Family-based association analysis validates chromosome 3p21 as a putative nasopharyngeal carcinoma susceptibility locus

Purpose: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) poses one of the serious health problems in southern Chinese, with an incidence rate ranging from 15 to 50/100,000. In our previously linkage analysis, a locus on 3p21 was identified to link to NPC. In this study, family-based association analysis was performed to test the transmission disequilibrium of chromosome 3p in 18 high-risk nasopharyngeal carcinoma families of Hunan province in southern China. Methods: Single locus and multi-point of transmission disequilibrium test was performed by Genehunter program package with 15 microsatellite markers on chromosome 3p in 18 nasopharyngeal carcinoma pedigrees. Results: A major transmission disequilibrium peak was observed near D3S1568, which possessed 20 alleles or haplotypes of 6 loci, spanning a 12.4 cM region from D3S1298 to D3S1289 on chromosome 3p21.31-3p21.2, and 3 alleles or haplotypes reached high significantly difference (P < 0.01). Conclusion: These results reflected a link disequilibrium between this chromosome region and a nasopharyngeal carcinoma susceptibility locus, and provided further evidence that a novel nasopharyngeal carcinoma susceptibility gene may be located in this chromosome region. These alleles or haplotypes transmitting disequilibrium in nasopharyngeal carcinoma pedigrees may act as the highly risk molecular markers after verified in large population.