Abstract
Objectives: Two functional polymorphisms in the MDM2 promoter region, SNP309T>G and SNP285G>C, have been shown to impact MDM2 expression and cancer risk. Currently available data on the prognostic value of MDM2 SNP309 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is contradictory and unavailable for SNP285. The goal of this study was to clarify the role of these MDM2 SNPs in the outcome of NSCLC patients. Materials and Methods: In this study we genotyped SNP309 and SNP285 in 98 NSCLC adenocarcinoma patients and determined MDM2 mRNA and protein levels. In addition, we assessed the prognostic value of these common SNPs on overall and progression free survival, taking into account the TP53 status of the tumor. Results and Conclusion: We found that the SNP285C allele, but not the SNP309G allele, was significantly associated with increased MDM2 mRNA expression levels (p = 0.025). However, we did not observe an association with MDM2 protein levels for SNP285. The SNP309G allele was significantly associated with the presence of wild type TP53 (p = 0.047) and showed a strong trend towards increased MDM2 protein levels (p = 0.068). In addition, patients harboring the SNP309G allele showed a worse overall survival, but only in the presence of wild type TP53. The SNP285C allele was significantly associated with an early age of diagnosis and metastasis. Additionally, the SNP285C allele acted as an independent predictor for worse progression free survival (HR = 3.97; 95% CI = 1.51 - 10.42; p = 0.005). Our data showed that both SNP309 (in the presence of wild type TP53) and SNP285 act as negative prognostic markers for NSCLC patients, implicating a prominent role for these variants in the outcome of these patients.