Objective: To observe the relationship between skewed X-chromosomal inactivation (SXCI) and development of lung cancer in females.
Methods: DNA was isolated from peripheral blood cells from patients with primary lung cancer (n = 148) and control subjects (n =289). Exon 1 of androgen receptor ( AR) gene was amplified, with its products from different alleles resolved on denaturing polyacrylamide gels and visualized by silver staining. The corrected ratio (CR) between products from different AR alleles before and after Hpa II pretreatment was calculated. All statistical tests were two-sided.
Results: With CR> or = 10 adopted as the criterion, SXCI was found more frequently in the younger patients ( C50 years; 7. 9%) than in the controls of the same age group (1. 2% ; P = 0. 046). The SXCI frequency, however, were not significantly different between the old patients ( > 50 years; 4. 5% ) and the controls of the same age group (5. 4% ; P =0. 488). Whether taking CR> or =3 or CR> or =10 as the criteria, the average ages of the patients with SXCI were more than 10 years younger than those without SXCI (P < 0. 05).
Conclusion: SXCI in blood cells is associated with early development of lung cancer in females.