A Common Variant in the Gene Is Associated with Sporadic Pituitary Adenomas in the Portuguese Population: A Case-Control Study.

The majority of pituitary adenomas occur in a sporadic context, and in the absence of known genetic predisposition. Three common variants at the (rs2359536), (rs10763170) and (rs17083838) loci were previously associated with sporadic pituitary adenomas in the Han Chinese population, but these findings have not yet been replicated in any other population. The aim of this case-control study was to assess if these variants are associated with susceptibility to sporadic pituitary adenomas in the Portuguese population. Genotype and allele frequencies were determined in 570 cases and in 546 controls. The rs17083838 minor allele (A allele) was significantly associated with sporadic pituitary adenomas, under an additive (odds ratio (OR) 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-2.50, = 0.004) and dominant (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.24-2.68, = 0.002) inheritance model. The rs2359536 and rs10763170 variants were not associated with the overall risk for the disease, although a borderline significant association was observed between the rs10763170 minor allele (T allele) and somatotrophinomas (dominant model, OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.02-2.35, = 0.035). These findings suggest that the rs17083838 variant, and possibly the rs10763170 variant, may increase susceptibility to sporadic pituitary adenomas in the Portuguese population.