Association of polymorphisms in Dickopff (DKK) gene towards modulating risk for lung cancer in north Indians

Aim: To investigate the association between the genetic variants of DKK4 (rs2073664), DKK3 (rs2291599, rs3206824 and rs7391689) and DKK2 (rs447372, rs419558 and rs17037102) and lung cancer predisposition in north Indians. Materials & methods: A total of 600 subjects were genotyped using PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Association analysis was carried out using logistic regression approach. Results: DKK3 rs7396187 showed a protective effect (p=0.01). Subjects with heterozygous genotype of DKK2 rs17037102 and rs419558 showed an increased risk. The variant genotype of the genotypic combination, DKK3 rs3206824 and DKK2 rs419558 showed a twofold increased risk (p=0.008). Lung cancer risk increased four-times in subjects with variant genotype of all the three DKK2 variants. Conclusion: DKK2 is certainly playing a crucial role in modulating cancer susceptibility.