Association Between EGF, TGF-β1 and TNF-α Gene Polymorphisms and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

<br/><b>Introduction</b>: Up to present, EGF 61*A/G, TGF-β1 -509*T/C and TNF-α-308*A/G gene polymorphisms havebeen analysed in other cancer entities than hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We here investigated the frequencyof these gene polymorphisms among HCC patients. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: A total of 73 HCC patients and117 cancer-free healthy people were recruited at the Surgical Department of Zhongshan Hospital. GenomicDNA was isolated from peripheral blood and gene polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP. <br/><b>Results</b>: Thedistribution of EGF 61*G/G homozygotes among HCC patients was more frequent than that in the control group(24.7% vs 11.1%, OR=2.618, 95%CI=1.195-5.738). In parallel, the frequency of the “G” allele in the HCC patientgroup was also higher than that in the control group (45.9% vs 33.3%, OR= 1.696, 95%CI=1.110-2.592). Nodifference could be found for the TGF-β1-509 and TNF-α-308 genotypes. <br/><b>Conclusion</b>: EGF 61*G/G genotypeand G allele are significantly increased among patients with HCC. TGF-β1-509*T/C and TNF-α-308*A/G genepolymorphisms are not related to this cancer entity.