The MNS16A VNTR polymorphism of the TERT gene in bladder cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) is a complex disease that has a high morbidity rate. The MNS16A polymorphism in the TERT gene has been indicated to play a role in the presence of various cancer types and multiple tumor populations. In the present study, our goal was to investigate whether the MNS16A (VNTRs) in the TERT gene was associated with bladder cancer.

A total of 70 patients with BC and 120 normal controls were included in the study. The MNS16A (VNTRs) in the TERT gene was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were visualized on 3% high resolution agarose gel and under a UV light.

The MNS16A VNTR-302 allele was found to be the most common allele in both, the patient group (64%) and the control group (62%). The second most common allele was the VNTR-243 allele that occurred at a frequency of around 34% in BC patients and 33% in the controls. VNTR-333 (patient group, 1%; control group, 3%) and VNTR-274 (patient group, 2%; control group, 1%) alleles were reported as the least common alleles in this study.

When comparing the frequencies of genetic variants between cases and controls, we observed that our findings did not support the hypothesis that the MNS16A VNTR polymorphism of the TERT gene might regulate cancer susceptibility.