The effect of galectin-3 genetic variants on the susceptibility and prognosis of gliomas in a Chinese population.

The aim of this study is to explore the association between the polymorphisms of galectin-3 gene and clinico-pathological characteristics and prognosis of gliomas. We enrolled 190 histologically diagnosed gliomas and 210 healthy controls in this study. Two genetic variants at galectin-3 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites (galectin-3 +191 A>C and +292 A>C) were determined. We found that the A/A genotype at galectin-3 gene +292 A>C was significantly more prevalent in gliomas patient than in controls (42.1% vs. 29.0%, P=0.021); the A allele frequency was markedly higher in gliomas subjects than in controls (61.8% vs. 45.0%, P=0.008). There was a markedly higher prevalence of AA carriers in high-grade subgroup than in low-grade subgroup (50.5% vs. 31.8%, P=0.012). The Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that the gliomas patients carrying AA genotype of galectin-3 gene +292 A>C had marked shorter overall survival period than those did not (AA vs. AC+CC, 22.2±3.8 months vs. 38.3 months±7.9; P=0.04). The SNPs at +191 A>C of galectin-3 gene did not show positive association with clinico-pathological characteristics and prognosis of gliomas. The results of this study suggest the SNPs at +292 A>C, not SNPs at +191 A>C, of galectin-3 gene were associated with the tumor grade and prognosis of gliomas.