Effect of polymorphisms in XPD, RAI, ASE-1 and ERCC1 on the risk of basal cell carcinoma among Caucasians after age 50

We have investigated the occurrence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in relation to a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the chromosomal region 19q13.2-3. A case–control study including 322 basal cell carcinoma cases and a similar number of controls was nested in a population-based prospective investigation encompassing 57,053 Danes (aged 50–64 at inclusion) living in Copenhagen or Aarhus in Denmark. We found that the polymorphism XPD Arg156Arg was associated with risk of basal cell carcinoma (rate ratio (RR) = 1.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02–2.50 for homozygous carriers of the A-allele), and that the association was strongest in the youngest age interval of the study group (50–55 years) (RR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.03–5.28). The polymorphisms XPD Asp312Asn and XPD Lys751Gln were not associated with risk of basal cell carcinoma. While it cannot be ruled out that the present findings are due to chance, the present results are consistent with previous findings that XPD Arg156Arg is a weak risk factor for basal cell carcinoma.