Retracted: Genome‐wide association study identifies common genetic variants associated with salivary gland carcinoma and its subtypes

BACKGROUND Salivary gland carcinomas (SGCs) are a rare malignancy with unknown etiology. The objective of the current study was to identify genetic variants modifying the risk of SGC and its major subtypes: adenoid cystic carcinoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma. METHODS The authors conducted a genome‐wide association study in 309 well‐defined SGC cases and 535 cancer‐free controls. A single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)‐level discovery study was performed in non‐Hispanic white individuals followed by a replication study in Hispanic individuals. A logistic regression analysis was applied to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). A meta‐analysis of the results was conducted. RESULTS A genome‐wide significant association with SGC in non‐Hispanic white individuals was detected at coding SNPs in CHRNA2 (cholinergic receptor, nicotinic, alpha 2 [neuronal]) (OR, 8.55; 95% CI, 4.53‐16.13 [ P  = 3.6 × 10 −11 ]), OR4F15 (olfactory receptor, family 4, subfamily F, member 15) (OR, 5.26; 95% CI, 3.13‐8.83 [ P  = 3.5 × 10 −10 ]), ZNF343 (zinc finger protein 343) (OR, 3.28; 95% CI, 2.12‐5.07 [ P  = 9.1 × 10 −8 ]), and PARP4 (poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase family, member 4) (OR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.54‐2.59 [ P  = 1.7 × 10 −7 ]). Meta‐analysis of the non‐Hispanic white and Hispanic cohorts identified another genome‐wide significant SNP in ELL2 (meta‐OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.48‐2.34 [ P  = 1.3 × 10 −7 ]). Risk alleles were largely enriched in mucoepidermoid carcinoma, in which the SNPs in CHRNA2, OR4F15 , and ZNF343 had ORs of 15.71 (95% CI, 6.59‐37.47 [ P  = 5.2 × 10 −10 ]), 15.60 (95% CI, 6.50‐37.41 [ P  = 7.5 × 10 −10 ]), and 6.49 (95% CI, 3.36‐12.52 [ P  = 2.5 × 10 −8 ]), respectively. None of these SNPs retained a significant association with adenoid cystic carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS To the best of the authors' knowledge, the current study is the first to identify a panel of SNPs associated with the risk of SGC. Confirmation of these findings along with functional analysis of identified SNPs are needed. Cancer 2015;121:2367–2374. © 2015 American Cancer Society .