Role of the functional MNS16A VNTR‐243 variant of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene in progression and response to therapy of patients with non‐Hodgkin's B‐cell lymphomas

Summary MNS16A is a functional polymorphic tandem repeat within the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene. To investigate whether any of the MNS16A repeats represents a genetic risk factor for NHL susceptibility, progression of or response to therapy in 75 patients with non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) and 126 healthy individuals were genotyped using the PCR‐VNTR technique. A slightly higher frequency of the MNS16A VNTR‐243 variant was detected among patients who did not respond to treatment (NR) as compared to patients with complete or partial remission (0.83 vs. 0.51, P = 0.055). NR patients more frequently developed aggressive than indolent type of the disease (0.92 vs. 0.41, P = 0.001). The VNTR‐243 allele was more frequently detected among patients with an intermediate–high/high International Prognostic Index (IPI 3–4) score (P = 0.063), especially in patients with advanced age and IPI 3–4 (P = 0.040). In multivariate analysis, higher IPI 3–4 score (OR = 11.364, P = 0.051) and aggressive type of the disease (OR = 18.182, P = 0.012) were found to be independent genetic markers associated with nonresponse to treatment. Presence of the MNS16A VNTR‐243 variant also strongly tended to affect the risk of a less favourable response to therapy and was more frequently present among nonresponders (OR = 5.848, P = 0.059). Genetic variation within the hTERT gene may affect the progression and treatment of lymphoproliferative disorder...
Source: International Journal of Immunogenetics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research