BsmI (rs1544410) and FokI (rs2228570) vitamin D receptor polymorphisms, smoking, and body mass index as risk factors of cutaneous malignant melanoma in northeast Italy

Objective: : To investigate whether vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) BsmI-rs1544410 and FokI-rs2228570 polymorphisms, smoking duration, and body mass index (BMI) are risk factors for cutaneous melanoma, especially metastatic melanoma.

Methods: : We studied 120 cutaneous melanoma cases [68 stage I and II non-metastatic melanoma (NMetM) patients, plus 52 Stage III and IV metastatic melanoma (MetM) patients], and 120 matching healthy controls from northeast Italy. VDR polymorphisms were measured by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Absence or presence of BsmI and FokI restriction sites was denoted by " B" and " F" or by " b" and " f," respectively.

Results: : VDR-BsmI bb genotype was more frequent among MetM (32.7%) than among NMetM cases (13.2%), with odds ratio (OR)=3.18. Comparison of all melanoma patients vs healthy controls showed that the following biomarkers were at risk: ≥20 years of smoking (OR=2.43); ≥20 years of smoking combined with bb (OR=4.78), Bb+bb (OR=2.30), Ff (OR=3.04), and Ff+ff (OR=3.08); obesity (BMI>30 kg/m²) alone (OR=3.54); and obesity combined with Bb+bb (OR=3.52), Ff (OR=4.78), and Ff+ff (OR=6.56). Comparison of MetM vs NMetM patients revealed that the following biomarkers were at risk: ≥20 years of smoking (OR=2.39), ≥20 years of smoking combined with bb (OR=5.13), Bb+bb (OR=3.07), and Ff+ff (OR=2.66); and obesity combined with Bb+bb (OR=5.27), Ff (OR=6.28), and Ff+ff (OR=9.18). Triple combination of ≥20 years of smoking, obesity, and Bb+bb yielded OR=9.65 for melanoma patients vs healthy controls and OR=12.2 for MetM vs. NMetM patients.

Conclusions: : Risk factors for cutaneous MetM include two VDR polymorphisms combined with smoking duration and obesity. Results suggest gene-environment implications in melanoma susceptibility and severity. Future studies in larger cohorts and in subjects with different genetic background are warranted to extend our findings.