A Case-Control Study on the Correlation Between Thymidylate Synthase Gene Polymorphisms and Raltitrexed Treatment...

To study the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the thymidylate synthase (TYMS) gene for their value in predicting the efficacy of raltitrexed treatment combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We conducted a genotypic analysis of the TYMS SNPs rs2790, rs8423, rs502396, rs699517, and rs1004474 in150 HCC patients who were subjected to raltitrexed treatment combined with TACE (study group) and another 150 HCC patients who were treated with doxorubicin combined with TACE (control group). After 1 year of follow-up and interventional therapy, the relationship between the TYMS SNPs and survival rate, and the prognosis for survival were analyzed. After interventional therapy, the response rate (RR) and disease control rate (DCR) of the study group were 52.67% and 87.33%, respectively; whereas the RR and DCR of the control group were 54.67% and 84.67%, respectively. No significant differences were detected by comparison of the RRs (p = 0.728) and DCRs (p = 0.506) between the two groups. The HCC patients' TYMS SNPs rs2790, rs8423, rs502396, rs699517, and rs1004474 were associated with the efficacy and prognosis of the raltitrexed-combined TACE intervention (p < 0.05) yet showed no correlation to the efficacy and prognosis of doxorubicin-combined TACE interventional therapy (p > 0.05). The SNPs of the TYMS genes (rs2790, rs8423, rs502396, rs699517, and rs1004474) are associated with the efficacy and prognosis of raltitrexed treatment in HCC patients.