Cyclooxygenase-2 gene polymorphisms and risk of cervical cancer in a North Indian population.

Introduction: Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) might contribute to differential COX-2 expression and subsequent interindividual variability in susceptibility to cancer. This study sought to evaluate the effects of COX-2 +8473T/C (rs5275) and −765G/C (rs20417) gene polymorphisms on the risk of cervical cancer in women of Northern India. Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 200 histopathologically confirmed patients with cervical cancer and 200 unrelated, healthy female controls of similar ethnicity. Questionnaire survey was conducted to comprehend the demographic data, smoking status, and cancer stage of patients. Polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to detect the genotypes of the COX-2 gene. Results: Cyclooxygenase-2 +8473CC genotype was associated with a significantly reduced risk of cervical cancer (P = 0.036; odds ratio, 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.1−0.9), whereas COX-2 −765G/C polymorphism demonstrated no association. In addition, no significant association with clinical stages of cervical cancer and modulation of risk due to tobacco usage was observed in our study. Conclusions: Cyclooxygenase-2 +8473T/C gene polymorphism demonstrated protective effect in North Indian women. Further studies evaluating the role of COX-2 gene polymorphisms in ethnically diverse populations and a larger cohort may help in understanding the etiopathogenesis of cervical cancer in women worldwide.