No association between olymorphism and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Emerging evidence has shown that angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) plays pivotal roles not only in the regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis but also in the process of tumorigenesis. A common ACE I/D polymorphism has been found to be functional, with the D allele displaying a higher plasma ACE level and ACE activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the ACE I/D polymorphism was related to the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The study included 175 patients with NPC and 279 age- and sex-matched control subjects. The ACE I/D polymorphism was identified by a polymerase chain reaction analysis. No association was found between the ACE I/D polymorphism and risk of NPC (ID vs. II: odds ratio [OR] = 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51–1.17; DD vs. II: OR = 0.98, 95%CI 0.56–1.72, respectively). This finding indicates that the ACE I/D polymorphism may not play a role in susceptibility to NPC. Further studies are warranted to confirm this finding, especially in ethnically disparate populations.