Background:

Prostate cancer is the third cause of cancer death in men in the Western hemisphere and the second cause of cancer death in Zulian men from Venezuela.

Objective:

To determine whether polymorphisms 308 and 238 of the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) gene are associated with prostate cancer.

Methods:

The DNA that was extracted from the peripheral blood of 40 patients with prostatic specific antigen and 40 controls was amplified by PCR plus digestion with enzymes NcoI and MspI.

Results:

In the patients, genotypes of the TNF-α-238 polymorphism were observed in 90% GG and 10% GA; in controls, in 97.5% GG and 2.5% GA, odds ratio (OR) = 4,000 for GA. In the patients, genotypes of TNF-α-308 polymorphism were identified in 85% GG and 15% GA, and in controls in 72.5% GG and 27.5% GA, OR = 0.545 for GA and 1.172 for GG. The allelic frequencies for TNF-α-238 in patients were 95% for G and 5% for A; in controls, 98.75% for G and 1.25% for A, with OR = 4,000 for A. The allelic frequencies for TNF-α-308 in the patients were 92.5% for G and 7.5% for A.

Conclusions:

There weren’t any statistically significant associations. The allele A of the TNF-α-238 polymorphism resulted in a considerable risk factor for prostate cancer.

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