Genetic variants in FGFR2 and FGFR4 genes and skin cancer risk in the Nurses' Health Study

BACKGROUND: The human fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and its receptor (FGFR) play an important role in tumorigenesis. Deregulation of the FGFR2 gene has been identified in a number of cancer sites. Overexpression of the FGFR4 protein has been linked to cutaneous melanoma progression. Previous studies reported associations between genetic variants in the FGFR2 and FGFR4 genes and development of various cancers. METHODS: We evaluated the associations of four genetic variants in the FGFR2 gene highly related to breast cancer risk and the three common tag-SNPs in the FGFR4 gene with skin cancer risk in a nested case-control study of Caucasians within the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) among 218 melanoma cases, 285 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cases, 300 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) cases, and 870 controls. RESULTS: We found no evidence for associations between these seven genetic variants and the risks of melanoma and nonmelanocytic skin cancer. CONCLUSION: Given the power of this study, we did not detect any contribution of genetic variants in the FGFR2 or FGFR4 genes to inherited predisposition to skin cancer among Caucasian women.