Elevated frequency of the C2 allele of the ETS-I oncogene in elderly subjects

We studied the frequency of an Sst I polymorphism of the ETS-I oncogene in 122 elderly subjects (mean age 78.14 years) and 115 teenagers (mean age 16.9 years). No difference in the frequency of the three genotypes (C1C1, C1C2, C2C2) was found between the two groups. However, the C2 allele occurred more frequently in the elderly subjects (chi 2 = 5.49, P < 0.02). These data suggest that the presence of the C2 allele may be associated with survival to old age.