Polymorphisms in COX-2, NSAID use and risk of basal cell carcinoma in a prospective study of Danes

We investigated the risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in relation to a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes involved in the inflammatory response. A case–control study including 322 BCC cases and a similar number of controls was nested in a population-based prospective study of 57,053 individuals (aged 50–64 at inclusion) in Denmark. NSAID use was associated with a slightly decreased risk of BCC (IRR=0.85, 95% CI=0.66–1.10). We found that two polymorphisms in COX-2, COX-2 A-1195G and T8473C were associated with risk of BCC. Carriers of the variant allele of COX-2 A-1195G had lower risk of BCC than homozygous wild type carriers (IRR=0.54, 95% CI=0.47–0.89). Homozygous carriers of the variant allele of COX-2 T8473C were at 2.27-fold higher risk of BCC (95% CI=1.31–3.92) than homozygous wild type allele carriers.