Background: Folate metabolism plays an essential role in Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis and methylation processes. Deviations in the flux of the folate may affect the susceptibility to various cancers including lymphoma.
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic polymorphisms in 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR 677C/T and 1298A/C) and to evaluate its associations with the risk of Non Hodgkin lymphoma.
Materials and methods: The study included 50 patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) as well as 50 age matched apparently healthy volunteers (as control). All the subjects included in the study were genotyped for the detection of the MTHFR gene polymorphisms (677C > T and 1298A > C) by using restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).
Results: There were highly statistically significant differences between the 2 groups with respect to results of PCR-RFLP for MTHFR 677C→T polymorphism for CC genotype (P value = 0.001), statistically significant differences for CT (P value = 0.048) and TT (P value = 0.038) genotypes; however, no statistically significant differences regarding CC/CT or TT/CT alleles (P value = 0.052). Also, there were highly statistically significant differences between the patient and control groups with regards to the results of MTHFR1298 A/C polymorphism for the AA, AC genotypes as well as the AA/AC and CC/AC alleles (P value < 0.0001), and statistically significant difference regarding CC genotype (P value 0.0192).
Conclusion: In conclusion, this study demonstrated a significant association between the MTHFR polymorphisms and the risk of DLBCL. Thus the study could support that folate intake together with the genetic basis may help in modifying the risk to lymphoma.