Relation of phosphatase and tensin homolog gene polymorphism with hepatocellular carcinoma among hepatitis C-infected patients

Abstract

Objective To study the significance of two phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) gene polymorphisms, PTEN IVS4 rs3830675 and rs701848, as a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis C-infected patients. Background PTEN polymorphisms have been reported to be involved in multiple cancers. There are few reports concerning the linkage between the PTEN gene and liver cancer risk. Patients and methods The study was conducted on 200 participants. Of them, 80 had proven HCC, 60 were cirrhotic patients with no evidence of focal lesion, and 60 were healthy age-matched and sex-matched volunteers, enrolled in the study as a control group. PTEN IVS4 rs3830675 and rs701848 assessments by PCR-restricted fragment length polymorphism technique were done for all participants. Results The frequency of IVS4 rs3830675(––) genotype in patients with HCC was 56%, which is significantly increased compared with cirrhotic group (11.7%) and control group (10%). The combined dominant model (––/–+) was significantly higher than (++) genotype in patients with HCC compared with cirrhotic and control groups. The PTEN rs701848 polymorphisms (TT, TC, or CC) showed no significant difference among the three studied groups as well as allele distributions (T or C). Conclusion PTEN (IVS4 rs3830675) deletion (––) genotype may be a risk factor for HCC in chronic hepatitis C-infected patients more than (++) genotype. However, PTEN polymorphism (rs701848) was of no significance.