1p34.2 rs621559 and 14q21 rs398652 leukocyte telomere length-related genetic variants contribute to glioma susceptibility

Recent genome-wide association studies have identified several leukocyte telomere length (LTL)-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Our previous data demonstrated that two SNPs (rs398652 on 14q21 and rs621559 on 1p34.2) were associated with LTL and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Chinese. However, the role of these genetic variants on glioma risk is still unknown. Therefore, we examined if these genetic variants have impact on the genetic susceptibility of glioma in Chinese. On the basis of analyzing 404 glioma patients and frequency-matched 820 controls, we found that subjects having the 1p34.2 rs621559 AG or GG genotype had an OR of 1.82 (95 % CI = 1.07–3.09, P = 0.026) or 2.12 (95 % CI = 1.26–3.56, P = 0.005) for developing glioma, respectively, compared with subjects having the rs621559 AA genotype. Similarly, the 14q21 rs398652 AG or GG genotype was associated with increased glioma risk (OR = 1.39, 95 % CI = 1.07–1.80, P = 0.012; OR = 1.52, 95 % CI = 1.04–2.20, P = 0.029) compared to AA genotype. In all, our results highlight the possible role of telomere in carcinogenesis.