Genetic polymorphism contributes to 131I radiotherapy-induced toxicities in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer

AIM: To investigate the association between SNPs in DNA damage response pathways and toxicities following 131I radiotherapy of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Materials & methods: We identified 22 functional SNPs of genes in DNA damage response pathways. MassArray was used to sequence SNP genotypes in 203 DTC patients. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and the associations between the two alleles of each SNP and toxicity reactions were evaluated using χ2 analysis. RESULTS: Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) rs620815 T-allele carriers were at increased risk of 131I radiation-induced gastrointestinal reaction compared with C allele carriers. TNFα rs1800629 GA genotype may increase the incidence of neck pain compared with GG genotype. Furthermore, TNFα rs1800629, ATM rs11212570, NF-κβ rs230493, and TGF-β rs1800469, rs2241716 were associated with throat pain following 131I radiotherapy. CONCLUSION: The identified SNPs might serve as novel biomarkers for DTC treated with 131I radiotherapy.