Patients carrying the corresponding ApaI CC genotype had a higher prevalence (34%) of HCC than those with CA (19.2%) or AA type (12.5%)

(P = 0.024). In contrast, BsmI and TaqI polymorphisms were not significantly associated with disease severity of chronic HCV infection. As shown in Table 2, patients with HCC carried a higher ratio of ApaI CC genotype compared to those with chronic hepatitis (P = 0.001) or cirrhosis (P = 0.026). Trametinib chemical structure As shown in Table 3, univariate analysis revealed that age, male gender, lower platelet count (<15 × 104/μL), the carriage of bAt[CCA]-haplotype and ApaI CC genotype were factors significantly associated with developing HCC. Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that age (odds ratio (OR): 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07-1.14, P < 0.001), male gender (OR: 3.90, 95% CI: 2.07-7.35, P < 0.001), low platelet count (<15 × 104/μL)(OR: 4.20, 95% CI: 2.26-7.83, P < 0.001) and the carriage

of ApaI CC genotype Lumacaftor (OR: 2.77, 95% CI: 1.47-5.21, P = 0.002) were the independent predictors. Since ApaI CC genotype was a significant factor associated with developing HCC, we thus compared the chronic hepatitis C patients with ApaI CC type and CA/AA type. As shown in Table 4, patients carrying ApaI CC genotype had a higher prevalence of HCC and pre-existing cirrhosis and a higher ratio of BsmI CC type and TaqI AA type as compared to those with ApaI CA/AA type. Hepatocarcinogenesis is a complex and multi-factorial process, in which both environmental and genetic features interfere and contribute to malignant transformation [24]. The identification of genetic factors related to HCC susceptibility may improve our understanding of the various biological pathways involved in hepatocarcinogenesis and as well improve the scientific basis for preventative intervention. Numerous candidate-gene studies have reported associations between single nucleotide polymorphism and the development of HCC [24], [25], [26], [27] and [28].

PD184352 (CI-1040) In this study, we investigated the possible association between the VDR gene polymorphisms and HCC in a Chinese population with chronic HCV infection. Our data showed that patients with HCC had a higher frequency of ApaI CC genotype and bAt[CCA]-haplotype as compared to control subjects. Furthermore, stepwise logistic regression analyses revealed that ApaI CC genotype was an independent factor, suggesting that the ApaI C polymorphisms may be used as a molecular marker to predict the risk of HCC in the patients infected with HCV. Association studies of several polymorphisms in the VDR gene have been performed to investigate their implication with severity of chronic liver disease [17], [18], [19] and [20]. One of the common genetic variations of VDR gene is the bat-haplotype consisting of BsmI, ApaI and TaqI [29].