R38 Gene Polymorphisms and Colorectal Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study in Two Independent Populations of Caucasian Origin
- 2011
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In: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 6:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Molecular sensing in the lingual mucosa and in the gastro-intestinal tract play a role in the detection of ingested harmful drugs and toxins. Therefore, genetic polymorphisms affecting the capability of initiating these responses may be critical for the subsequent efficiency of avoiding and/or eliminating possible threats to the organism. By using a tagging approach in the region of Taste Receptor 2R38 (TAS2R38) gene, we investigated all the common genetic variation of this gene region in relation to colorectal cancer risk with a case-control study in a German population (709 controls and 602 cases) and in a Czech population (623 controls and 601 cases). We found that there were no significant associations between individual SNPs of the TAS2R38 gene and colorectal cancer in the Czech or in the German population, nor in the joint analysis. However, when we analyzed the diplotypes and the phenotypes we found that the non-taster group had an increased risk of colorectal cancer in comparison to the taster group. This association was borderline significant in the Czech population, (OR = 1.28, 95% CI 0.99-1.67; P-value = 0.058) and statistically significant in the German population (OR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.06-1.75; P-value = 0.016) and in the joint analysis (OR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.12-1.61; P-value = 0.001). In conclusion, we found a suggestive association between the human bitter tasting phenotype and the risk of CRC in two different populations of Caucasian origin.
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| 5. |
- Rizzato, Cosmeri, et al.
(author)
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Interaction between functional polymorphic variants in cytokine genes, established risk factors and susceptibility to basal cell carcinoma of skin
- 2011
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In: Carcinogenesis. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0143-3334 .- 1460-2180. ; 32:12, s. 1849-1854
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin is the most common neoplasm among the Caucasian population of the Western world. Inflammation may result in oxidative stress and contribute to promotion and progression of tumors, including BCC. The role of cytokines, which are inflammatory modulators, in the biology of tumors has been extensively studied and it is well known that they are aberrantly produced by cancer cells, macrophages and other phagocytic cells. Genetic polymorphisms are known in several cytokine genes, which result in altered expression. In the present association study, we investigated the association of 14 functional polymorphisms in 11 cytokines genes with BCC risk in 529 BCC cases and 532 healthy controls. We have also tested the possible interactions between the genetic variants and three known risk factors for BCC: skin complexion, sun effect and skin response to sun exposure. We did not observe any statistically significant association between SNPs and BCC risk. However, we found that, in a subgroup of subjects more prone to skin burns, carriers of at least one copy of the G allele of rs1800629 (TNF) had an increased risk of BCC [odds ratio (OR) = 2.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.38-4.16, P = 0.0005]. Moreover, in subjects less prone to sunburns, we observed that carriers of the C allele of rs1143627 (IL1B) showed a decreased risk (OR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.34-0.82, P = 0.0019). In conclusion, we found that two polymorphisms in inflammatory genes interacting with environmental risk factors could modulate BCC risk.
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