title: No association between promoter polymorphism of STK11 gene and lung cancer risk in the Korean population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Serine-threonine kinase11 (STK11) was originally identified in 1997 as the causative mutation that's responsible for Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome (PJS). Several recent studies have reported that the STK11 gene is an important human tumor suppressor gene in lung cancer. We evaluated the associations between the polymorphisms of the STK11 promoter region and the risk of lung cancer in 901 Koreans.
  
  
  METHODS
  By direct sequencing, we first discovered three novel polymorphisms (-1,795 T>C, -981 C>T and -160 G>T) and four known polymorphisms (-1,580 C>T, -1,494 A>C, -881 A>G and -458 G>C) of the STK11 promoter region in 24 blood samples of 24 Korean lung cancer patients. Further genotype analyses were then performed on 443 lung cancer patients and 458 controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We discovered three novel polymorphisms and we identified four known polymorphisms of the STK11 promoter region in a Korean population. Statistical analyses revealed that the genotypes and haplotypes in the STK11 gene were not significantly associated with the risk of lung cancer in a Korean population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study that's focused on the association of STK11 promoter polymorphisms and the risk of lung cancer in a Korean population. To evaluate the role of the STK11 gene for the risk of lung cancer, the genotypes of the STK11 promoter region (-1,795 T>C, -1,494 A>C and -160 G>T) were determined in 901 Koreans, yet the result revealed no significant difference between the lung cancer patients and the controls. These results suggest that the three promoter polymorphisms we studied are not important risk factors for the susceptibility to lung cancer in Koreans.
authors.affiliation: Genomic Research Center for Lung and Breast/Ovarian Cancers, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Sook
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: Young Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Whang
authors.forename: Kyong Hwa
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jeong-Seon
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Jong Gwon
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Jae Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Sang Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jun Suk
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yeul Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim