Single-nucleotide polymorphism rs1052501 associated with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and multiple myeloma.

Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) is a premalignant precursor to multiple myeloma (MM). Though several genetic variants have been identified for MM, none have been identified for MGUS. Recently, Broderick et al. conducted a GWAS of MM and identified three novel loci at 3p22.1 (rs1052501), 7p15.3 (rs4487645) and 2p23.3 (rs6746082) associated with MM risk. We examined the association of these variants with MGUS in a clinic-based case-control study of 391 MGUS cases and 365 controls. We also attempted to replicate the reported association with MM (243 MM cases, 365 controls). We found rs1052501 associated with increased risk of both MGUS (OR=1.32; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.72; p=0.04) and MM (OR=1.39; 95% CI, 1.04, 1.86; p=0.03). However, there were no associations with the other two loci, rs6746082 and rs4487645, for either MGUS or MM. We identified one genetic variant that may exert its influence on MM through its association with MGUS.