Possible correlation between polymorphism in the tumor necrosis factor-beta gene and the clinicopathological features of bladder cancer in Japanese patients.
OBJECTIVE
In a variety of cancers, several polymorphisms of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) genes have been reported to result in different clinical outcomes. We investigated whether a polymorphism of the TNF gene is associated with a susceptibility to bladder cancer and its disease status.


METHODS
Polymorphisms in the TNF-alpha gene promoter (-308 bp) and the NcoI site in the first intron of the TNF-beta gene were analyzed in 141 Japanese patients with bladder cancer and 173 Japanese controls by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The correlations between the polymorphisms of the TNF genes and the clinicopathological features were analyzed.


RESULTS
The number of cases and controls with TNF-alpha2 was too small to be assessable. In contrast, the TNF-beta1/2 genotype at the NcoI site in the first intron conferred a 1.71-fold increased risk of bladder cancer compared to the TNF-beta2/2 genotype. In the bladder cancer group, patients with the TNF-beta1 allele had a significantly higher risk for a high-grade tumor (grade 3) or carcinoma in situ (CIS) than those without the TNF-beta1 allele. Moreover, in the superficial bladder cancers, patients with the TNF-beta1 allele showed a significantly higher intravesical recurrence rate than those without the TNF-beta1 allele.


CONCLUSIONS
This polymorphism in the TNF-beta gene appears to be associated with tumor occurrence and disease status, such as the tumor grade and the presence of CIS. Further study with an increased sample size is warranted.
Nonomura
Norio
N
Department of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan. nono@uro.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
Tokizane
Takashi
T
Nakayama
Masashi
M
Inoue
Hitoshi
H
Nishimura
Kazuo
K
Muramatsu
Masaaki
M
Okuyama
Akihiko
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000483:Alleles; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha