Telomere length shortening of chromosome 17p and 12q is associated with an increased esophageal cancer risk

　　邢金良

　　Abstract

　　Critical telomere shortening may cause chromosomal instability in Barrett’s esophagus and thus promote tumorigenesis. However, whether telomere shortening in all chromosomes or just some of them is associated with increased esophageal cancer (EC) risk is largely unknown. To address this question, we examined the overall and chromosome-specific telomere lengths of 17p, 12q, 2p, and 11q and assessed their associations with EC risk. In a case-control study with 94 EC cases and 94 matched controls, the overall telomere length and the chromosome-specific telomere lengths of 17p, 12q, 2p and 11q in peripheral blood lymphocytes were determined by a real-time polymerase chain reaction and a modified single telomere length analysis assay, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between telomere length and EC risk. Compared with controls, EC patients had significantly shorter overall telomere lengths (P = 0.004) and chromosome-specific telomere lengths of 17p (P = 0.003) and 12q (P = 0.006) but not of 11q (P = 0.632) or 2p (P = 0.972). Furthermore, the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the short overall telomere length and chromosome-specific telomere lengths of 17p and 12q were associated with significantly increased EC risks. Our study provides the first epidemiological evidence that the telomere shortening of 17p and 12q play an important role in esophageal carcinogenesis. Our findings suggest that the telomere shortening of only specific chromosomes is associated with tumorigenesis.