Osteoporosis is a disease with the multifactorial and strong polygenetic basis. Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism influences bone mineral density, peak bone mass and frequency of fractures. Childhood cancer and its treatment may enhance negative genotype influence on bone status in children.
The aim of this study: To evaluate the frequency of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms in children with neoplastic disease from north-eastern region of Poland.
Material and methods: The study group consisted of 247 children (133 boys) treated at the Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology of Medical University of Białystok. Control group consisted of 125 healthy children (72 boys) from the same region of Poland. Genetic polymorphisms were determined by RFLP method (restriction fragment length polymorphism) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Results: In both group heterozygotes were most prevalent (Ff--54%, Ff--51.2% and Bb--54.5%, Bb--51.2%). The BB genotype was significantly more frequent in the leukemia group than in the control group (p = 0.034). The co-occurence of f and B alleles were observed with prevalence twice as high in the leukemia group in comparison with the control group (p = 0.023).
Conclusions: Distribution of Fokl and Bsml genotype is in accordance with data for Caucasian population. Assessed data suggest that children treated for leukemia are carriers of alleles which negatively influence on skeletal system.