Decoy receptor 3 polymorphisms are not associated with the risk of esophageal cancer in a Chinese population.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, and esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) accounts for more than 90% of ECs. We hypothesized that genetic factors might play an important role in ESCC carcinogenesis. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study to evaluate the association between two single nucleotide polymorphisms of decoy receptor 3 (DcR3), namely, rs2297441 G>A and rs2257440 T>C, on the ESCC risk. In all, 629 ESCC cases and 686 controls were included. Genotypes were determined using the ligation detection reaction method. When the DcR3 rs2297441 GG homozygote genotype was used as the reference group, the GA genotype showed no association with the ESCC risk (GA versus GG: adjusted OR=1.11, 95% CI=0.88-1.40, p=0.396); similarly, even the TT genotype showed no association with the ESCC risk (AA versus GG: adjusted OR=0.80, 95% CI=0.55-1.18, p=0.268). Logistic regression analyses revealed that the DcR3 rs2257440 T>C polymorphism was not associated with the ESCC risk. DcR3 rs2297441 G>A and DcR3 rs2257440 T>C polymorphisms may not contribute to the ESCC risk, and additional, larger studies are required to confirm our results.