Aim: The purpose of the present study was the analysis of the relationship between tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) -308 G/A and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).
Materials and methods: A prospective case-control study was performed, enrolling 78 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and 107 controls. Every patient had a complete gynecological examination with cervical sampling and colposcopy and TNF-α 308 G/A genotyping.
Results: The homozygous AA genotype was extremely rare in the study group. The GG genotype was the one most frequently encountered in all classes of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and controls. No statistical differences were found in global comparison between cases and controls [odds ratio (OR)=3, p=0.09], nor between well-documented cases of more evolved high-grade squamous cervical intraepithelial lesion versus controls (OR=1.2, p=0.68). However, the results were significant for invasive carcinoma (OR=10.8261, 95% confidence interval=1.0748-109.0511, p=0.0433).
Conclusion: The presence of an A allele at -308 TNF-α represents a risk for invasive carcinoma.
Keywords: TNF-α; cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; genetic polymorphism.