Association of POLR2E rs3787016 polymorphism with lung cancer risk and efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy: A case–control study

Introduction: Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers, with high mortality rate. Chemotherapy is a fundamental component of the treatment. However, the response varies among individuals. Objective: This study investigated the association of the POLR2E rs3787016 polymorphism with lung cancer susceptibility and platinum-based chemotherapy response. Methods: The study included 498 pulmonary carcinoma patients and 213 healthy individuals. Of these, 467 cases received at least two cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy The POLR2E rs3787016 genotyping was performed using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association of the genotype with pulmonary carcinoma susceptibility, as well as platinum-based chemotherapy response. Results: The study found no statistically significant association between POLR2E rs3787016 and susceptibility to pulmonary carcinoma (additive model: adjusted OR [aOR] = 1.012, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.781–1.310, p=0.930; dominant model: aOR = 0.794, 95% CI = 0.518–1.217, p=0.289; recessive model: aOR = 1.303, 95% CI = 0.847–2.003, p=0.228). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated no meaningful association between POLR2E rs3787016 and the efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy (additive model: aOR = 0.901, 95% CI = 0.688–1.181, p=0.450; dominant model: aOR = 0.900, 95% CI = 0.578–1.401, p=0.642; recessive model: aOR = 0.840, 95% CI = 0.541–1.306, p=0.439). Besides, no substantial association was found between POLR2E rs3787016 polymorphism and the 5-year overall survival. Conclusion: Current evidence does not support POLR2E rs3787016 as a potential biomarker for predicting susceptibility to pulmonary carcinoma and the therapeutic efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy in Chinese patients.