TRANSFERRIN C3 OFFERS PROTECTION AGAINST SMOKING-ASSOCIATED LUNG-CANCER

In previous investigations increased body iron stores and transferrin (TF) variants have been found to be associated with adverse health eff ects, including cancer, In this investigation transferrin C (TF C) sub types were studied in lung cancer patients and controls from the Stock holm area in central Sweden, There was a significant difference betwee n patients and controls with respect to the distribution of TF C allel es and genotypes, which was mainly due to a low frequency of the TFC3 allele among the patients (P = 3x10(-6)), However, in adenocarcinoma the frequency of TF C3 types was almost identical to that among the co ntrols, whereas in the smoking-related (squamous and small cell) tumor types the TF C3 frequency was remarkably low (OR = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.0 0-0.22), Thus individuals with the TF C3 variant appear to enjoy an al most complete protection against smoking-related lung cancer, The freq uency of individuals carrying the protective TF C3 variant is similar to 17% in central Sweden and 25% in Finland, which has the highest TF C3 frequency found so far, The mechanism behind the observed associati on, which appears to be independent of iron binding and body iron stor es, remains to be elucidated.