Lack of association between the TNF-alpha promoter gene polymorphism and susceptibility to B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) is a lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by clonal expansion of B lymphocytes. The present study aimed to determine whether there is an association between the polymorphic features located within the promoter/enhancer region of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFA) gene and susceptibility to B-CLL. TNFA (-308 G/A) promoter single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was determined by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) using commercial oligonucleotides. No significant association was found between the distribution of TNFA alleles and B-CLL in Polish patients with B-CLL. Our single centre results were compared with other literature data and combined in a cumulative analysis employing the Mantel-Haenszel method. Among 183 B-CLL patients, 47 (26%) were carrying TNFA*2 allele and this allele was present in 98 out of 348 controls (28%). Also, the results of the Mantel-Haenszel test did not show a significant correlation [Mantel-Haenszel estimate of approximate relative risk (RMH) = 0.86, P = 0.294]. These results suggest that TNFA (-308) alleles are not involved in the predisposition to the development of B-CLL.