FOXP3 gene polymorphism is associated with hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma in China

Previous evidence has shown that the FOXP3 gene was involved in the pathogenesis of several tumors; however, the correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FOXP3 gene and the susceptibility to hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear.

We analyzed two SNPs in the FOXP3 gene, rs2280883 and rs3761549, in 392 patients with HCC, 344 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 372 matched healthy controls. Genotyping was performed by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry for all donors.

Compared to healthy controls, HCC patients had higher frequencies of the TT genotype (79.6%) at rs2280883 and the CC genotype (77.6%) at rs3761549 of the FOXP3 gene; CHB patients also had higher frequencies of the TT genotype (74.1%) at rs2280883 and the CC genotype (74.6%) at rs3761549. There were no significant differences in the distribution of FOXP3 genotypes between CHB donors and HCC donors. The TT genotype at rs2280883 was more frequent in patients with HCC than healthy donors (P = 0.01), but no significant difference was observed in this genotype between CHB and healthy donors (P = 0.479). C allele frequency at rs3761549 was higher in HCC patients than healthy donors (P = 0.03), but distribution of this allele was not significantly different between CHB patients and healthy donors (P = 0.11). Stratified analysis showed that the CC genotype at rs3761549 was significantly associated with a high incidence of portal vein tumor thrombus (P = 0.02) and that the TT/CT genotype at rs3761549 was significantly associated with an increased rate of tumor recurrence in HCC patients (P = 0.001).

Our results suggested that the FOXP3 gene polymorphisms at rs2280883 and rs3761549 may be associated with hepatitis B-related HCC. At rs3761549, the CC genotype and the TT/CT genotype were associated with a high incidence of portal vein tumor thrombus and tumor recurrence, respectively.