The caspase proteins are essential for the regulation of normal B cell development and regulation of apoptosis. We investigated five single nucleotide polymorphisms in four key caspase genes, CASP3 [Ex8-280C>A (rs6948) and Ex8+567T>C (rs1049216)], CASP8 Ex14-271A>T (rs13113), CASP9 Ex5+32G>A (rs1052576) and CASP10 Ex3-171A>G (rs3900115) to determine whether they alter risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in a population-based case-control study of women in Connecticut (461 cases and 535 controls). Variants in CASP3 and CASP9 were significantly associated with a decreased risk for NHL, particularly follicular lymphoma [e.g. CASP3 Ex8+567T>C odds ratio (OR)(CC+TC) = 0.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.3-0.7; and CASP9 Ex5+32G>A OR(AA+AG) = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.4-1.0]. Further, variants in CASP3, CASP8 and CASP10 were associated with a decreased risk of marginal zone lymphoma and variants in CASP3 and CASP10 were associated with a lower risk of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and related subtypes. The striking protective associations observed for polymorphisms in all four genes for NHL and/or one or more subtypes suggest that genetic variation in CASP genes may play an important role in the etiology of NHL.

Background It has been hypothesized that genomic instability related to telomere dysfunction may contribute to carcinogenesis. There is some evidence from case-control studies suggesting that short leukocyte telomere length (TL) may be associated with an increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, this association has not been investigated prospectively. Methods We conducted a nested case-control study (209 cases, 410 controls) of RCC risk in relation to pre-diagnostic leukocyte TL in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression. Results Leukocyte TL was not significantly associated with future risk of RCC (highest quartile vs. lowest: OR=0.8, 95% CI=0.5–1.5; Ptrend=0.6). Analyses stratified by sex, age, and time from blood collection to RCC diagnosis were similarly null. Conclusions The results of this study, to our knowledge the first prospective investigation of its kind, do not support an association between pre-diagnostic leukocyte TL and risk of RCC. Impact In contrast to some earlier reports, our findings add to the evidence that leukocyte TL is not a biomarker of risk related to the etiology of RCC.