Analysis of Relation Between C677T Genotype in MTHFR Gene and Prostatic Cancer in Iranian Males

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme is one of the most important enzymes with a pivotal role in the folate metabolism and DNA synthesis pathways. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in the coding gene has been related to many medical diseases as well as diverse malignancies including the prostate cancer which is the leading cause of the cancer deaths in men and one of the major public health problems. The goal of this study is to determine the relationship between the MTHFR C677T SNP and the prostate adenocarcinoma in Iranian males attending to the Labbafi-nezhad hospital in Tehran. In this Case-control unmatched study, 67 and 75 paraffinized tissue samples were taken out of the specimens diagnosed previously as the prostatic adenocarcinoma and nodular prostatic hyperplasia for the case and control groups respectively. MTHFR C677T genotyping was done by the use of multiplex ARMS-PCR and frequencies of the alleles were compared between the case and control groups as well as calculating the deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and Odds Ratio for the «T» allele regarding the prostatic carcinoma. The observed rates in the control group were not too different from that of expected from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P=0. 407). Frequencies of the possible genotypes were as follows: CC, 43. 28% vs. 42. 67%; CT, 49. 25% vs. 52% and CT, 7. 46% vs. 5. 33% in the case and control groups respectively (P=0. 85). 1. 37 times increased risk was found for the homozygote carriers of C677T variant (OR: 1. 37, 95% CI: 0. 33-5. 6; P=0. 653) which is however statistically not significant. No association has been evident between the MTHFR 677C>T polymorphism and the risk of prostatic carcinoma in this study confirming the findings of some of the previous attempts; however, (OR: 1. 37, 95% CI: 0. 33-5. 6) implies a slight effect of the homozygote on the carcinogenesis. Thus larger studies especially with a greater number of the smaples are recommended.