A study of Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphism (C677T) and its association with esophageal and gastric cancers in Sudanese Patients

Abstract

Background:

Esophageal

and gastric

cancers

remain

important health burden

in Sudan

with poor prognosis.

MTHFR

gene polymorphism was reported to be associated with

different types of cancers including esophageal and gastric cancers.

Aim:

This study aimed to investigate the presence of

MTHFR

gene C677T

polymorphism in Sudanese patients with esophageal and gastric

cancers and to correlate

the polymorphism with different histopathology results.

Methods:

A case control study was conducted. The study was done for 44 subjects: 30

patients with esophageal cancer and 14 patients with gastric cancers. Tumor tissues and

ma

tched adjacent normal tissues from the same patient were collected.

Demographic data

regarding age, gender, ethnicity and family history were obtained using pre

-

designed

questionnaire after taking consent from subjects under study.

DNA extraction from tis

sue samples was performed using guanidine chloride method

followed by RFLP

-

PCR for genotyping by using specific

MTHFR

primers and

HinfI

restriction enzyme.

Agarose gel electrophoresis was used for determination of

MTHFR

different genotypes.

Results obta

ined were statisticaly analyzed using SPSS program.

Results:

From demographic data, the high incidence of both esophageal and gastric

cancers were among

the age group (50

-

60) years, female was more affected with

esophageal cancer than male with ratio 1.5:1, whereas in gastric cancer patient male were

slightly higher than female with ratio 1.3:1. Afro

-

Asiatic ethnic group was the most

affected for both esop

hageal and gastric cancer with a high incidence in central Sudan

for both cancer type, in western Sudan for esophageal cancer was dominant. Squamous

cell carcinoma (SCC) was predominated (83.3%) in esophageal cancer patient while

adenocarcinoma (ADC) (75%

)

in gastric cancer patients.

Regarding cancer stages and

grades, most of EC patients reside within stages 2 and 3 (50%); for tumor grades

,

grade

2

is the most comm

on represented (

50

%), While for GC patients most of patient

s

are stages

2 and stage 3 repre

senting (42.9%) for each

;

for GC tumor grades, grade

3 is the most

common represented (50%).

From molecular genotyping results when comparing the

different genotype between control and tumor, although 11 EC sample should mutation in

tumor tissue but when

tested statistically it was not significant .The distribution of the

MTHFR

genotypes (CC), (CT), and (TT) among EC subjects tumor samples, was found

to be (63.3%),(36.7%) and (0%) respectively ; and for control samples (86.7%), (13.3%)

and (0%) respectivel

y. Whereas gastric cancer tumor and control samples revealed just

CC genotype in all control and tumor tissue (100%) .

Conclusion:

From the result of

this study

t

here was no significant association between

MTHFR

C677T polymorphism (p) and Sudanese esophageal and gastric cancer