LMO1 polymorphisms reduce neuroblastoma risk in Chinese children: a two-center case-control study

Previous genome-wide association and validation studies suggest that LIM domain only 1 (LMO1) gene polymorphisms affect neuroblastoma susceptibility. In this work, we used Taqman methodology to genotype four LMO1 polymorphisms (rs110419 A > G, rs4758051 G > A, rs10840002 A > G and rs204938 A > G) in 118 neuroblastoma cases and 281 controls from Northern China. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the association. We found that rs4758051 G > A was associated with a decreased neuroblastoma risk (AA vs. GG: adjusted OR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.13–0.62; AG/AA vs. GG: adjusted OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.40–0.97; AA vs. GG/AG: adjusted OR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.15–0.69). Likewise, carrying the rs10840002 G allele was also associated with a decreased neuroblastoma risk in this Northern Chinese population. In a combination analysis using Southern and Northern Chinese populations, we found that those carrying the rs110419 G, rs4758051 A or rs10840002 G allele were at decreased neuroblastoma risk, and this finding was supported by a false-positive report probability analysis. These results further verify that LMO1 polymorphisms are protective against neuroblastoma. Case-control studies with larger samples and using other ethnicities are still needed to confirm our conclusion.