Abstract
BACKGROUND: Neuroblastoma (NB) is a malignancy of neural crest cells that primarily affects children. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene, a well-conserved gene, have been implicated in tumorigenesis. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to establish the relationship between FTO gene SNPs and susceptibility to NB. METHODS: A TaqMan assay was conducted to examine the potential associations between FTO gene SNPs and the risk of NB in a cohort of 898 patients and 1734 controls from eight medical centers in China. Additionally, stratification analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the selected FTO SNPs and the susceptibility to NB among various subgroups. RESULTS: No significant association was found between the selected FTO polymorphisms and the risk of NB in either the single locus analysis or the combined analysis. CONCLUSION: However, our study reveals that individuals with retroperitoneal NB and those with stage III+IV NB are more prone to exhibit FTO SNPs compared to other patients. Moreover, participants with the FTO rs8047395 GG genotype displayed a higher likelihood of developing stage III+IV NB in comparison to other participants.