Lysyl oxidase G473A polymorphism is associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer.

Despite the knowledge of many genetic alterations present in ovarian cancer, the complexity of this disease precludes placing its biology into a simple conceptual framework. Lysyl oxidase (LOX) is an extracellular matrix enzyme that catalyzes the cross-linking of collagens or elastin in the extracellular compartment. A novel polymorphism in the LOX gene, G473A (rs1800449), has been reported as being a risk factor for different diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the LOX G473A polymorphism and the susceptibility to ovarian cancer in the Chinese population. The LOX variant G473A was detected by a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism in 233 ovarian cancer cases and 246 age-matched controls. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test. Data showed that frequencies of the LOX 473AA genotype and the A allele were significantly higher in ovarian cancer patients than in controls (odds ratio [OR]=2.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28-4.96, p=0.006; and OR=1.62, 95% CI 1.18-2.20, p=0.002). In addition, the prevalence of the GA genotype, AA genotype, and A allele were significantly increased in recurrent ovarian cancer cases compared with primary ovarian cancer cases. Our data suggest that the G473A polymorphism of the LOX gene is associated with increased susceptibility to ovarian cancer.