Risk of Meningioma and Common Variation in Genes Related to Innate Immunity

Background: The etiology of meningioma, the second most common type of adult brain tumor in the United States, is largely unknown. Prior studies indicate that history of immune-related conditions may affect the risk of meningioma. Methods: To identify genetic markers for meningioma in genes involved with innate immunity, we conducted an exploratory association study of 101 meningioma cases and 330 frequency-matched controls of European ancestry using subjects from a hospital-based study conducted by the National Cancer Institute. We genotyped 1,407 “tag” single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 148 genetic regions chosen on the basis of an r2 > 0.8 and minor allele frequency of >5% in Caucasians in HapMap1. Risk of meningioma was estimated by odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results: Seventeen SNPs distributed across 12 genetic regions (NFKB1 (3), FCER1G (3), CCR6 (2), VCAM1, CD14, TNFRSF18, RAC2, XDH, C1D, TLR1/TLR10/TLR6, NOS1, and DEFA5) were associated with the risk of meningioma with P < 0.01. Although individual SNP tests were not significant after controlling for multiple comparisons, gene region–based tests were statistically significant (P < 0.05) for TNFRSF18, NFKB1, FCER1G, CD14, C1D, CCR6, and VCAM1. Conclusions and Impact: Our results indicate that common genetic polymorphisms in innate immunity genes may be associated with risk of meningioma. Given the small sample size, replication of these results in a larger study of meningioma is needed. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(5); 1356–61. ©2010 AACR.