Relationship between the paraoxonase 1 (PON1) M55L and Q192R polymorphisms and lymphohaematopoietic cancers in a Greek agricultural population.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) gene polymorphisms (M55L and Q192R) and lymphohaematopoietic cancers (LHC) in an agricultural region of Greece. A hospital-based case-control study was conducted. A structured questionnaire including information on demographics, residence, occupation, agricultural practices, pesticide exposure, family history, smoking, alcohol consumption and medical history, was used. Genotyping of 316 cases of LHC and 351 healthy controls by using standard laboratory methods was performed. To control for confounders, Binary and Multinomial Logistic Regression analyses were used. Possession of QQ genotype or presence of the Q allele were associated with increased risk of developing LHC (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.42-2.66 and OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.33-2.23 respectively). The QQ genotype in the recessive model was independently associated with LHC (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.40-2.65), leukaemia (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.13-3.49), lymphoma (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.21-3.90) and plasmacell disease (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.40-2.65) even after controlling for age, sex, pesticide exposure, smoking and family history (cancers, LHC and immunological disorders) as confounders. Possession of QQ genotype was found to have a stronger association with LHC in the high and medium pesticide exposed groups(OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.35-3.40, P-value 0.001 and OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.21-4.19, P-value 0.010 respectively), compared with the Low/No exposed group where the association was not statistically significant (OR 1.51, 95% CI 0.76-3.00, P-value 0.224). We found no association between M55L polymorphism and LHC. PON1 polymorphisms may influence the risk for LHC in our agricultural area. The results encourage further investigation on the PON1 polymorphisms and their importance on the individual's susceptibility especially when exposure to pesticides occurs.