Effects of Genetic Variants in the Nicotine Metabolism Pathway on Smoking Cessation

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the associations of various genetic variants in the nicotine metabolism pathway with smoking cessation (SC) in the Chinese Han population. METHOD: A case-control study was conducted where 363 successful smoking quitters were referred to as cases, and 345 failed smoking quitters were referred to as controls. A total of 42 genetic variants in 10 genes were selectedand genotyped. The weighted gene score was applied to analyze the whole gene effect. Logistic regression was used to explore associations of each genetic variant and gene score with smoking cessation. RESULTS: Our study found that the variants CYP2A6∗4, rs11726322, rs12233719, and rs3100 were associated with a higher probability of quitting smoking, while rs3760657 was associated with a lower probability of quitting smoking. Moreover, the gene scores of CYP2D6, FMO3, UGT2B10, UGT1A9, UGT2B7, and UGT2B15 were shown to exert a positive effect, while the gene score of CYP2B6 was detected to exert a negative effect on successful smoking cessation. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that genetic variants in the nicotine metabolic pathway were associated with smoking cessation in the Chinese Han population.