title: Functional vascular endothelial growth factor -2578 C/A polymorphism in relation to nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk and tumor progression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a mitogen for endothelial cells and a potent regulator of angiogenesis and inflammatory processes in nasopharyngeal carcinomas. In the current report, we designed a case-controlled study to evaluate whether a genetically predetermined variation in the VEGF expression may affect susceptibility and prognosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was used to determine the variation of the -2578 C/A promoter region in a Tunisian population of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) and in healthy control subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significantly risk of NPC was observed for carriers of VEGF -2578 C allele (OR=1.4; P=0.03). Regarding prognostic indicators, a significant association was found between -2578 C allele carriers and the aggressive forms of NPC as defined by large tumor size (OR=2.29; P=0.0002) and advanced tumor stages (OR=1.97; P=0.02). Moreover, an association was ascertained between the VEGF polymorphism and gender.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report on the studies of functional VEGF polymorphisms in NPC and our preliminary data suggest that this genetic variant may play a role in mediating susceptibility to NPC, as well as, in neoplastic progression, supporting our hypothesis for VEGF involvement in NPC etiology.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Immuno-Oncologie Moléculaire, Faculté de Médecine de Monastir, 5019 Monastir, Tunisia. helabn@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: Hela Ben
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Nasr
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chahed
authors.forename: Noureddine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bouaouina
authors.forename: Lotfi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chouchane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011379:Prognosis; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A