Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms in pediatric patients with leukemia-lymphoma: Does it have an impact on malignancy?

Objective: Genetic variations have been identified in specific regions of the Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and many studies were investigating whether these variations are associated with malignancy. Studies in the VDR on children are scarce. In this study, we aimed to investigate the VDR gene polymorphisms in pediatric patients with the diagnosis of leukemia and lymphoma. Patients and Methods: Of the 99 participants included in this cross-sectional study, 59 were control, 40 were patients. Fok-I, Bsm-I and Taq-I polymorphism of the VDR gene were investigated in both groups. Results: While no significant difference was found in the genotype distribution of the three polymorphisms between the patient and control groups, significant results were obtained in Bsm-I and Taq-I allele frequencies (Odds ratio=0.489; CI95%=0.275-0.871 and 0.519; CI95%=0.280-0.964) (p<0.05). Conclusions: In this study, we found that the frequency of allele “A” for Bsm-I and allele “C” for Taq-I was lower in the patient group. Contrary to most publications in the literature, polymorphisms were not found to be risk factors in our study.

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