Association between EGF, TGF-β1 and TNF-α gene polymorphisms and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Introduction: Up to present, EGF 61*A/G, TGF-β1 -509*T/C and TNF-α-308*A/G gene polymorphisms have been analysed in other cancer entities than hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We here investigated the frequency of these gene polymorphisms among HCC patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 73 HCC patients and 117 cancer-free healthy people were recruited at the Surgical Department of Zhongshan Hospital. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood and gene polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP. Results: The distribution 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 patient group was also higher than that in the control group (45.9% vs 33.3%, OR= 1.696, 95%CI=1.110-2.592). No difference could be found for the TGF-β1-509 and TNF-α-308 genotypes. Conclusion: EGF 61*G/G genotype and G allele are significantly increased among patients with HCC. TGF-β1-509*T/C and TNF-α-308*A/G gene polymorphisms are not related to this cancer entity.