Background: The nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway is the main mechanism repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in human cells. This research was designed to study the association between selected variants in NHEJ members and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
Methods: Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), PRKDC (rs7003908) and X-ray repair cross complementing group 4 (XRCC4; rs1805377), were genotyped in a total of 189 patients with ESCC and 189 unrelated control individuals in a high-risk area for ESCC in North China, and the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was applied.
Results: A significantly different distribution was found in the frequency of PRKDC (rs7003908) genotype between the ESCC group and controls. Individuals homozygous for the C allele had a significant (3.185-fold) increased risk of ESCC. As for XRCC4 (rs1805377) polymorphism, no difference was found in distribution between the ESCC and control groups.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that variation in DNA repair genes may be associated with risk of ESCC.