Plasma vitamin D levels and vitamin D receptor polymorphisms are associated with survival of non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Vitamin D and its receptor (VDR) involve in multiple cellular processes and play an important role in the initiation and progression of malignancy. Thus we hypothesized that plasma vitamin D levels and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VDR may be of prognostic significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We examined plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in 87 patients diagnosed with NSCLC using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and genotyped seven potentially functional SNPs in VDR in 568 NSCLC patients on Illumina Golden Gate platform. Patients with higher plasma 25(OH)D levels had worse survival than patients with lower ones (P for trend = 0.048). The SNPs of rs1544410 and rs739837 were independently associated with NSCLC survival (adjusted HR = 1.61, 95% CIs = 1.06-2.45 for rs739837 AA vs AC/CC and adjusted HR = 1.51, 95% CIs = 1.06-2.16 for rs1544410 AG/AA vs GG). A joint effect was observed between rs1544410 and rs739837 and the risk of death elevated as the number of unfavourable genotypes patients carried increased (P for trend = 0.003). There were no significant associations between VDR polymorphisms and plasma 25(OH)D levels. Our findings indicate that plasma 25(OH)D levels and genetic variants of VDR may serve as prognostic markers for NSCLC in this Chinese population.